Northstar School’s annual “Gifts of Hope” fundraising event brings together Northstar friends and supporters to celebrate the work of the school and all that we can accomplish when we align our resources in support of our children and the future of our community.

We are cordially inviting you to join us for our Gifts of Hope event, lending your hand of support to our generation of resilient learners toward excellence. During these most difficult times of the pandemic, Northstar has stayed completely committed to our students by maintaining a robust educational program, both for distance learning and onsite learning. In a time of financial hardship for many, Northstar made no tuition increases to our already very low fees, and awarded an unprecedented amount of financial aid in this past year.  We hope to complete our fundraising prior to this event, so please make your contribution below.

GIFTS OF HOPE
Strive to Thrive
Sunday, December 5, 2021, 5:30 pm

with Imam Mikael Smith and Ustadh Rami Nsour

DETAILS
All guests must register below to gain online access to wonderful Gifts of Hope event on Sunday, December 5th at 5:30pm.

Questions? Please email Michelle Lee at michelle@northstarschool.org.

Speaker Biographies

Shaykh Mikaeel Ahmed Smith (Michael V Smith) is an instructor at Qalam. He is a faculty member at the Qalam Seminary. He gives lectures and conducts various classes for the community. You can listen to him regularly on the Qalam Podcast. Shaykh Mikaeel previously served as a resident scholar at the Islamic Society of Annapolis and the Islamic Society of Baltimore. He grew up in a deeply spiritual Christian home in Buffalo, NY. At the age of 18, he embraced Islam after reading the Qur’an and the Autobiography of Malcolm X. He then enrolled at the Dar ul-Uloom al-Madania in Buffalo, NY, where he completed his memorization of the Qur’an. He continued his studies in Jami’a Abu Noor in Damascus, Syria. In 2012, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Islamic Studies at the Dar ul-Uloom Canada in Chatham, Ontario. He is the author of With the Heart in Mind, a book exploring the moral and emotional intelligence of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He currently resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and three children.

Ustadh Rami Nsour is a scholar, counselor, public speaker, teacher, and translator of Islamic texts. Spending seven years in Mauritania studying Islamic studies at some of the foremost Islamic colleges, Shaykh Rami received licensure (ijaza) to share his wisdom with students. Further enhancing his extensive study of fiqh, Nsour completed an extraordinary ‘in-residence’ experience, allowing him to research questions (fatawa) of Islamic faith, law, and practice.

Rami Nsour co-founded the Tayba Foundation, the first organization in the United States to offer a distance-learning program in Islamic Education to incarcerated men and women.  Shaykh Rami has extensive experience in curriculum development, specifically in character (akhlaq), and holds a B.A. in Human Development with a focus on Early Childhood.  He also obtained an M.A. in Educational Psychology.  A resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, he lives with his wife and three children.

For more info: email events@northstarschool.org, or call 510-397-1501