Tarbiyah Academy Parent Newsletter
Updates, Information, and Reminders for our TA Families
September 28, 2021
Assalamu Alaikum Dear TA Parents and Families!
I hope that this finds all of our families well and in the best of conditions!
As we enter into our 2nd month of the academic year, I am so grateful and feel so blessed to be a part of this community, alhamdullilah. Collectively, alhamdullilah, we worked together to bring back some semblance of normalcy to our school community. This meant complying with new, unusual procedures and policies, as well as rethinking many aspects of our day-to-day functioning. I am very grateful, alhamdullilah, for our parents' support and understanding through this transition!
As you pray for yourselves, your families, and your children, please remember Tarbiyah Academy in your duaa and pray for our continued success! May Allah help us, protect us, accept from us, and guide us in all we do.
Please read ahead for lots of pertinent information at this time for our families. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions.
Thank you and jazakum Allahu khairun.
Hagar Aboubakr
Head of School
Extra Curricular Activities-Updates
Please note!! The time for ECAs is changing slightly to 4:15-5:15 (previously stated as 4:00-5:00). Also, ECAs are open to non-TA students as well, so remember to share with your local friends and family members.
Uniform Concerns
There have been lots of questions from our parents regarding the school uniform, especially related to boys' pants. We have always asked our families to purchase the pants from Dennis Uniform; this is not a new policy. Khaki pants can vary greatly from brand to brand in quality, color, and overall appearance, and what is considered "khaki" is also interpreted differently from person to person. For this reason, we ask that our families purchase the Dennis Uniform pants, only. With that said, if a family can not purchase the pants from Dennis Uniform due to financial strain or because Dennis Uniform is out of stock/back-ordered, our families may purchase pants of another brand such as from Macy's or French Toast. Please see an image below of what to look for when purchasing.
We understand Dennis Uniform is back-ordered on some other uniform pieces such as Friday ties and some shirts; in this case, please have your child wear similar items until orders arrive (not including the Friday tie).
COVID Safety and Procedures
I'd like to continue to remind our families of our COVID safety procedures. Please be reminded that students or staff members who are exhibiting any of the symptoms outlined below MUST stay home and in the meantime, have a PCR test conducted. Furthermore, we will send home any student who is exhibiting these symptoms during the school day.
Please do not be alarmed if a teacher is conducting your child's class remotely. This does not mean the teacher has tested positive for COVID. As mentioned, if a teacher is exhibiting any symptom from the list below (such as a sore throat, for example), that teacher will be asked to stay home and get tested. We will always notify our families and keep you abreast of pertinent information.
Symptoms:
- fever of 100.4 or higher
- sore throat
- cough
- difficulty breathing
- diarrhea or vomiting
- new onset of severe headache (especially with fever)
- new loss of taste or smell
There are several, important points to take note of:
- In the event that a child is sent home due to exhibiting one or more of the symptoms outlined above, we will guide families as to the next steps according to the individual case/circumstances.
- Remember to take your child's temperature before leaving for school each day, and screen your child for any symptoms before coming to school.
- Let us know immediately if your child or anyone in your immediate family has been exposed to someone with COVID.
- Let us know immediately of any traveling that has occurred among your family.
- For students who suffer from symptoms due to a preexisting condition such as asthma or migraine headaches, you may submit a note from the child's pediatrician indicating such, and that the child's symptoms are not COVID related.
- The same overall procedures will be followed for staff members who are exhibiting symptoms. In this case, staff members may teach remotely to students (through Zoom) while students are present in the school classroom with supervision.
- Students who miss school may use task descriptions in Managebac to stay abreast of lessons and missing tasks. Please reach out to individual teachers to learn how to submit tasks and missing assignments, and for any further instructions.
Lunch Purchase Options for Students
We continue to have lunch purchase options available to students Monday-Thursday. Cash will NOT be handled at this time when purchasing lunch. All purchases will be charged to parent TADS accounts.
