News & Events - Al Faisal College

2011 UWS Scholarship from AFC

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -1100

We are pleased to inform our parents, that Ali Yaseen, a 2010 graduate from Al-Faisal College, has received a College of Business Dean’s Scholarship valued at up to $20,000 to study at the University of Western Sydney in 2011. Ali has also been successful in securing one of only 30 places in the UWS Aspire Future Leaders program.

Through a highly competitive application and interview process Ali proved to have a commitment to excellence, not only in academic pursuits but in leadership and community involvement, which has set him well above his peers. The Aspire Future Leaders program on which he is set to embark offers a number of opportunities through training and development programs to the build the professional skills and leadership capabilities that employers are increasingly seeking in graduates. Through the Aspire program we aim to instill in participants a sense of community engagement, commitment to excellence and an understanding of their role as future leaders.

UWS Scholarships not only provide recognition for the hard work and dedication of students throughout the high school years, but provide financial incentive for students to focus on their university studies.

We hope you will join us in congratulating Ali and communicating his achievements to the wider school community

Bandaged Bear

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -1100

This year, Al-Faisal College was proud to support The Westmead Children’s Hospital and their Bandaged Bear Fundraising Appeal. As part of this worthy cause, our school was fortunate enough to have Bandage Bear himself visit us on Friday the 12^th of March to meet our students.

Bandaged Bear paid a surprise visit to our morning assembly much to the excitement of our students. After the morning assembly, he also spent some of his time visiting classrooms, the Kindy – Year 2 weekly assembly and as you can see from the pictures, even spent some time answering some phone calls from the office much to the delight of our administration staff.

The Bandaged Bear Appeal at Al-Faisal College this year raised over $2000. The donations were raised through asking students for a gold coin donation during our Harmony Day activities and through the purchasing of the great merchandise supplied by the Hospital. I bought a Bandaged Bear pen and notepad for myself.

Donations collected from the appeal will be used to care for over 60,000 sick children and their families that visit the Hospital each year. The donations will also fund research into childhood illness, the purchase of high-tech equipment and the provision of extra services for children and families. All donations Al-Faisal collected will contribute towards the world-class standard of care at The Children's Hospital at Westmead and the healing environment where fun and laughter line the road to recovery.

On behalf of the school, thank you Bandaged Bear for visiting our school. As Muslims we have a responsibility to care for those in need so we hope that our school’s donation will go a long way in helping many children and their families in our community.

Primary School Presntation Day 2009

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -1100

On Wednesday 25 November students from K-6 participated in the annual presentation day at Al-Faisal College. It was a wonderful day. Many parents attended the ceremony to witness their children being acknowledged and congratulated for their efforts.

The chief guest His Worship Councilor Hicham Zraika, Mayor Auburn City Council congratulated the school on its achievements. Other guests included Councillor Jack Au, Councillor Malika Michaels, Mr. Bassel Taman, representing - Consulate General of the Arab Republic of Egypt-Australia, Mr. Reggie Singh, representing - Consulate General of the United States of America, Mr. Kiki Tjahyo, representing - Consulate-General of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Brett Henderson, Superintendent Commander of Auburn Police, Mr. Michael Carr, Deputy Executive Director - Association of Independent Schools NSW, Mrs Mona Abdel Fattah, Principal – Australian Islamic Academy, Mr Michael Rizik, Chairman of the Australian and Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Anwar Harb, Editor in Chief – Annahar Newspaper, Mr. Ahmad Salim, Manager of Annahar Newspaper, Mr. Antoine Kazzi, Editor in Chief – El Telegraph Newspaper, Mr. Joe Khoury Editor in Chief - Future Newspaper.

On this distinguished day students were presented with certificates, banners, trophies and medals in recognition of their achievements.. Also, this was the first year students received sports track suits donated by Mr Farid Zaman of FAZ Uniforms. Students in Grade 6 were awarded scholarships for 2010.

Kindergarten, Grade 2, Grade 4, Grade 5 and Grade 6 students entertained the audience with their English and Arabic performances.

