Principal's Welcome Term 3

We are in the process of leaving behind another productive term, alhamdulillah. We are grateful to Allah (swt) that He has endowed us with a noble and rewarding profession, nurturing the minds of our future generations. Term 3 is usually one of the busiest terms of the year with numerous events. Below are some of the events we were able to hold this term:

- Annual Open Day
- Official opening of our first permanent building
- Education Week
- Science Week
- Book Week
- Athletics Carnival

The annual Open Day was a success with new parents and families participating in our school tour and information session. Prospective parents were taken on a tour of the school and witnessed the teaching and learning taking place in the classrooms followed by a brief information session in the Secondary staff room amid some brunch. Parents attended from a broad spectrum of areas in Sydney which was indicative of the positive opinion our school is gaining.

Week 2 witnessed the official opening ceremony of our first permanent building. We were delighted to host a number of dignitaries including the NSW Minister for Education Hon. Rob Stokes, NSW Member for Mulgoa Hon. Tanya Davies, NSW Shadow Minster for Education Jihad Dib, Member for Granville Tanya Davies, Consul-general for the Republic of Turkey Sydney Mr Melih Karalar, Fairfield City Council Mayor Hon. Frank Carbone, and a host of community leaders, academics, and associations. Minister Rob Stokes shared words of encouragement in support of our College vision. He also highlighted the importance of independent education and the value that it adds to Australian families. Protocol speeches were concluded with lunch.

Another exciting initiative launched this term was the Professional Learning Communities (PLC's). PLC's are an effective way of collaborating and network among colleagues. Each week teachers present the 'what', 'why' and 'how' of a topic they have been confronted with in their practice, and would like to share their insights with their teacher colleagues.

We also received our NAPLAN 2018 results this term. An analysis of the data shows that there has been significant growth in Reading, Numeracy, Grammar and Punctuation across both Primary and Secondary, whilst Writing and Spelling has improved in Primary yet regressed in Secondary.

We also have some progress with the DA submitted to Council to increase our student numbers to 300. A second exhibition period has come to an end and we are currently waiting to respond to Council's recommendations and finalise the DA. We are hoping to have this DA finalised before the end of year.

We ask Allah to accept our efforts and allow us to produce conscious Muslims at the end of the Irfan experience. Please keep us in your prayers and enjoy your term break with the family.

Yours truly,

Mr Ali Arabaci.