Executive Principal’s Message
Dear Parents/Guardians and Members of our Community
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmutallah wa Barakatuhu
As we are approaching toward end of term 1 2022, and the weather cools down, it is important to take steps to minimise the impact of COVID-19. Vaccines are a safe and effective way to protect your child, and the community. I would like to encourage and remind you all to book a COVID-19 Vaccination for your child. Over 50 per cent of all children aged 5 to 11 have now received a first dose, with many now due for a second dose (eight weeks after the first dose).
The Department of Health website provides a number of resources with further information about seeking COVID-19 vaccination. Please see below fact sheet which you can use to communicate with your child.
Further resources are also available at: www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/who-can-get-vaccinated/children
Vaccines are widely available across the country at general practices, pharmacies and state-run clinics. You can find a participating clinic and make an appointment by visiting the Vaccine Clinic Finder at: https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/booking
We find ourselves continuing to live in unprecedented and uncertain times due to the global Coronavirus Pandemic. The Government has announced schools will remain open to best support continuity of student learning. The College has recently opened online learning for students who need to isolate and those who are unfortunately Covid-19 positive. May Allah (swt) grant everyone shifa and restore everyone to full health. By providing online learning students are able to receive support for their learning courses and programs. It is challenging to maintain a hybrid teaching model but with the perseverance of our dedicated staff, it has been another great achievement.
The College is committed to our Mission of “Islamic values and academic excellence for success in this life and the hereafter”. To this end, we have worked hard to ensure students can receive both online learning resources as well as face-to-face for all academic courses including Islamic Studies and Quran. Please encourage your child to attend school if they are a symptom free close contact as long as they are tested negative through a RAT test for day 1 or as soon as possible after being identified as a close contact.
I want to thank you all for your patience and understanding during these very uncertain and trying times. Please do your very best to keep your children in your home if they feel unwell or develop any Covid-19 symptoms. This will assist in reducing the spread of the virus. Please continue to be extra mindful of the higher risks to the older members of our community.
I would like to wish you all Ramadan Kareem. I pray that Allah (swt), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, continues to provide, protect and guide us all and that He bestows His blessings upon you all to gain maximum benefits this Ramadan.
With kind regards
Abdullah Khan
Principal’s Message
Dear Community,
I trust this short message finds each and every one of you in the best of health and spirits.
As you all know, with Covid-19 now in WA and case numbers rising daily, it has been a very challenging term for us, but Alhamdulillah, our challenges are trivial compared to what other countries and states have had to go through.
Throughout these difficult times our students, teachers and parents have shown amazing grit, determination, resilience and maturity. Your understanding and cooperation in a constantly changing environment has helped us navigate through these challenging times. I congratulate you and thank you for it.
I pray Allah (SWT) keeps each and every one of you in His divine care and protection.
I also take this opportunity to wish you all a blessed Ramadan. May Allah (SWT) accept your deeds, forgive your sins and elevate your ranks in both the worlds. Ameen.
Regards,
Ustadh Wahaj Tarin
Kindergarten
Kindergarten teachers would like to welcome all our kindergarten students and families to AIC Dianella. We have been very busy settling in and making new friends. Early Childhood Education is paramount to setting strong foundations for lifelong learning in our students. We therefore strive to create strong and supportive relationships with all of our families and see teachers and parents as partners in supporting children through their learning journeys.
Term 1 is a time for students to learn about themselves and others. Learning about themselves is a fundamental part of early childhood development, especially as children start to ask questions about who they are and how they are the same or different from others. As children start to make friends, they learn how to think about others, noticing the thoughts and feelings of their peers. Their communication skills develop as well. We have been learning about:
- Rules and routines
- How to hold our pencils and crayons
- How to cut and glue
- How to spot and write our names
- How to be a good listener
- Listening to sounds in our environment
- Rhyming
- Families
- Homes
- Counting and numbers 0 to 10.
Below are some pictures captured during the term.
Pre-Primary
Welcome to the 2022 school year at the Australian Islamic College Dianella.
We have been very busy in Pre-Primary settling in and making new friends. Thank you to all our students for doing their best to learn the new classroom routines and rules. The students have all settled very well into their learning environment which is more structured than they are used to in Kindergarten. Literacy, Numeracy, social and emotional development are the focus of our Pre-Primary programs.
HASS
This term the teachers enjoyed interacting with their students and asking them questions about themselves to create an autobiography for each student.
The students have been learning about “My Family” and where we live. We looked at photos of each other’s families and talked about who was in our family, how many people are in our family and what we like to do with our family. We created a family tree and we made a house.
Science
We have been learning about the weather and different weather conditions. We learnt how rain is formed and how thunderstorms occur.
Year 1
It has been a very busy term in Year 1 at AIC Dianella this year! We have achieved so much already! We are getting to know each other, following class rules and settling in to new routines.
We have been learning about stopping the spread of germs and maintaining good hygiene at school. We have absolutely loved learning about number bonds and addition in Maths, and exploring the day and night sky in Science. We have really enjoyed learning about natural, managed and constructed features in HASS and exploring the past through old household objects and toys.
