Hello BHA Stars, and welcome back to your monthly Horizon Highlights – a general recap of everything that happened on campus this month. As the year progresses, the campus continues to be a central hub of learning, excitement, and growth every day. Let’s take a look back at what has taken place around school this November.
November began on a Saturday, which was a nice way to welcome in the new month, and prepare for the weeks of school ahead. That Sunday, November 2nd, was the end of Daylight Savings Time, when we all turned our clocks back an hour, giving everyone a much-needed extra hour of sleep. However, adjusting to the new timings of salah was definitely a challenge! The week of the 3rd was a “B” week for clubs, so students attended clubs such as Sewing, Newspaper (hey! That’s us!), and STUCO.
That Friday, November 7th, was BHA’s annual History Night, where students from grades 6 through 11 showcase work done in their history and social studies classes. The theme this year was, “Souqs, Scholars, and Stories: Discovering the Islamic World,” which brought a fun twist to the yearly event. Parents, staff, and students gathered to recognize one of the core subjects for students throughout BHA. The next Tuesday, November 11th, BHA hosted a coffee chat with BHA’s Middle School Principal, Br. Sami Moussa. Br. Moussa spoke with parents about middle school policies, programs, rules, and answered any questions they had. This was a beneficial chance for parents to stay informed about their middle school children’s experiences at BHA, to ensure the top-notch quality of their education.
The week of the 10-14th was BHA’s kindness week for middle and high school students, hosted by STUCO. That week, students were encouraged to show the importance of kindness in daily life through spirit activities such as wearing a superhero shirt, a shiny hijab, or a sports jersey, all relating to kindness in some way.
Thursday, November 12th, was BHA’s annual middle school Siyam Night. This is where students grades 6-8 fast together in memory of our beautiful religion and traditions. Though this event usually consists of a potluck, where students who bring food items earn a quiz pass for their Islamic, Quran, or Arabic classes, BHA chose a different approach this year. Instead, students prepaid $10 per guest for a catered meal, which consisted of rice, chicken, and baklava. “It was pretty good,” states 8th grader Nadine Hussien, “But I still preferred the way they did it last year. We got to try food from a lot of different cultures.” Based on feedback, BHA will have to make a decision on how to conduct this event’s catering next year, but, overall, this event was a major success and a beautiful reminder of the upcoming month Ramadan in February, inshaAllah.
That Friday, November 14th, BHA hosted a parents’ coffee chat with the high school principal. Similarly to the middle school chat, parents discussed high school policies, academics, and questions. Dr. Leila, the High School Principal and Head of School, directed the conversation and provided a thorough and helpful resource for curious parents. Also that day, interim report cards were released, providing a milestone for students to base the rest of the quarter’s performance on. Before we know it, midterms will be upon us, and we will all do extremely well, inshaAllah.
The next week was an average week of academics, Islam, and activities at BHA, with many students excited for the upcoming Thanksgiving/Fall Break during the last week of November. “I’m really excited for this break,” explains Junior Maryam Khan, “I think we all really need it, especially because there wasn’t a break in October this year.” Usually, BHA splits its calendar breaks into five days during October and five during November, but decided to take a different approach this year, giving students one full week off in November. This gave students a chance to refresh and recharge for upcoming midterm exams. Soon enough, the second semester of this already-speeding year will be coming to an end!
That is all for this month! Enjoy your break and we hope to see you back next month! Happy December!
