Principal's Message - Term 4 2020

In the name of Allah (swt), the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful.

We send our salutations upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw), his family and companions. We thank Allah (swt) for the boundless blessings He has bestowed upon us and are grateful for appointing us as His stewards.

Alhamdulillah, with the favour and permission of Allah (swt) we have been able to complete yet another productive and fruitful year. Every week, term and year, our College is moving a step closer to achieving its vision:

Raising thinkers and leaders who have confidence in their Australian-Muslim identity with a deeply rooted motivation to actively do good in the world!

The academic year of 2020 was a year full of many surprises and challenges. With a delayed commencement to the school year due to the late approval of the DA and facilities works, followed by the emergence of COVID-19 and the subsequent transition to online learning, our school community faced its greatest challenge since its inception in 2013. However, the resilience and adaptability of our students, teachers and parents alike, demonstrated yet again the value we place in the education of our children.

Alhamdulillah, although this year presented its challenges, it also bore witness to some important milestones. Most notable of these developments was the facilitation of Irfan College's first graduating cohort progressing onto Year 12. As mentioned earlier in the year, NESA issued a five-year registration and accreditation for Kindergarten to Year 12 in its most recent inspection. As a result of this important approval, our Year 11 cohort was able to move commence Year 12 in Term 4 of this year, alhamdulillah. With our dedicated students and highly-qualified teaching team, I am confident that our first graduating cohort will be doing their best and representing our College values to the highest standard inshaa'Allah.

This year we were also able to achieve critical progress with the Islamic Integration Project. A significant investment was made to draft and develop Irfan's Educational Framework which comprises the core philosophical premises that will inspire every aspect of our College from policy to curriculum, and praxis to environment. These documents will be adapted into professional teacher training programs and will serve as essential pieces inducting our teaching staff about the nature of Islamic worldview and its implications on Islamic education. We ask Allah (swt) to bless our efforts and allow us to realise our goals with these noble projects.

On a final note, I would like to extend my gratitude to our state and federal governments for doing a remarkable job keeping COVID-19 at bay and safeguarding their citizens. Our condolences are with the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost their lives as a result of the pandemic. I would also like to thank our school community, staff, parents and students, for their continued support, cooperation and commitment to our vision and progress throughout this challenging year. I pray and ask Allah (swt) that He continues to protect our school in 2021, bestow upon us a year full of barakah in and assist us in cultivating staff and students that are pleasing to Him (swt).

Yours truly,
Mr Ali Arabaci.