CONTACT INFORMATION:
Saima Adnan (Homeroom, Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies): adnans@dupeoria.org
May Ghazawna (Qur'aan and Arabic): ghazawnam@dupeoria.org
Fatima Mubeen (Islamic Studies and Computers): fatimam@dupeoria.org
"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."
- Sydney J. Harris
By clicking on above, you can access the documents. If you issues opening the above documents, please email me at adnans@dupeoria.org. Thank you.
FEBRUARY Character of the Month:
HUMILITY
No one humbles himself for Allah except that Allah raises his status. (Muslim)
February 16—Presidents' Day, No School
February 16—Presidents' Day, No School
February 18/19—Ramadhan 2026 Begins (Tentative)
March 13—End of 3rd Quarter
March 16-20—Eid Break
Please refer to the school website dupeoria.org and the weekly Friday email sent by school for more detailed information regarding upcoming events.
IMAM MAZHAR'S VISIT:
Jazakallah Kahirun to Imam Mazhar for making time in his busy schedule and visiting us on Friday. He talked to the third graders about Ramadan especially from their point of view. He emphasized things that they needed to be focusing on to make this their best Ramadan yet. The students had submitted their questions a couple of days earlier. Imam Mazhar answered those questions. His visit was a wonderful reminder about the importance of Ramadan and how we need to prepare and be ready for it.
WEEKLY REMINDER EMAILS:
Please see the Weekly Reminder Emails sent by DU office for details on the following topics:
No School: President's Day - Monday, Feb 16
2026 Ramadan Schedule
The Whirlwind is Back!
New Ramadan Tradition: Thawb & Abaya Fridays!
Free Uniform Day Dress Code Policy
Engineering Day at the Riverfront Museum
Materials Engineering Camp for High School Students
Reporting Absence
Late Pick-up
If you are not receiving DU Weekly Reminder Emails, please contact the office immediately so you can be added and thus remain updated. I will now only be posting 3rd graded related details that are not mentioned in the school email to parents.
2026 RAMADAN SCHEDULE
The revised school hours for students will be from 7:55 AM to 2:30 PM with dismissal until 2:45PM. Student drop-off will begin at 7:30AM and continue thereafter. From Daarul Uloom Family: We extend our heartfelt duas to you and your family. May Allah [Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala] accept all our acts or worship in this Holiest of Months.
STUDENT EID GIFT EXCHANGE: DETAILS AND GUIDELINES
In celebration of Eid, we are pleased to organize a student gift exchange on Thursday, March 26.
Gift Exchange Format and Criteria
• Gifts will be exchanged anonymously, with boys exchanging with boys and girls exchanging with girls.
• Each gift must fall within the $15 to $20 range. This budget ensures fairness and inclusivity. The stated limit should not be exceeded.
• Please avoid overly personal items such as clothing, perfume, or jewelry.
• All gifts must be school appropriate and age appropriate.
• Items that promote violence, inappropriate language, or unsafe materials are not permitted.
• Food items are not allowed due to allergy considerations.
• Gifts should be thoughtful and respectful of cultural and religious values.
Gift Wrapping and Submission
• Gifts must be placed in a gift bag and NOT wrapped.
• The student’s name (the giver) should be clearly labeled on a piece of paper and placed inside the bag.
• The administration or homeroom teacher will review each gift to ensure it meets the stated criteria.
• All gifts must be submitted to the homeroom teacher no later than March 2.
Gift Assignment Process
• Students will be assigned a number at random by their teacher.
• Each student will receive the gift corresponding to their assigned number.
CHRONIC TARDIES
I have some students who are coming in late to school pretty much everyday. What might be a 5 minute tardy to you, please consider that time it would take for the student to get to the class from the time you dropped them off, then they have to unpack and put away things before they are settled and ready for class. So you are looking at additional 5 - 10 minutes of lost class time. Total 10-15 minutes of lost class time. The school assembly starts at 7:45. We are in the classroom at 8. In the morning assembly, after morning recitations and Adkar, some important school based information is shared. Once we are in the room, at the very beginning of the class, I share important information. For example, this Friday I went over what to expect during spelling bee. Some rules and expectations were clarified. Six tardies are considered 1 day of unexcused absence. Some students were not on honor roll list due to their excessive tardies and absences. Please let's make an effort to be here on time. Jazakallah Khairun for your support.
ROOM PARENT NEEDED
I am looking for a room parent for 3rd grade to help organize the following:
3rd grade Bake Sale in April (This will be 2nd and 3rd grade bake sale)
End of School Year Picnic (during the last week of school)
The main duty of the room parent is to contact other 3rd grade parents and help organize the logistics and other details for the above mentioned events. This can be done from home. Yes, you can get volunteer hours for this. Please email me you would like to sign up for this or if you have any questions. Even if it is your first time doing this, I have found that 3rd grade parents are simply amazing in their support and sharing their experience.
Jazakallah Khairun for your support.
PLASTIC ZIPLOCK BAGS
When the students are unable to finish their snack, they ask me for a zip lock bag. I ask the students to leave the zip lock bags in their lunch bags for future use. Same goes for the zip lock bags in which the students bring money for bake sales. I ask them to store them in their lunch bags for future use. This is to teach the students not to waste and to reuse items whenever possible. Your support and continued teaching at home would be greatly appreciated.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
Recently there has been an increase in uniform policy violations, particularly among our boys, and we want to kindly remind all families of the school's dress code to ensure a focused and cohesive learning environment.
Key Uniform Guidelines
Please ensure your child adheres to the following:
Non-PE Days: Track pants and joggers are not permitted for any student.
Elementary Girls: Must wear the navy-blue jumper with a light blue shirt underneath.
