This week, we had the honour of hosting ASEAN Muslim Exchange Program delegates once again at Al Siraat. Eight executive delegates from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand joined us on a tour around the College on Wednesday morning.
It was a real pleasure to welcome the delegates back on campus this year after running the program virtually during the pandemic years. We extended a warm welcome to
- Ms Natasha Halim (Brunei)
- Mr Nazirul Rahman (Brunei)
- Ms Aishah Siddiqah Alimuddin (Malaysia)
- Mr Zaim Zamri (Malaysia)
- Ms Esnaira Salem (Philippines)
- Mr Abrar Hataman (Philippines)
- Yasmin Sattar (Thailand)
- Mr Anwar Koma (Thailand).
The visit began with a tour of the our Year 3 – 6 Student Hub (M building), facilitated by Mr Bektash who leads the SSD Team. The delegates met with Sheikh Waseem and had many questions about our esteemed Hifz Program. Al Siraat is one of a small number of Islamic schools in Australia that offers a dedicated Hifz program for students wanting to memorise the entire Qur'an. Mr Fazeel, co-founder and College Principal, met with the group who wanted to know about the inspiration and vision behind starting an Islamic school in Australia.
The tour continued with a visit to the Primary Years Foundation to Year 2 building hosted by Mr Mohamed Elbotaty, our Head of Primary School, who shared that all our values are reflected in our Islamic identity and reinforced throughout the day with our students. Al Siraat is a growing school community and people are drawn to the masjid facilities and Islam infused education. Moving to the TEAMS Building that houses our specialist subjects for Secondary students, the delegates met with Ms Noori and SRC students and toured the facilities available for student learning.
The visit ended with a visit to our College Musalla after enjoying a shared morning tea when our student leaders and executive team had ample opportunity to further connect with the ASEAN delegates and find out more about their backgrounds and motivation to join the program this year. Our Media Team students interviewed the delegates to share their reflections from the visit.
We thank the ASEAN Muslim Exchange Program delegates and Director of Programs Mrs Brynna Rafferty-Brown for visiting Al Siraat College and look forward to welcoming you again later this year, inShaAllah.