The Dux 2009 was awarded to Mustafa Muhana of year 6. He received a trophy and a full year’s scholarship.

We would like to thank all the guests, parents and families who attended the presentation day.

We would also like to thank Mr Shafiq Khan the Managing Director and Mrs Ghazwa Adra Khan the Principal for their dedication and commitment in the running of Al-Faisal College.

Insightful words from Mrs Adra Khan, Mr Hicham Zraika, and gleaming faces of young achievers, proud parents and cheerful supporters made this day a great success.

We congratulate our students and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

Last but not the least we would like to thank all the teaching and non teaching staff for their hard work. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Climate Change National Schools Competition Winner

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -1100

Climate Change National Schools Competition

In April, 2009 all schools were sent an invitation encouraging students to participate in a new national competition to show Australia what they think about climate change. The competition encouraged students to use their creative talents and express their thoughts, with main focus ‘what does climate change mean to them’.

To develop our students’ awareness of environmental issues, all students from year 3 – 6 were encouraged to participate. We received many entries which were sent to be judged. Younis Menkara from year 4 achieved a Highly Commended award for his entry.

Mrs. Khan, the school principal, delivered the following speech in the presence of Mr Ferguson, who presented Younis with his award at a special school assembly.

"In the name of Allah the most gracious the most merciful.

The Hon. Laurie Ferguson, Federal Member for Reid and Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services.
The Hon. Barbara Perry , Minister for Local Government, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Mental Health and Cancer)
Mr John Burgess – General Manager for Auburn City Council
New Liaison Officer of Auburn Police
Mr Anwar Harb – Chief Editor of An Nahar Newspaper
Mr Antoine Kazzi - Chief Editor of the Arabic El-Telegraph Newspaper
Mr Joe Khoury - Chief Editor of the Future Newspaper
Distinguished guests
Parents, members of Al-Faisal College Staff and our delightful students.

Peace be Upon you.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all on behalf of the Chairman of the Board of Al-Faisal College, Managing Director, staff and students.

We are gathering here today to celebrate, acknowledge, encourage and reward our hard working students for there great efforts, achievements and performances.

Our role at Al Faisal College is not only to educate young people but also to equip them with skills, knowledge and values. Our intention of educating our students is to prepare them to become effective and responsible citizens in the Australian society, taking into account of moral, ethical, spiritual and social considerations and to promote a fair and just society that values diversity.

In April this year, Mr. Ferguson wrote to us inviting our school and encouraging our students to participate in a new national competition to show Australia what they think about Climate Change. The competition expected students to use their creative talents and express their thoughts about what does climate change mean to them.

To develop our students' awareness of environmental issues, all students from years 3 to 6 participated in the competition. We are very proud to announce that Younis Menkara from Year 4 received the Highly Commended Award for his entry. Congratulations Younis for your great performance. It is a pleasure and honour for Al-Faisal College to have Mr. Ferguson here to present the Award to Younis.

Many thanks to Mr. Ferguson for devoting his time to attend this assembly. Mr Ferguson has always been a great supporter to our school and attended many occasions and functions to share with our students their happiness and joy.

Al-Faisal College students have participated in many events, I would like to mention some of them.

For Mathletics Program – After successful participation in the Mathletics program in 2008, we ranked in the top 8 schools in the national competition and we were featured on the WB kids program on Chanel 9. The participating classes won free subscription for the program for their efforts for the rest of the year.

This year one of our students Ammar Khan in Year 5 won a medallion during World Maths Day for coming 3^{rd in Australia.}

In May the Titans NRL Teams conducted a Mathletics Challenge in which students across Australia competed. We ranked as the top school, and Muhammad Yaseen from year 5 went to Queensland with his mother and Mrs. Ghannoum our Primary Deputy Principal, and competed against other students from across Australia. He managed to secure the first position. Our school was the overall champion school in Australia. Our years 5 and 6 classes ranked the First, Second and third position, which was a fabulous achievement.

During Literacy and Numeracy week, our students secured special recognition after ranking the top 3 for each section in the competition.

For environmental issues - our SRC students have taken an active role and participated in the Waste Watchers program and Clean Up Australia Day. Their efforts were recognised by Auburn City Council. As we won the School Environmental Award and the Waste Reduction Award.

Our hard work and commitment to environmental issues still continue, as 6 of our SRC students will be able to participate in the Henry Parkes Primary Schools Citizenship Conventions.

On the 9th of November at NSW Parliament House students from various schools will meet to discuss the theme, looking to the future. How can young people in a democracy help our society make better choices and find better solutions.

Last year we had a large number of students who participated in the Premier's Reading Challenge. Many of them achieved gold certificates and 4 boys from year 5 were invited to attend the celebration where they had the opportunity to meet the NSW Premier, The Hon Nathan Rees and the Minister for Education The Hon. Verity Firth, other diplomats, ambassadors and Authors.

It is also pleasing to see many of our students using public libraries during the holidays and several children have received special recognition for completing summer reading programs.

For sports - our year 6 boys football team, made it to the grand final and they were runners up in the Terry Lamb Competition. Next week the students will have another opportunity to participate in the mixed boys and girls OZ Tag competition. The school has also nominated the team for Auburn Council Sport Award. In previous years individual students received highly commended awards.

Our students are encouraged to participate in Public Speaking Competitions in Arabic and English.

Community leaders and representatives are also invited to talk to our students. Constable Julie Jones, Youth Officer in Auburn Police visited our school to address students in the Primary and high school.

The fire brigade officers visited our year 2 students and spent time with them.

For charity and donations, our students are encouraged to become involved in the community events. During the Victorian Bush Fire Appeal our school raised $5000 and sent it to the Red Cross to people affected by the bush fire. We received a letter from the Prime Minister, the Hon. Kevin Rudd expressing his appreciation and thanks for our donation.

Also our school supports the Heart Foundation, Diabetics and Cancer Foundations by sending our donations to these organisations. Last year, 2 students from our school in Kindergarten and Year 3 were able to collect and raise $7000 for the Cancer Foundation. These students received an Award from Auburn Review at a ceremony in the presence of the Hon. Barbara Perry.

We also supported the MS Society by encouraging students to participate in the MS Readathon. One of our students participated in the MS Mega Swim.

For Academic achievements, Last week we received our NAPLAN Test results for years 3, 5, 7, 9. The results were pleasing and our students also participated in the competitions run by the University of New South Wales for English, Maths, Science and Spelling.

Students in the primary and High School participated in the Young Leaders Programs run by the NSW commission for children and young people where they had the opportunity to meet other students from different schools.

Finally, I would like to thank the Hon. Laurie Ferguson for attending our assembly today. I would like to express our gratefulness to the Australian Government and the Prime Minister for the great support we have received.

Our thanks to Auburn City Council for their co-operation and assistance.

Thanks to our member of parliament Mrs. Barbara Perry, Auburn Police and Auburn Library.

Special thanks to our distinguished guests, School Board, Managing Director, parents, staff and students of Al Faisal College.

Last but not least many thanks to our Deputy Principals, coordinators, members of staff and students who organized this assembly.

May Allah Bless You and bless Australia.

I wish you all the best."

Al Faisal College Champion of 2009 Primary Titans Mathletics

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -1100

Congratulation to the following who won in the Mathletics competition sponsored by the Titans NRL Team. 95,000 students participated Australia wide.

2009 Primary School Mathletics Champion

Al Faisal College

Top 3 Classes - Australia Wide

1st - 5 Green

2nd - 5 Emerald

3rd - 6 Royal

Top 3 Primary Students - Australia Wide

Ryan B at Miami State School - 312,944

Kaya G at The Southport School - 242,537

Zahab M at Al Faisal College - 215,775

Top 4 Primary Schools - Australia Wide

Al Faisal College - 31,611 per student

Highgate Primary School - 17,218 per student

North Kalgoorlie Primary School - 12,175 per student

Marist College - 10,608 per student

We are extremely delighted to announce that Al Faisal College has won the 2009 Primasry Schools Titans Mathletics Championship, following the final live Mathletics Game that Mohammed Yaseen of 5G played, representing our school at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, on Monday 8th of June

against 3 other schools from around Australia.

Mohammed Yaseen of 5G was chosen to represent Al Faisal College at this event because of his speed and accuracy in mental maths calculations as well as his fast typing skills.

Mohammed flew to Queensland on Monday morning, accompanied by his mother and Mrs. Ghannoum, to play the final live Mathletics Game to decide the overall winner. The flight and accommodation were sponsored by the Gold Coast Titans NRL Team.

Alhamdulillah, Mohammed out performed all other 3 players scoring 59 points within one minute and brought fame to Al Faisal College. The school received a trophy of congratulations.

On behalf of Al Faisal College staff and parents, we would like to congratulate Mohammed Yaseen for his excellent efforts and wish him all the best for his future!

Last but not least, we would like to congratulate and thank all students and teachers who worked tirelessly to achieve this success!

The Mathletics Challenge not only stimulated our minds with the quick maths questions, but also provided the opportunity to meet other students from around Australia.

Al Faisal College in the World Maths Day

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -1100

Our students are rated 5th out of about one thousand schools and got the opportunity to play against the top 8 schools in Australia.

Al Faisal College has been a part of a global celebration of numbers as children from across the world united in their quest to set a world record in answering mental arithmetic questions to celebrate World Maths Day on 5th March 2008.

World Maths day involved students from all over the world playing live against each other in real- time battles of mental arithmetic. About 380 students from years 3-6 participated in this event. The two winning classes were 6 Blue and 4Aqua. These 2 classes won continued access to Mathletics license free for the rest of the year. And all participants received World Maths Day Participation Certificates.

As part of our Literacy and Numeracy week in August 2008, our students took part in the Maths and Spelling Challenge (hosted by Mathletics).During this challenge students from classes 4A, 5G, 6B, 5E, 4T, 5C, 3Y, 6R and 6S won continued access to Mathletics and Spellodrome until the end of 2008.

Having access to Playing Live Mathletics and Spellodrome, students from years 3-6 improved in their mental maths and spelling skills dramatically. Depending on students’ correct numbers of answers and scores Al –Faisal College was rated 5th over a thousand schools.

Being on the 5th. place, our school got the opportunity to play live Mathletics against the top 8 schools that took part in the Maths and Spelling Challenge. This was a very memorable event, having the Channel 9 TV Crew and the “Kids WB” hosts coming to school to film the top 20 scorers from the school competing against the 7 schools on 25th September 2008.

Our top scorer in this competition was Aisha Mahmood from 6B who won the “Kids WB” Trophy scoring 813 points. Aisha missed out from only one point to get into the finals to have been chosen to go to Melbourne. However, it was a fantastic achievement by all our participants. Most of all, the whole school community had fun watching our school appearing on TV, channel 9 “Kids WB Show”.

K-6 Reading Challenge Gold Certificates

Mon, 27 Apr 1998 00:00:00 -1100

Al Faisal College four students from the primary school who received their gold certificates for the Premier’s Reading Challenge.

This year Premier’s Reading Challenge was very successful having 385 students read for the challenge from K-6. Out of these students 28 received Gold Certificates from the Premier for their commitment of reading for the challenge for the last 4 years.

Our students were lucky enough to have been invited to the Premier’s Reading Challenge Reception held at the Parramatta Riverside Theatre in December 2008.

Students had the opportunity to meet the Premier Hon. Nathan Rees, Minister for Education and Training, Verity Firth and authors, illustrators and other celebrities. They returned back with lots of goodies and ere very impressed.

Again this year, students from K-6 will participate in the Challenge Reading in a great way to develop literacy skills.

Please support your child and be beside them all the time for greater achievement. And if you have any enquiries, see your child’s classroom teacher.