**Please note that moving forward, we will charge families on a MONTHLY basis for lunch, snacks, and water. This is to avoid excessive processing fees on TADS.
Please see lunch options below.
Mondays/Wednesdays; provided by Flip’s Pizza
- Pizza by the slice - $2
- Mozzarella sticks (5 sticks) - $5
- Medium fries - $3
- Small garden salad - $5
- Grilled cheese sandwich with fries - $5
Tuesdays/Thursdays: provided by Columbia Café (thabiha options)
- Chicken burger with fries - $6
- Beef burger with fries - $6
- Chicken tenders (3 pcs) with fries - $6
- Chicken nuggets (6 pcs) with fries - $6
- Fries $2
In addition, snacks and bottled water are available for purchase on a daily basis for $1.
**Correction from the previous newsletter: We will NOT handle cash for snacks and bottled water. TADS accounts will also be charged for all snacks and bottled water on a monthly basis.
Snack options will include items such as crackers, raisins, popcorn, and fruit cups.
Release Form
Zero-Tolerance on Name Calling
Some children, out of habit, believe it is harmless to use words and phrases such as "stupid," "dumb," "shut-up," etc. We aim to create a culture of excellence, kindness, and caring here at our school and the presence of this language does not serve our mission or vision here at TA, which includes raising leaders and creating a space that is safe for everyone.
Please have this conversation with your child.
In the event that a child is using this language, he/she will be pulled aside to reflect on the behavior (using the reflection sheet) and to meet with a teacher to discuss the resolution. The reflection sheet will be uploaded to the child's behavior log and parents will be notified. If the behavior persists with an individual child, parents will be called for a meeting to discuss problem resolution strategies and potential reprecussions.
Overall, I don't expect this to be a big leap for our student body! Our young learners are especially kind and caring, alhamdullilah; this measure is more so to alleviate some isolated instances we've experienced and to prevent this from becoming a part of our school and student culture moving forward, insha Allah.
Slight Change in School Calendar
All other events/days off in the calendar will remain the same.
Socktober
Boxes will be set up in the front lobby for all collected items.
Family Country of Origin Survey
Managebac Support for Parents
Monday, Oct 4, 2021, 04:15 PM
Tarbiyah Academy, Business Parkway, Elkridge, MD, USA
Friends of Tarbiyah Academy (FTA)
- organizing new events for families, with the support of our Events Team
- working with the Events Team on TA events, including Staff Appreciation Week and social events
- working with teachers to arrange for guest speakers, experts, and in-house field trips
- coordinating and organizing volunteer opportunities for parents
- community outreach and community service
- supporting our students in community service and action
- locating potential resources for our school
- working with our Marketing Intern to capture images and video of our events
- engaging our parent community in creative ways
- supporting multilingualism efforts at TA
- ...and more!
If you are interested in the FTA and perhaps joining as a committee member, please reach out to me at hagaraboubakr@tarbiyahacademy.org. I look forward to insha Allah, reviving our FTA!
Learner Profile Attribute: Risk-Taker
Continue to have conversations with your child around courage and bravery, and help them in identifying ways they've stepped out of their own comfort zones and were Risk-Takers. Feel free to share examples with me as well! I'd love to recognize students for this in our morning assembly so that we may all learn from each other.
Upcoming Important Dates
October 8: First Grade Bake Sale
October 11-22: MAP Testing for all students, K-8
October 15: No School for Students; Professional Development Day for staff
October 17: Back to School Barbeque; 1:00-6:00;
Cedar Lane Park-East Pavilion
10725 Rt. 108 (directly across the street from DAT)
October 22: Raising Amazing Girls; Dads Event
October 23: Raising Amazing Girls Event
Previous Newsletters
September 12: https://www.smore.com/46sqe
August 30: https://www.smore.com/x61ph
August 22: https://www.smore.com/872u3
Hagar Aboubakr, Head of School
Email: hagaraboubakr@tarbiyahacademy.org
Website: www.tarbiyahacademy.com
Phone: (844) 827-2492
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TarbiyahAcademy/