Principal's Corner
Greetings, Kindi Families!
Our children are kind. And for the most part, they know right from wrong. As humans we live in a state of “constant work in progress”. We can all learn to be kinder, more compassionate, and more thoughtful. And like most things, kindness is a quality that children learn over time and through practice.There are many things we can do as parents and as educators to encourage our child to be a kinder, gentler person.
I ask that you work with us in gauging our child’s level of empathy towards others. Do they have the ability to understand another person's feelings? If you, as a parent, don’t know the answer to this question, then know that you have some homework to do. You should know the answer to this essential question. Start your homework immediately. Listen to obvious cues for signs of kindness and empathy. Is your child gentle with other children? Is he/she generous? Does your child go out of his/her way to help others? If they are not exhibiting such behavior follow some of the following strategies:
- Start by believing that your child is capable of being kind. Tell them that often and they, too, will believe it.
- Always Model positive action. What you do and say is critical; let your child catch you, often, in acts of kindness.
- Treat your child with respect. You can only give respect if you get respect.
- Coach your child to pay attention to people's facial expressions. Let them notice people around them who maybe sad, distressed, worried...
- Let your child know often that how they treat others matters to you greatly. Other people’s wellbeing is important to you, and should be important to your child.
- Don't let rudeness pass.Voice your concern to your child when you encounter rude behavior in society.
- Acknowledge kindness wherever you see it.
- Be sensitive to messages that your child picks up from the media. Media has infiltrated all of our lives and we cannot pretend that it does not impact our children. IT DOES!
- Explain that calling someone names or excluding them from play (during school time or outside of school) can be as hurtful as hitting.
- Show your child how to help people in need. Give generously. Volunteer with passion. And serve others from your heart.
- Be patient with your little one. Learning anything is a process.
We would like to thank our very knowledgeable and compassionate guest speaker Mr. Cesar Garcia for visiting our 6th-8th grade students and talking to them about identity, character, and self confidence. Thank you and your lovely wife Mrs. Lamia Garcia for your constant support.
Our Student Council students choose their first mission to be one of giving and kindness. They took the time to deliver your coat drive donations to a deserving organization, and they made me so proud. A special shout out goes to Noor A’Rafat, Nusaybah Ali, Aliha Ali, Raisa Bhuiyan, and Sufi Siddiqui who represented Kindi Academy with such grace and compassion. And a thank you to Ms. Kathleen for accompanying the girls on this special trip. Can’t wait to see what other projects Student Council has in store for all of Us.
Announcements
We are beyond excited to announce the start of our first girls Volleyball team. We are even more excited that our own Ms. Neiman is coaching our girls. We want to thank Mrs. Aamina Ahmed (Sakeena Ahmed -6th grade and Yusuf Ahmed -4th grade mom), for supporting us in this endeavor.
Finally, our 3-6 classroom welcomed a new member to the family this month. Ms. Terri Doran has over 10 years experience working with children Toddler-6 years old in Montessori environments. She is a wonderful asset to our new program.
Rania Sadeq, Ed.D
Kindi Academy, Principal
Our 3-6 Class Updates!
Our month of November ended with a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. The children had fun making Indian and Pilgrim hats for the feast. We want to thank all the parents who volunteered their time to help us with the Thanksgiving Basket and the Thanksgiving lunch and craft.
December is the festive month where we talk about different festivals that are celebrated around the world. We will read about Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas.
We have introduced healthy and unhealthy foods. We are learning which foods are good for our body to grow and keep us healthy. Further, the four food groups will be discussed and help children understand which foods are important for our body. Along with the healthy foods, we are also looking at our important body parts – brain, heart, muscles and bones and their function.
This month,we look forward to seeing everyone for our wonderful winter celebration.
NEWS FROM OUR 6-9 CLASS
We had fun making food baskets for the less fortunate families in DuPage County last month. Thanks for your generous food and monetary donation. Our children thoroughly enjoyed decorating the baskets. They were very proud of their contribution. Kindi Academy was able to provide food baskets for more than twenty families in the DuPage County area!!!!
Our first year students worked on Native American tribe research and presented their research to the second and third year students. We were very impressed with their hard work. In Botany and Zoology, they are working on Parts of a Root and Parts of an Amphibian. In Math, the students are using Stamp Game to solve dynamic addition and subtraction problems. In History and Geography, the students are working on Fundamental Needs of People-Shelter. This month, in Language, the students will be starting Noun study.
The second year students worked on and presented dioramas for a Native American tribe of their choice. We were very impressed with all the hard work the students put into their diorama and research paper. In Language, the second years are working on pronoun grammar boxes. We have started working on two digit divisor in Stamp Game Division, times tables 5 and Checkerboard in Math. In Geography, the students are working on Advanced Landforms and study of Planet Mars.
The third year students are busy finishing up their Timeline of Life and Characteristics of a Vertebrate note cards and timeline. In Language, they are working on sentence analysis. The third years are enjoying fractions and long division using the Test Tube material. Also, the students are working on Complementary and Supplementary angles, area and perimeter and LCM in Math and Geometry.
News from our 4th & 5th Graders
The Upper Elementary class finished up their second round of novels in November with a Native American theme. The class chose between The Sign of the Beaver, In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, and The Birchbark House. We are currently editing our letters to the authors as our final projects.
The AR Book Contest began this month! We are tracking the books we are reading in our free time on a monthly basis. Prizes will be awarded to top readers.
Fourth grade science students have been busy learning what the engineering process is. Experiments have included building and testing a tool that could be used to help us do work and designing a crash safety device for an egg transportation system.
Social studies in fourth grade included the use of educational boxes on loan from the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University. The class created fossils from molds and learned about the Native peoples that lived in Illinois before the European explorers arrived.
Fifth graders have been completing maps on the routes of world explorers while discussing the first colonies established in the New World. We are excitedly preparing for Cultural Day in December.
The AR Book Contest began this month! We are tracking the books we are reading in our free time on a monthly basis. Prizes will be awarded to top readers.
Fourth grade science students have been busy learning what the engineering process is. Experiments have included building and testing a tool that could be used to help us do work and designing a crash safety device for an egg transportation system.
Social studies in fourth grade included the use of educational boxes on loan from the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University. The class created fossils from molds and learned about the Native peoples that lived in Illinois before the European explorers arrived.
Fifth graders have been completing maps on the routes of world explorers while discussing the first colonies established in the New World. We are excitedly preparing for Cultural Day in December.
News From Our Middle School
6th graders have been exploring the various aspects of Ancient India. 6th graders have analyzed the Caste System which is highly embedded in Indian culture. They have also studied Hinduism and Buddhism. 7th graders have finished learning about Europe and its geography as well as ancient history. Students have analyzed how different various geography of Europe and how it impacts its people. Also, students have become engaged in Ancient Greece and Rome and its lasting impact on Europe and the world today. 8th-grade students have learned about the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment period of Europe. They have read the philosophies of Locke, Voltaire, Wollstonecraft and debated about which Enlightened thinker has had the most lasting impact on the modern world.
Lastly, all students have been diligently working on their Cultural Day Project. This project is to explore and celebrate different cultures around the world. 4th-8th grade students will all present on Dec. 20th to parents, staff, and other students about their country and topic! Hope to see you there!
We have also been busy this year in middle school English! We’ve recently completed our novel studies of Chronicles of Narnia, Fahrenheit 451, and Into the Wild. Students also finished projects—3D dioramas, illustrated book covers, interviews—for their respective novels and are currently displayed in the classroom. Seventh and eighth graders wrote imitative works, mirroring stories we read in class. Sixth graders interviewed one of their elders and wrote profiles on the wisdom they’ve learned throughout their lives. All students received detailed edits on their rough drafts, then wrote a final draft. Students also worked on summarizing portions of the novels.
We continue with our small group grammar lessons, focusing on nouns, pronouns, and adjectives; as well as weekly paragraph editing in class. Students complete articles on the ReadWorks program to improve their overall reading comprehension. We have also started AR book club this month, where students must present on their monthly book and facilitate meaningful conversation with discussion questions.
Lastly, all students have been diligently working on their Cultural Day Project. This project is to explore and celebrate different cultures around the world. 4th-8th grade students will all present on Dec. 20th to parents, staff, and other students about their country and topic! Hope to see you there!
We have also been busy this year in middle school English! We’ve recently completed our novel studies of Chronicles of Narnia, Fahrenheit 451, and Into the Wild. Students also finished projects—3D dioramas, illustrated book covers, interviews—for their respective novels and are currently displayed in the classroom. Seventh and eighth graders wrote imitative works, mirroring stories we read in class. Sixth graders interviewed one of their elders and wrote profiles on the wisdom they’ve learned throughout their lives. All students received detailed edits on their rough drafts, then wrote a final draft. Students also worked on summarizing portions of the novels.
We continue with our small group grammar lessons, focusing on nouns, pronouns, and adjectives; as well as weekly paragraph editing in class. Students complete articles on the ReadWorks program to improve their overall reading comprehension. We have also started AR book club this month, where students must present on their monthly book and facilitate meaningful conversation with discussion questions.
Updates from our Science Classroom!
The 6th grade students are showing off their "genetically engineered" bugs & our fifth graders were learning about the rock cycle and creating igneous rocks from "hot magma" and cooling it down.
Spanish in December 2018 with Maestra Kim
The 3-6 year old Spanish classes have completed units on classroom objects and parts of the body. They are now learning articles of clothing, such as "camisa" (shirt) and "zapatos" (shoes). In addition, students are practicing the classic Spanish children's song "Un Elefante." This well-known Latin American tune tells of an elephant calling his friends to join him on an exceptionally strong spider web!
Wondering how our 1st graders are feeling? Just ask! They can tell you about their aches & pains in Spanish! They have studied parts of the body and are strengthening their literacy skills as they build words from syllable cards. So whether it's a headache, sore finger, or injured leg, they are acquiring the vocabulary and grammar to describe these hurts.
2nd grade Spanish students are using animal vocabulary to learn the intricacies of article-noun-adjective agreement in Spanish! Changing an adjective from singular to plural or masculine to feminine as you describe a dog or a family of bears is tricky business, but they are catching on beautifully!
3rd graders have added a new batch of verbs to their repertoire! They are learning to not only tell what they like to do, but also when and how often they do these activities. Verb conjugation is one of the most challenging aspects of the Spanish language, but these 3rd graders are taking it in stride.
News From Our Arabic Room!
We are all gear in 5th grade to learn about our community workers and professions in Arabic class.
We started using the Montessori Linguistic in forming Arabic sentences using the new vocabulary learned. The fifth graders are doing a wonderful job.
We started using the Montessori Linguistic in forming Arabic sentences using the new vocabulary learned. The fifth graders are doing a wonderful job.