Updates for the week of Apr. 21, 2024

Hadith: “The world is beautiful and verdant, and verily God, be He exalted, has made you His stewards in it, and He sees how you acquit yourselves.” (Muslim)

Welcome to Sunday School News . 

🗳️ Apr. 21st: Principal Nomination Forms. Printed nomination forms will be available for parents to fill out. All results are secure and will only be visible to the PTO Chair, Br. Abdullah, and the nomination committee. 

🌎Apr. 22nd: Earth Day! We will be talking to students about our responsibilities as Muslims and stewards towards the earth and giving out seed packets for students to plant at home. In Sha Allah. 

 🕌 Apr. 28th: Theology Department Event
          Theology students will be engaged in various activities during their class times. The theme is “We Love Allah”. Please see attached flyer.

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Registrar Hours
Br. Abubakr is available to help with any technical or registration queries. Please see attached flyer.

Student Attire 
Parents, please note: we will call parents to pick up students or drop off proper attire if the students arrive in inappropriate clothing. We have had students show up in slippers and such. Please refer to the handbook for the policy on student attire.
We are in between seasons, so please make sure your students are dressed warm and wearing gym shoes and clean socks. 

Absences
If your student will be absent, please contact their teachers to inform them and resolve any schoolwork issues. You should know your student’s Seerah, Theology, Tajweed, and Quran teachers and their contacts. If you are unsure, please contact Admin. 

Tardiness
We are still seeing a significant number of students arriving late. Parents must make every attempt to get students to school on time so we can make announcements about upcoming programs and expectations from our students and families.  Students are expected to arrive at 10am in the gym. First-period classes start at 10:15am.

Electronics
Parents, please note that due to recent incidents involving illegal photographing and videotaping of students, we will be enforcing a “no-phone” policy. Phones are not allowed to be used during school hours unless for classroom instruction. Violations will result in the electronics being confiscated until the end of the day. 

Again, we must remind parents that students cannot bring electronics to school (i.e.: Switch games, etc.)

Being prepared with essentials
For students to be successful, they must be equipped with the proper tools, such as pencils and notebooks. It is unfortunate how many of our students come to school with nothing. When it is time to write notes, they scramble for pencils and paper. As with public school students, please have your students come to school with pencils and notebooks. 

Parking Lot Safety
Unfortunately, we have recently seen a number of near-misses in the parking lot because parents are speeding and not paying attention. We must remind everyone to follow proper protocol for dropping off and picking up students. Do not speed. Pay attention and slow down. Come to a complete stop when dropping off or picking up students. When parking your car, be mindful of who and what is around you. Show some patience. 

Google Classroom
A substantial number of students have not yet accepted their Google Classroom invites. Not doing so will prevent them from participating in Google Classroom, the main communication mode for teachers. All school work, homework, and information is posted there. Please have your students log in to their Google school accounts and accept the invites so that they may be updated. 
For all Google Classroom issues, please contact Br. Abubakr Alaidroos abubakr.alaidroos@mecsundayschool.org. 

Charity
As you all are aware, the situation in Gaza is substantially getting worse. Please consider giving your charitable donations to our partners at Helping Hand Chicago. We are partnering with Helping Hands Chicago to provide relief funds for the following:
Palestine https://hhrd.org/MEC4Palestine

Snacks
Students are provided pizza for snacks. If your student requires additional snacks, please send nutritious options from home. Students are not allowed to share snacks due to food allergies in a portion of our student body. The vending machine is off-limits to students. 
A number of students are eating pizza despite having food allergies. Parents, please be mindful of your student’s dietary needs. If they cannot eat pizza send a nutritious alternative from home.

Phone and Electronic Devices  Reminder please do not bring electronic games or devices. They will be confiscated till the end of the day. 
We have had a number of incidents where students have used phones during their school day. Phones are not allowed unless specially required for a class assignment or project. If a student is using their phone without permission, it will be confiscated for the duration of the school day, and they will need to retrieve it from the office. Repeated offenses will result in detention. We have also had students bringing in Switch devices and other electronics. These are not permitted during school hours. MEC Sunday School will not be liable for the loss or theft of any electronic device. Please have your students refrain from bringing in any such devices. 

Book Sales
The online MEC Sunday School bookstore is available for you to purchase your student’s book. The updated booklist is attached. Please use the following link:
https://secure-api.net/v/Go/bookstore

Reusable Water Bottles
We are slowly phasing out plastic water bottles and have limited quantities to encourage our students to use reusable water bottles. So please send a reusable water bottle with your, student. 

Jazak Allah Khairan,
Principal