Ring ring! Went the school bell…. We have been learning about sizzling starts in 7 Steps to Writing and using onomatopoeias to make our writing more interesting! We can’t wait to begin writing our own stories!
We also have done online learning to stay safe and away from germs! We loved learning from home and listening to our teacher’s lessons online.
Bring on Term 2!
Year 2
The Year 2s have had a wonderful start to the school year.
English
In English we have been learning to write reports. We have been investigating koalas, snakes, crocodiles, tigers and rhinos to name a few. The students have been learning to form paragraphs when writing and to include factual information. We have also been busy learning about dialogue. The students are now using speech marks when writing direct speech.
Maths
In Maths the students have been learning to use different strategies for mental addition and subtraction. These include, counting on, using a number line and split strategy. We have also been learning about the properties of 2D shapes. We have combined shapes and split images to find 2D shapes.
HASS
In HASS we have been discovering facts about our past. We have looked at famous landmarks such as Kings Park and the Fremantle Prison. We have researched significant people from our past also. These include Cathy Freeman and Steve Irwin.
Science
In Science we have been investigating where water comes from. We have learnt about the water cycle and the process of how water comes to our home for us to use. The students have looked at natural and man-made resources and identified which are renewable and non-renewable.
We look forward to our holidays and wish everyone a safe and relaxing break.
Year 3
We started the new year and term with excitement, looking forward to all the new learning areas.
Maths
In Maths, we began term 1 by learning place value along with reading and writing numbers up to four digits. Through the term, we learned to recognise different notes and coins and how to add and subtract money. In addition, we learnt about fractions, namely, halves, quarters, thirds and eighths.
English
For writing, we have focussed on Persuasive Texts. We wrote on a fair few topics and the most popular one among the students was ‘Summer is the best season’. We had almost all the students agreeing with the topic as they couldn’t stop favouring the season for all the icy treats that they enjoy. We also assessed the writing abilities on the topic ‘Is it important for children to play outside?’
Science
In Science, we have been learning about Earth and Space Sciences this term. We have learnt about what makes up the solar system as well as the universe in a snapshot. We learnt how shadows are created, along with why the moon changes shape. We also had 3 assessments in this area.
HASS
In HASS, we started the term with learning about the states and territories of Australia, we moved on to learn about the regional centres of Australia as well. Later during the term, we learnt about the popular natural features of Australia. We recently covered the topics on the first people to enter and live in Australia, highlighting the Mungo man and the Mungo Lady.
The Year 3 teachers
Mrs Canal, Mrs Herbert, Mrs Laginha, Ms Sahudhullah
Year 4
This term the year four students have been learning about soil and the different types of weathering that makes up our natural landscapes. Here the students of 4C are conducting an experiment exploring four different types of soil. They are investigating the colour, texture, absorbency, and size of grain particles.
Mathematics has been exciting this term with the introduction of new concepts such as identifying angles as measures of turns and comparing angle sizes in everyday situations. We have also looked into reading a scale, legend and following directions on a map. Students investigated identifying and drawing perpendicular and parallel line segments. The students have been recognising, modelling, representing and ordering number numbers to 100 000. We have investigated and solved mathematical problems using a range of strategies and encouraged logical reasoning skills to come to solutions.
Year 5
We are proud of our wonderful students during these challenging times. They have shown resilience and determination in every aspect of their schooling and education masha’Allah.
Math
In Math this term, we have been focusing on multiplication and division, solids, fractions and decimals, addition and subtraction, measurement and chance. During our math session, students are immersed in a variety of rich mathematical tasks that promote problem solving, reasoning and higher order thinking.
Literacy
They Year 5’s have been working hard in improving their writing skills this term. They have acquired the essential skills to start developing further their written Narrative and Persuasive writing skills. Apart from their daily Literacy Block writing sessions, students have also been continuing to practice improving their written expressions and vocabulary building during the day.
Science
In science, we have been exploring Earth’s place in the Solar System this term. They have learnt how each of the eight planets rotate and revolve at different speeds and along different pathways. They have especially enjoyed comparing the length of one day and year on different planets. This unit of work has left students curious and eager to learn more about the world beyond our planet.
Health
This term in health, students have worked hard to develop important life skills and strategies. In particular, the year 5 cohort has discussed how to build confidence, persistence, and a growth mindset. Students are beginning to understand how these strategies can help them to achieve academic, emotional, and social success.
Mrs. Safi (5A)
Miss Druitt (5B)
Mrs. Tookhi (5C)
Year 6
Welcome to Year 6 2022! This year we welcome new teachers into our cohort team and as staff of AIC Dianella, we are very keen to ensure that our Year 6 students get the very best learning experience they deserve in their last year of being in the primary level.
To maintain the quality of delivery and curricula for our students, teachers had put in a lot of effort into preparing, planning and cooperation with the teaching and learning resources. Each week, the teachers meet and discuss regularly how we can improve upon the content or delivery of our teaching. Though we get tired on some days, our positive mindsets and intentions helped us stay on the sincere path of teaching, which is for the benefit of our children.
Literacy
This term, our students were taught to expand their narrative writing skills using the ‘Seven Steps of Writing’. Students learn how to write fantastic Sizzling Starts for the whole term. They learn to identify and how to improve the different components of the first paragraph in greater detail. The cohort spent the first half hour of almost every day of the week sharpening their writing skills.
Numeracy
With the introduction of the new textbooks, Prime Mathematics, teaching Mathematics to our children had been made easier. It provides teachers with explicit models of how to teach mathematical concepts, strategies and problem solving. The series adopts Explicit Instruction in its pedagogy, which is in line with AIC Dianella’s daily practices. Hence, students are given ample time to learn, process and practice the content daily. Teachers also include short videos, mnemonics and raps to help students remember what they had learned better.
Science
Our focus this term is on Earth and Space Sciences: Natural Disasters. We learn about the different layers of the Earth, the tectonic plates, earthquakes and lastly, volcanoes. Learning Science was made interesting through multi-modal learning: Powerpoint presentations, videos, games and art!
HASS, Health and Art
For HASS, students learn a very content heavy topic on Australia: Pre and Post Federation. Thankfully, our teachers were able to prepare them with bite-sized information so that the children can understand the Australian history better.
Following the ‘I Can Do It’ program for Health, students learn life skills on how to stay safe, reading warning signs of danger and how to protect themselves from manipulation.
Whilst for Art, students look forward to spending some quiet time destressing through art. Children had learned the 7 elements of Art, two-point perspective drawing and Cubism, a form of abstract art.
Students’ wellbeing
We are aware that the content learned in Year 6 has become much heavier than what the students were used to in their previous primary years. So, we try to keep the students engaged and happy by making sure that they take meaningful breaks in between lessons. For example, we explore different types of brain breakers. This term, 6A use fun fitness as a short pause from learning daily. Combining physical activity and rest time has never been more fun!
Learning through Covid times
Due to the ongoing Covid situation which all of WA is experiencing, most of our school’s daily routines had been affected. An obvious one will be prayer time during Dhuhr.
Students no longer perform their Salah in the mosque. Instead, it is done in the individual classrooms. The religion department chose the Imam and Muathin for each class and they were trained accordingly so that they can learn to lead the prayer for their individual classes properly.
The year 6 teachers had prepared work on online platforms such as Mathletics, Reading Eggspress and MyOn for students to continue learning from home. We also upload lesson resources which are used in the classrooms onto Teams everyday so that students can gain access to learning from home should the need arises.
While many factors outside the classroom are beyond the control of the Year 6 teachers, it is in our best interest to ensure that learning still takes place in each of our classrooms. As WA tries to transit from a Pandemic era to an Endemic one, the Year 6 teachers will do our best to give our Year 6 students the support they will need to transit from primary school to high school. A feat that we will achieve with the help and support of all the partners of our children’s education, Inshaa Allah.
High School
High School Language Department
This term the high school students have maintained their Arabic Language subject studies despite the impact of COVID. We have utilised Microsoft Teams to ensure we maintained a virtual class environment for the students isolating at home. The students also used Education Perfect both at home and at school while guided by the teacher . They thoroughly enjoyed the activities on Education Perfect and connecting with each other with regards to the activities on the program.
High School Digital Technologies Department
We have offered coding lessons to our high school students through the use of Code Avengers. Our students have learned the Python programming language while creating their own programs and individual coding sheets. They are assigned a series of lessons every term, which help them to develop their skills until they are confident enough to be able to apply their coding skills outside of the sandbox environment offered by Code Avengers.
Currently our Year 10s are working on a project where they will learn basic typography and graphic design skills. This will enable our students to apply their knowledge and understanding to develop their own digital designs.
Basketball Club
This term the basketball club has grown to 25 students, surpassing all other terms by far. The new year 7s of 2022 were super keen to join basketball club and have played with immense enthusiasm. We also have returning basketball club members who have made great progress. An example is Sami Omer from year 9 who was a bystander in previous terms to now being an all-out attacker and defender.
Most if not all students have progressed over time. We incorporated Mr. Jacob’s photography club to show students their shooting form which also gave the photography students an opportunity to practise on semi fast moving objects.
Due to covid cases as well as close contact rules, clubs were cancelled for a fortnight but are now back on. Students are working on their fitness as well as comradery and mental toughness. We hope to continue and progress even further Inshaa Allah. Once we have developed ourselves, we hope to verse other campuses and schools Inshaa Allah.
Sewing Club
Despite the many disruptions this term (due to Covid), students in the sewing club were engaged in learning how to thread cotton through a sewing needle and use knitting needles with wool for the first time. They have started their individual pieces with my assistance.
As you can see in the photograph, many students are learning basics about colours, how to use the needles efficiently and the overall basics of knitting. All members of the club are enjoying themselves this term and find it quite a relaxing activity.
I look forward to their completed pieces and we will display them for others to see In Shaa Allah.