Cold Weather Attire (Colder Weather):
Elementary students and Middle School Boys are only to wear a navy-blue sweatshirt in the classroom.
Middle School Girls are to wear a black sweatshirt over their abayas.
Coats and Jackets:
Coats are not permitted in the classroom unless there is a confirmed issue with the HVAC system.
Elementary students should hang their coats in the cubbies outside their classrooms.
Middle and High School students should store their coats in their lockers.
Your support in reinforcing these guidelines at home is greatly appreciated. Consistent adherence to the uniform policy helps maintain a positive and respectful learning atmosphere for all students. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office. Thank you for your cooperation!
COLD GEAR
With the shift to cooler temperatures, please remember to send your child to school dressed appropriately for the weather. It is essential that they dress in layers each day. This allows them to stay warm during outdoor activities and easily adjust their clothing as the temperature changes throughout the school day. Please ensure your child brings a jacket daily. Also, a specific reminder: all students should bring their navy-blue sweater with them every day. Thank you for your cooperation in helping us keep our students warm and comfortable. PLEASE LABEL ALL HOODIES, CARDIGANS, JACKETS, GLOVES, HATS, AND HIJABS WITH YOUR STUDENT'S NAME. Our Lost and Found keeps increasing because students can't identify their belongings. Please check Lost and Found on regular basis.
WUDU AND SALAH
We pray Dhuhr in school everyday. I need your help in this:
Please make sure that your student makes Wudu in the morning and then puts on socks after drying their feet. I have already reviewed the steps of Wudu in class and how to do masah (wiping over socks) especially in school. Your help and support in review and reinforcement would be greatly appreciated. The students do not have time to take their socks off to make Wudu, then dry their feet and put on socks. The students use the restrooms that are attached to the gym ONLY when they have recess. The restrooms in the school wing do not have sit-down Wudu making area like the gym ones.
Please continue to review salah at home. We do go over it in school regularly. Any areas that we see that the students are struggling in, we reteach.
The students were amazing during this Friday prayers. The boys who prayed in the men's musallah area got complimented by Ms. Saba Fatima. She supervises the boys during Salah. The girls were upstairs with me. We have 5 minutes discussion about the Khutbah after we came back to class. The discussion focusses on things they learned or remembered that were mentioned in the Khutbah. We did this the first Friday in school, and this last Friday the students couldn't wait to be back in class and share. I am glad to report that they were really paying attention, and some remembered points from previous one.
BLUE FOLDERS
The blue folders with the graded work be sent home on Mondays. Regular classroom work is to be kept at home, whereas quizzes and tests (or anything marked "please sign and return') are to be sent back with your signature on them. Please make sure that the folders are returned by Friday or following Monday at the latest. I can not send papers home without the folders. Email me if you have any questions about any paper sent home.
In class, we follow the procedure for class corrections. The students for do their work in pencil, and then later we review together. This is when the students use the blue pens. They can correct any mistakes they made or complete questions they didn't do. Sometimes, I may even ask them to do one or two things extra as a review. As long as the students have corrected and finished their work, I do not take any points. If there are spelling mistakes, missing additional work I asked, or missing corrections, I take points off. They can see my work displayed on the Smartboard. So when you see classwork with work done in blue by your student, that is them doing corrections. This practice gives us an idea of what the students actually know without them worrying about the grade.
VOLUNTEERING
Junior Achievement is one of those programs that 3rd graders love and look forward to. I am looking forward to a volunteer to lead this. All the materials are provided for. 5-6 sessions by the first week of December. We can work out a schedule that is convenient to you.
ROOM PARENT: Looking for someone to take this position. Their main job is to co-ordinate with other parents and organize events. During the school year, 3rd grade ha sthree main events: 2 semester parties and 1 bake sale.
AT HOME VOLUNTEERING: If you are looking for volunteering work that you can do at home, please let me know.
GUEST READERS/ ARTS AND CRAFTS: If you would like to come and read to the class or come teach art or craft, please let me know. We would love to have you.
Also, join the DU PTO! Their support make many things possible in school.
EARLY PICK-UP
If you need to pick-up your student early, I request you to please let me know if possible a day before or early in the morning the day of. I do not check my email at all when I am in the class. That time is for the students only. When I know in advance, I can make sure that your student is prepared and ready to go. Your support in this is greatly appreciated. Jazakullah Khairun.
DAILY PLANNER
On Friday, your student should have come home with a notebook marked as DAILY PLANNER. This is for every day communication. It is also help the students become more organized and independent when it comes to school. I would appreciate it if parents took a few minutes to check it everyday. Your initials would tell me that you reviewed the information sent home. More will be explained on "Back to School" Night.
LIABILITY WAIVER FORM
If you haven't yet signed liability waiver form for your student, please let me know. I can send the form home. It is one form per family.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Jazakallah Khairun for sending in the school supplies. Only the following school supplies are collected for community use in 3rd grade:
copy paper
Kleenex boxes/ Tissue boxes
Wipes
Pencils
The rest of the supplies are kept by the students for their own use. Each student has desk space and a drawer to store their immediate use. Extra supplies are kept in storage which they have access to should they need them. If later in the year, your student comes to you that they are running short on something, please note that your student was the only one to use them. Glue sticks are often the things many students run short of. If you want to take advantage of the ongoing clearance sales right now, I would highly encourage you to do so. I have already stocked up on this as back up supply.
WEEKLY QUESTION:
Dear 3rd Graders,
Do you want to earn an extra planner point? Click on the linked date below and answer the question(s) correctly. The question must be correctly answered by 8p.m. of Monday, February 16, 2025.