Principal’s Message

Assalamu Alaikum

We started term two with the celebration of Eid El-Fitr. I hope all our families and school community had a wonderful Eid and a blessed month of fasting. May Allah (swt) accept all our fasting and ibadah.

AIC, Adelaide is always on a journey to improve teaching and learning outcomes for students. Earlier in the term, a restructuring was undertaken to provide more support for students, teachers and the school community. As a result of this, two well-being teams have been created in both the High School and Primary School. The teams consist of the Heads of School, Co-ordinators and Imam/Pastoral care.

Please see below the staff members who would assist you in matters relating to curriculum and well-being:

• Br. Mohamed Elsayed – Imam/Pastoral Care
• Mrs. Hanan Dallah – Head of Senior School Year 10 – Year 12
• Mr. Azeem Ali – Head of Middle School Year 7 – Year 9
• Mrs. Tanya Khelwaty – Head of Upper Primary School Year 3 – Year 6
• Mrs. Marissa Fernandez – Head of Lower Primary School Kindy- Year 2
• Mrs. Benish Hussain – Literacy Coordinator Year 7 – Year 12
• Mr. Farouk Zakaria – Numeracy Coordinator Year 7 – Year 12
• Ms. Janine Sutton – Literacy Coordinator Kindy – Year 6
• Ms. Carolina De Leonardis –  Numeracy Coordinator Kindy – Year 6
• Mrs. Ann Vincent – SACE Coordinator
• Ms. Noha Hanifi – VET Coordinator
• Mrs. Benish Hussain – Career Counsellor

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Ms Penelope Donnas in the English Department and Miss Ayah Merhi in the Science Department in Middle School. Both teachers come with specialisation in their areas and will be a great addition to our dynamic team of teachers. A big thank you goes to Mr David Retallick and Ms Dosina Hasin for their contribution over the last few weeks in the Middle School. I wish them all the best.

In the Primary School we are looking forward to welcoming Ms Radhika Reddy in joining our school community. Additional staff members will be finalised soon as well.

Unfortunately, COVID continues to present significant challenges especially for staffing. We are still struggling to find the right numbers of relief teachers to cover our absent teachers at any given day. This is due to effect of COVID combined with an ongoing teacher shortage in SA and Australia wide. As a result, on occasion, some classes have been combined or split to ensure that teaching and learning continues unhindered. Given the pressures on staffing caused by the pandemic, our teachers continue to work tirelessly to support the learning of our students. I sincerely thank them for their efforts. I would also like to thank all the parents for their understanding during these challenging times.

Some of the highlights of this term were the Dux assembly celebrating our high achiever for 2021 cohort, the Quran & Adhan competition for Primary & High School (livestreamed on Facebook), Flash Mentoring sessions for Years 7-11, River Journey sessions for Years 7 to 10, breakfast club with students, JP-Animal Capers incursion, JP -Year 2-Zoo excursion (rescheduled due to weather).

For students who need further support with their work, I want to announce the resumption of the Homework club on Mondays and Fridays and the Art club every second Monday.

The students completed NAPLAN for years 3, 5, 7 and 9 and semester one exams for years 7 to 11 this term. I would like to thank all staff involved for their efforts in organisation and invigilation.

Our students continued to be high achievers in sport and were involved in AFLW (women’s) premiership cup visit, Auskick for Primary students, Futsal competition and Power Intercultural Carnival for High school students.

In line with the ethos of AIC, all our staff members believe that we should challenge and support our students to excel, offering a range of diverse pathways and opportunities for their learning. As learning happens in and beyond the classroom, with your help and support, we hope to provide our students with learning which is adaptable and effective for their ever changing environment.

Wassalamualaikum,

M. Ezz
Acting Principal