Volume 1, Issue 3
Manara Academy
November 2012
The Explorer Times
Upcoming Events:
 Nov. 7, 8, & 9: Students
will be dismissed at
1:00 pm all 3 days for
Student Led Conferences
 Nov. 7-9th: Student Led
Conferences
 Week of Nov. 19th: No
After School Clubs this
week
 Nov. 20th: Early Dismissal at 1:00 pm
 Nov. 21st-23rd: No
School—Thanksgiving
Break
 Nov. 29th: Family Social
Night @ Chuck E.
Cheese in Irving
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Breakfast & Lunch...Oh My!
2
Parent Portal
2
Design Principle of the
Month
2
Student Led Conferences
3
Manara’s Core Values
3
Family Social Night
3
Expeditionary Learning:
Benefiting for Our Students
4
I Am Thankful For...
"I'm thankful for a
pair of shoes that feel
really good on my
feet; I like my shoes.
I'm thankful for the
birds; I feel like
they're singing just for
me when I get up in
the morning... Saying,
'Good morning, John.
You made it, John.'
I'm thankful for the
sea breeze that feels
so good right now,
and the scent of jasmine when the sun
starts going down.
I'm thankful..." Johnny Cash
I am thankful for
Manara Academy.
I am thankful for each
student that is here,
for the joy they bring
and for the enthusiasm
they have for learning.
I am thankful for the
families of the students, for moms and
dads and aunts and
uncles, for grandmas
and grandpas and
brothers and sisters.
The families make
Manara Academy
what it is.
I am thankful for living in a community
that is safe, involved
and friendly.
I am thankful for each
staff member, for their
commitment, for their
flexibility, and for the
fact that they expect
and equip each child
to succeed.
What are you thankful
for?
I am thankful for the
financial support we
get so we can provide
curriculum and supplies, use technology,
go on field studies and
play on equipment
such as our new playground.
Thank you for the part
you play to make
Manara Academy
Charter School a wonderful place to be.
Michelle Alkhatib
Principal/
Superintendent
Annual Fundraising Dinner: Save the Date
Manara will be hosting our
Annual Fundraising Dinner
on Saturday, December 8th
beginning at 6 pm in the
Middle School Gym.
There are a lot of great
events being planned and
some fantastic auction items
that will be available made
by your children. I am
thrilled to be offering this
wonderful opportunity to
showcase what our students
have been working so hard
on.
We will also be offering our
Annual State of the School
Address so that you can
learn more about Manara
Academy and what is to
come.
Tickets will go on sale beginning next week. We hope
to see you there!
T he Explorer T imes
Page 2
Breakfast & Lunch...Oh My!
“Cultivation to
the mind is as
necessary as food
to the body.”
Marcus Tullius
Cicer
Breakfast &
Lunch...Oh My…
students are not eating their breakfast and
lunches. I know as a
parent how frustrating
this is when my children were young,
when I would pack
them a lunch and then
all but the goodies
would come home.
You maynot even
know your child isn’t
eating, and the trash
cans show that students often throw
away entire school
meals, sandwiches,
unopened bags of
chips, even entire
Lunchables!
If you pack a lunch
but are ordering
school lunches, your
child is wasting food.
I suggest that you
have your child help
you choose whether to
purchase a school
lunch or pack a lunch
from home. I also
suggest you have your
child help you choose
what goes into his or
her lunch, and then
insist that they bring
home whatever they
don’t eat so you will
know not to pack that
item again.
As you know, we all
need good food to fuel
our bodies and we do
much better academically when all of our
needs are met.
Parent Portal
“There is a
brilliant child
locked inside
every student.”
Just as a reminder, parents
have 24 hour, 7 days a
week access to their child’s
grades and attendance via
Parent Portal.
Marva Collins
Parents should have received an email on September 27th titled “Parent Portal Login Access”. Instruc-
tions were included on how
to create an account to access your child’s grades
and attendance. If you
have not received the email
or lost in the world of
email, please contact your
child’s teacher to have
them resend the information.
Parent Portal is a great resource to allow parents and
students to visit on a regular basis and stay on top of
grades and attendance. I
suggest you schedule a
certain day or two of the
week and check Parent
Portal with your child.
Diversity and Inclusivity
Design Principle
of the Month
“Public and classroom
spaces reflect the values of
Expeditionary Learning
Design Principles, showcase the work of students,
and facilitate collaboration.”
Learning Target: I can
recognize how our differences make us stronger.
Both diversity and inclusion increase the richness
of ideas, creative power,
problem-solving ability,
and respect for others.
You should investigate
and value your different
histories and talents as
well as those of other
communities and cultures. Schools and learn-
ing groups are heterogeneous (different).
Volume 1, I ssue 3
Page 3
