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Our first year was Fall 2021, Alhamdulillah.
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The purpose of this Sunday School is to instill the love of Allah
SWT, the love of Prophet Muhammad SAW and the love of Islam.
Allah swt gave us choices in life. When you want guidance and you
make an effort to get that guidance, you’ve already earned the
pleasure of Allah swt. Just the fact that you are reading this page
means you are interested in possibly spending a portion of your
Sunday at the masjid, either yourself or your children or both.
Teaching our children to love our beautiful religion and to live by it
is the best gift we can give them. Allah SWT loves us and He wants
us to choose to love Him. If you love someone, you want them to
be happy and if you want them to be happy, you do what makes
them happy and therefore it makes you happy. Allah wants us to
worship Him out of our love and awe for Him. We can only do this
once we learn about Our Creator in order to understand what
pleases Him. We learn to show gratitude for all the countless
blessings we have and we take our Prophet Muhammad SAW as
our example in life. Learning and connecting to the deen will
inshaAllah allow all of us, young and old to embody the deen.
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Our approach to “Sunday School” is not typical. Our sources, from
our books to our teachers follow traditional Islamic teachings, yet
at a level of the understanding of the children where the bottom
line is: Allah loves us. We do not compromise in teaching the
children. We will teach them in a gentle, kind, nurturing way but
will teach them the deen like it is. At the same time, they will learn
to be responsible for their actions and to be aware that there are
consequences for the choices we make in life.
We divide the curriculum into three subjects.
There are three main subjects: Quran, Arabic, and Islamic Studies.
Quran: proper recitation following rules of tajweed with qualified
and vetted teachers. We will also cover tafseer at the level of the
child.
Arabic: this is beginner level/intermediate level Arabic class that
helps students read and write in order to understand basic
vocabulary of the most commonly used words found in the Quran.
Islamic Studies: We use the An-Nasihah curriculum with course
books and workbooks at every level. This curriculum includes the
aqeedah/Islamic creed, the tenants of Islam, the Seerah/life of the
Prophet SAW, stories about all other prophets AS, ahadith, the
names/traits of Allah swt, akhlaq/good character, tarbiyah, and
much more. The course books and workbooks are colorful,
interactive, and fun for students. This curriculum builds with each
coursebook. Some students may be at a different level than
others. The levels in these classes will not necessarily be according
to the grade the child is in at school. We will try our best to keep
them all close in age and therefore may need to have smaller
groups with more teachers who can work with children
one-on-one if needed. Initially there may not be homework, but
afterwards there will be homework assignments and activities
that the children will be required to do. This is just to assure they
understand the material properly. Some assignments might be
projects or activities that will develop a healthy, spiritual routine
inshaAllah. Every month, we will also dedicate some time to have
open -ended discussions with the children if there are any
questions or topics they would like to discuss.
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From September until November 2022, the school timings runs
from 11:00am-2:00pm. Salatul Duhr at the masjid is part of the
curriculum and it is mandatory to pray prior to dismissal. After
daylight savings occurs, November 2022- May 2023, the time will
change to 10am-1:00pm as Salatul Duhr will be at 1:00pm.
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At this time, the school accepts students already enrolled in 1
st
grade up until 5
th grade. We are hoping to expand Sunday School
this year until 8
th grade inshaAllah. Updates to come. There is no
KG and we cannot make exceptions even if your child is a bit older
or at an accelerated pace in academics. You are welcome to put
your child on the waitlist if you are interested for the following
year.
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Currently we are giving preference to returning families. We also
have a waitlist that was started last year and those families will
then get preference to register. Afterwards, InshaAllah we will
open registration to the Tampa community. You can email the
school for more information or to be put on the waitlist if there is
no room:school@newtampamasjid.org. Registration forms and
payment links are sent via email.
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For the first child, the fee is $350, and any additional siblings get a
20% discount. This is a one-time fee for the entire academic year.
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We understand everyone is in a different financial situation, we
offer a 3-month payment plan for families who opt for the
installment plan. We advise you to please keep a track of your
payments and take a screenshot of it for your records. First
payment is due at the time of enrollment (August), second
payment is due no later than September 30th and the third payment is due no later than October 30th.
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If you have special circumstances, please reach out to the Sunday
School admin team. Depending on funds and if we have sponsors,
we may be able to provide partial financial assistance on a
case-by-case basis. However, this is not a guarantee.
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Please send a water bottle, a healthy snack, a backpack with a folder with some loose-leaf paper, a wide ruled composition notebook, a couple pencils and an eraser. Please do not send anything with nuts as some children at the school have allergies to nuts.
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All students should dress in modest clothing. Long sleeve shirt,
loose pants or a long skirt/dress. No tight pants/leggings please.
Please send girls with a headscarf as well. Recommended attire: thowb/abaya or shalwar kameez too if they would like.
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A successful learning experience requires the involvement of
parents both in-school and at home.
In the home, ask about what your child has learned, did they learn
something new? Your encouragement and positive reinforcement
will make a big difference. The best thing you can do for your
children is to actively be part of teaching them the deen. Please
do not solely rely on a few hours of Sunday School for deen. Pray
together at home, read the ahadith together, do dhikr and send
salawat together, eat together, etc.
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The school is based on volunteer efforts that benefit with your
involvement. This year we are requiring every parent to volunteer
a portion of their valuable time. The effort is minimal, each parent to volunteer at a minimum one Sunday out of the full school year.
For parents who have work commitments or are unable to volunteer their time, we ask if you can assist in other ways such as donating materials to the classroom (supplies for snacks, clean up,
monthly pizza parties).
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Volunteering involves minimal effort. As an example, this would
include setting up classrooms, cleaning up the classrooms,
assisting teachers in the classroom, managing sign in/sign out, etc.
As always, you are more than welcome to increase your
volunteering efforts based on your availability and skill set.
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We have WhatsApp groups and inshaAllah will send you the links
to join the main announcement only group as well as separate groups per class.
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First, we would ask why the child feels this way? Is the child being
forced to come? It’s very important to our Sunday School that
each child is there because he/she wants to be and is happy.
Initially, in any new environment, children may feel
uncomfortable. We will do our best to keep them motivated and
feel comfortable. This is an opportunity for them to stay
connected to the masjid and to also make new friends in an
Islamic environment. If there are behavior issues, we will discuss
with the child, parent and teachers and see what we can do to
help as a team.
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Unfortunately, no. The school is only for registered students.
Anyone who is not a registered student is not allowed to be in the
classes. If you wish to bring your other children, relatives, friend’s
children etc. to the masjid for Duhr salah, please be advised that
you are responsible for them. Our team is only responsible for the
children in our classes.
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Masjid rules are to respect the place of worship, observe
cleanliness, be properly covered, and either pray, recite Quran, or
do dhikr quietly until salah begins and to pray sunnah and
continue dhikr after salah ends before quietly getting ready for
dismissal.
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We are going to have classes in the old masjid (smaller building on
the front), not the new masjid. If we are pressed for more space,
we may have some classes at the new masjid building. Both arrival
and dismissal will require parental signatures.
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If your child is tardy more than twice a month, we will need to
have a meeting to discuss the reason. Please plan to bring your children to school ten minutes before start time. If Sunday School starts at 10:00am, your child needs to be here ideally at 9:50am.
Unexcused absences will also require a meeting. Please remember the curriculum builds with each Sunday and missing classes or showing up late does not only affect your child, but it also affects the class and the teacher’s pace of teaching.