Sada-e-Watan Sydney ™
sadaewatan@gmail.com

AUSTRALIAN ISLAMIC COLLEGE OF SYDNEY (AICS)

HISTORY OF ACHIEVEMENTS (2000-2007)

1997 - THE BEGINNING

The AICS began in February 1997

·      20 Students progressing to 30 by opening time

·      2 very old demountables

·      3 Staff members

·      Officially opened on 17th May 1997

Challenges faced

·      Primitive Bathroom and children’s facilities

·      No proper play area

·      School access plagued by rain and inadequate drainage

·      Volunteer Board Members working door-to-door

·      Constant day to day struggle to avoid closure from lack or resources

·      Faced challenges to overcome from Health Department, Unions, and Blacktown Council

·      Little guidance or experience in running a school

·      Whilst Mosque began to grow, many people still hesitated to enrol their children

·     Minimal funding from donations

2001 - 2006  THE GOLDEN AGE

Construction

·      $7 MILLION Dollars in construction under Chairman Dr Akbar Khan, less than 14% of this figure from IDB, Government Grants & no public donations

·      $0 Debt and No Loan from a Bank during this period for construction

·      4 New Buildings

·      36 Classrooms

Education & Student Achievements

·      Higher than the state average and that is across all the external assessments-BEST; ELLA; SNAP; and School Certificate.

·      Exceeded NSW BOARD OF STUDIES exam averages

·      Accreditation from DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION in 2006

·      Best School Accredited documentation by DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION in 2006 out of 150 Schools who applied

·      Four Students selected to participate in SBS Television Insight Program

·      A Student was selected as a Guest speaker in the NSW Parliament 2006 & NSW Governor Marie Bashir

·      Winner of the NSW Public Speaking competition

Growth

·      680 students

·      60 + School staff

·      Curriculum stages, 4, 5, and 6 (Years 7 to10, 11 and 12) were introduced in the last 6 years.

·      HSC introduced in 2005, the first batch will graduate next year.

·      Student retention is 93% approx

·      Student’s travel as far as 40km to attend School

·      Expressions of Interest from Foreign students overseas

·      Visits by Federal Ministers, State Ministers and Parliamentarians

·      25 Nationalities of Muslim students at the School

·      Second Largest Islamic School in NSW

Facilities & Services

·      120 computer workstations approx

·      New Bus service in 2005, covering areas of Liverpool, Penrith & Blacktown

·      Australia’s largest IJTEMA up to 3000 people hosted in 2003 and 2005

·      Most modern & NEWEST combined MOSQUE & SCHOOL in NSW if not AUSTRALIA

2007 - Today

·      $4 MILLION Dollars in construction from 2006-2007

·      $11 MILLION Dollars in total Construction from 2001-2007

·      Run by Board Members who work up to 70+ hours per week unpaid, 4000 + hours per year.

·      Hall with capacity of around 1000+ people

·      Eight Administration offices

·      Outdoor Cricket Nets

·      Meeting Rooms

·      Canteen

·      GYM

·      Basketball, Netball, Table tennis court

·      Modern stage Sound & Lighting equipment

·      Balcony can accommodate 100+ people

·      World Class Library

·      Have the most successful and pioneering School Principal amongst Islamic Schools - Dr Ahmed Deria

·      A Chairman whose track record of contribution began an amazing Quarter of Century ago

Mr. Naeem ul Haq				Dr. Akbar Khan		Mr. Shakil S. Syed
Principal Dr. Ahmed Deria with School Staff
		Dr. Ghulam Akbar Khan Chairman (2000-2006) Australian Islamic College of Sydney (AICS) 63 O'Brien Street, Mount Druitt, NSW, 2770, Australia Tel  (02) 9677 2613, Fax: (02) 9677 2648, info@aics.nsw.edu.au, http://www.aics.nsw.edu.au