Mutiara Harapan Islanic School organises fair for students

To celebrate Muharram, the Islamic New Year, Mutiara Harapan Islamic School (MHIS) hosted 467 students at an Islamic Fair 2019 in Bintaro, South Tangerang, Indonesia from August 26-29, 2019.

Themed Celebrate the Learning, Share the Values, there were art activities, project presentations and roleplay depicting scenes from the Quran and Islamic values.

The event involved MHIS' students from all stages, including playgroup and kindergarten, primary and secondary, as well as inclusion development classes for children with special education needs.

For three days, students broke into small groups to create a project portraying Islamic values in contemporary settings. The results ranged from a tote bag with Islamic calligraphy, short movies to mobile games for Android. The projects were showcased on August 29. 

All activities featured Islamic-based learning integrated with Cambridge International education by emphasising MHIS principles of literacy and joyful learning.

"We encourage students to hone the emerging skills needed for global competitiveness, such as creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. Thus, they will take the lead in this global era, while creating progressive Muslim generations that are openminded and able to step outside the box," said Jamaludin Badri, Primary Principal of MHIS.

Projects from preschool students included:

- A mosaic of paintings with Islamic themes, such as mosques and the Ka'abah.

- Islamic calligraphy

- Du'a and hadith recitations

- Islamic songs

"With cheerful illustration and (the catchy) tunes of Islamic songs, children from the early years can easily dive into various Islamic terms and values in their daily life," said Firta, a parent of MHIS preschoolers.

More than 310 primary students showcased art presentations and short stories featuring the 100 names of Allah, the Quran, hadiths, calligraphy focused on the Arabic alphabet, and manasik umrah, the rituals surrounding the pilgrimage.

Some 15 children with special needs went onstage with Islamic songs. They also created of a tote bag, painted with Asmaul Husna calligraphy.

Secondary students were keen to interpret the values through digital works. "Junior high students involved in the creation of short movies (depicting} prominent Muslim scientists, with a trailer publicly released on the last day of the event. For the high school students, they posed different challenges by creating a brand-new Android-based mobile game that was exhibited at the Game Corner area," said Firman, an Islamic studies' teacher at MHIS.

Jamaludin added, "We've awakened students' creativity through arts enrichment rooted in the surah, hadiths and Holy Quran. This not only (reflects) on students' academic performances, but we encourage them to build positive contributions towards the wellbeing of the community."

MHIS' next event is Open Day on September 21, 2019. The event will feature performances in English and Quran recitations by students.