Student Led Conferences (SLC’s)
Manara Academy considers
the relationship between
students’ families and the
school to be of paramount
importance. At Manara,
Student-Led Conferences
replace the traditional
parent/teacher conference.
SLCs are attended by the
student, parent/guardian,
crew advisor, and other
adults the student would
like present. The crew
leader facilitates the meeting, but the student is in
charge.
During the conference,
students explain their progress toward and mastery
of both academic (content/
skill) and character (habits
of an Explorer) learning
targets. Students justify
their progress by leading
their families through a
portfolio of assignments
culled from academic classes.
Students justify grades in
each class by referencing
specific assignments that
show their mastery of
learning targets. Students
also complete self-
evaluations of their performance in each class and
share them with their families. Students are held accountable for their progress
when they explain areas of
strength and areas in need
of improvement. The tone
of the conference is positive with a focus on what
can be done to ensure success as opposed to what has
been done poorly.
Please make sure you have
signed up for a time with
your child’s Crew Leader.
Manara Academy’s Core Values
For November, Manara will
highlight the following
Core Value of Responsibility established by the Board
of Directors.
We need to give our best
for our school to be the
best.
We encourage each family
to think and reflect upon
this core value.
What can you do to ensure
that you are giving your
best?
In order for our school,
Manara Academy, to be the
best, all stakeholders must
BELIEVE we are the best
and give their best at all
times.
What goal will you set to
help ensure you are giving
your best to Manara?
Family Social Night: November 29th
Our first Family Social
Night at Chuck E. Cheese
was a huge success. A lot
of families came and mingled and the kids had fun
the entire time. Manara
will be hosting their second
Family Social Night on
November 29th. This event
will be held at Chuck E.
Cheese located at 3903 W.
Airport Frwy., Irving, TX
75062. This event will
also serve as a fundraiser
as 15% of the proceeds
are retuned back to
Manara.
This is a great opportunity for you to come and
meet other Manara families, socialize and HAVE
FUN!
Maybe you know families that do not already
know the great things
about Manara...invite
them to come as well.
Let’s all have fun and
enjoy spending time with
friends.
“The best preparation
for tomorrow is doing
our best today.”
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Manara Academy
Elementary: 8201 Tristar Drive, Irving, TX 75063
Middle School: 4200 Royal Lane #175, Irving, TX 75063
Phone: 972-304-1155
Fax: 972-304-1150
Manara Academy is a Kindergarten through 8th grade public charter
school located in Irving, Texas. Manara opened it’s doors in 2009 to
240 students in grades K-5th.
Manara currently accepts students from the following school districts:
Arlington ISD, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Coppell ISD, Dallas
ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Frisco ISD, Grand Prairie ISD, Grapevine Colleyville ISD, Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, Irving ISD, Lewisville ISD, Mansfield ISD, Northwest ISD and Plano ISD.
Michelle Alkhatib, Superintendent/Principal
Email: malkhatib@manaraacademy.org
Greg Carlson, Assistant Principal
Email: gcarlson@manaraacademy.org
Manara Academy Board of Directors:
www.manaraacademy.org
Dr. Ehap Sabri, President
Sadak Shaik, Vice President
Jaszeer Mohammed, Treasurer
Sally Saleh, Secretary
Naveed Shariff, Board Member
Faisal Shaikh, Board Member
Lynn Jenkins, Board Member
Manara Academy: To be the
Pinnacle of Character, Ethics,
Knowledge, and Community Building
Expeditionary Learning:
Benefiting for Our Students
“Thinking in a
new direction…”
Expeditionary Learning
schools inspire the motivation to learn, engage teachers, and students in new
levels of focus and effort,
and transform schools into
places where students and
adults become leaders of
their own learning.
We provide a model that
challenges students – even
those starting with low
skill levels – with highlevel tasks and active roles
in the classroom. This
model succeeds at every
grade level.
Expeditionary Learning
has numerous student
benefits:

Energizes student
motivation and engagement through
high-level tasks and
active roles in the
classroom

Uses case studies and
projects to connect
students to real-world
audiences and compel
them to care and contribute

Sets clear expectations and tight followthrough for respect
and responsibility,
teamwork and contribution, and commitment to high-quality
work

Builds a school culture where students
feel safe, respected,
and pushed to be their
best selves

Trusts students with
deep cognitive challenges and important
responsibilities and
prepares them to be
leaders

Develops the critical
thinking and problemsolving skills needed
to succeed in college
and beyond