Parents Meeting to Kick off Academic Year

Saturday December 21st 2024

On Sunday, 21 July 2024, Al Azhar 55 held a Parents Meeting, aimed at fostering stronger cooperation between the school and parents to support students’ growth, both academically and in character.

The meeting, taking place at the Student Center, began with a welcoming speech
from Mr. Risal, the Principal, who emphasized the importance of a strong partnership between parents and teachers. “The education of a child is a shared
responsibility. By working hand in hand, we can guide our students to reach their fullest potential in both academic achievement and Islamic values,” the he stated.

Teachers from each grade level provided updates on the latest classroom activities, curriculum goals, and students’ academic performance. They also shared insights into Al Azhar’s approach to character education, which includes discipline, religious learning, and moral development.

A key highlight of the meeting was the opportunity for parents to hold individual consultations with teachers. These private discussions allowed them to betier understand their child’s strengths, challenges, and areas needing support, creating a bridge between home and school learning environments.

Al Azhar 55 also presented several upcoming programs and events for the 2025/2026 academic year, including student competitions, extracurricular clubs, and the formation of a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to further strengthen parents’ involvement.

Workshops on topics such as “Parenting in the Digital Age” and “Motivating Children to Learn at Home” were also included, offering practical strategies for parents to apply in their daily routines.

The meeting concluded with an open forum for feedback, where parents voiced their appreciation for the school’s ongoing efforts and offered suggestions to further improve collaboration and communication.

All in all, this Parents Meeting served as a reminder that when families and educators work together, students benefit the most. Al Azhar 55 keeps being commitied to nurturing a school community rooted in academic excellence, faith, and mutual respect.

(by Ms Sintia)

Testimony

Prof. Dra. Hj. Suwarsih Madya, M.A., Ph.D.

Amidst the globalized situation which poses challenges of which one is a possible threat to identity, yet provides ample opportunities to excel for those who possess the prerequisites, we need to equip our children as the continuing generation with necessary competencies—affective, cognitive, psychomotor and interactive. In other words, we need to help them grow and develop into total persons and this can be achieved through the whole-child development approach which ensures the development of all potentials. In addition to this is the need for developing some competence which enables the children to communicate globally. All of this will ensure that the children will develop their citizenships both at the national and global levels. How can this ideal development be realized?

If you want to find out about how efforts are made to develop children’s whole potentials, you can come to SD Islam Al Azhar 55 Yogyakarta. Here you can see how the four-year old school has grown fast due to the stakeholders’ trust to send their children to study here. With only 54 children in the first year, this school now has 185 students. These students are educated to respect and preserve the social-cultural environment by learning the local language (Javanese, including the script) and arts (dance). Simultaneously, they certainly learn the national language (Bahasa Indonesia) and national content, which is unquestionable since it is compulsory, and English, which has now become a global lingua franca; thus, a prerequisite for successful global communication. More importantly, children in this school also learn to practise their religion consistently. So, in this school children’s identity is rooted in the local culture, with nationalism and global awareness being inherently developed together with reliogiosity.

Does the whole-child development approach at SD Islam Al Azhar still give room for children to excel? In my belief, when all their potentials are developed, children will have a greater chance to excel and I can see the truth in my belief in this primary school. In the last two years, the students have made great achievements in various competitions held at the local and national levels–gold medals in English, math and science competitions (national), silver and bronze medals in IT competitions (national), silver and bronze medals at colouring and swimming competitions (local) to mention some.

In conclusion, SD Islam Al Azhar has given evidence of the right efforts of true education to develop both intelligence and character.

Prof. DR. Budi S. Daryono, M.Agr. Sc.

Testimoni Sebagai Orang tua menyekolahkan anak Di Al-Azhar 55

Sudah menjadi kewajiban bagi orang tua untuk memberikan pendidikan yang terbaik bagi putra putrinya. Tantangan untuk mendidik anak di Era Global dan Digital pun semakin besar, kita tidak bisa lagi membendung segala perubahan yang begitu cepat terjadi, dan harus mempersiapkan anak-anak supaya bisa survive dan sholeh/sholehah tentunya. Saat ini dunia bagaikan kampung, dimana tidak ada batas-batas untuk melakukan transaksi kehidupan, untuk itu anak harus bisa berkomunikasi dengan bahasa universal sebagai modal utama. Disamping itu, pendidikah Ahlak dan Aqidah harus diberikan secara dini sebagai dasar anak dalam menghadapi gejolak gelombang kehidupan. Atas pertimbangan tersebutlah, kami selaku orang tua memilih untuk menyekolahkan putra kami tercinta Hikari di Sekolah Islam, yang menggunakan dua bahasa pengantar, yaitu Al-Azhar 55.

Prof. DR. Budi S.Daryono, M.Agr. Sc.