10 March 2023

Dear Parents,

We hope that you and your families are doing very well and are in good health and
spirits.

Four years ago, in 2019 Maarif Foundation took over Pak-Turk Maarif International
Schools and Colleges, since then we have stood by our vision to improve to become
a world-class educational institution in the next decade, for the goodness and
welfare of humanity. The journey of transformation, innovation and redesigning of
schools is enduring and achieving the milestones of accomplishment.

We are privileged to have most supportive and cooperative parent community that
have supported us undoubtedly through what may be possibly the most difficult
period for education in recent history.

We strongly believe that school improvement does not occur in isolation and all
stakeholders need to develop a focused image of the goal and create a map that
will lead them there together. Each stakeholder must take ownership of this shared
ideal and remain committed to bringing about change.

We will take the opportunity to share with you that school has decided to take
another significant strategic initiative to enhance learning outcomes and raise
accomplishment level.

In the best interest of our valuable students, the school has made a decision to
shift the academic year 2023-24 from the traditional March-April calendar to
August-June.

Our longitudinal observations and data analysis reveal that the beginning of the
academic year, which conventionally starts in April, experiences disruptions due to
extended summer vacations, followed by a period of 4 to 6 weeks wherein
educators strive to reorient their students and prepare them for the coursework.
The school calendar starting from August is more in sync with the needs of today
and the students’ learning pattern. The change in the school calendar will provide
an uninterrupted learning environment and routine to students. The students will
start their learning journey in August and will finish Term I in month of December.
The Term II will start after the winter vacation and will end with their final assessment
in May.

Consequently, this school calendar starting from August means that students do not
fall victim to the “summer slide,” or the well-documented phenomenon where
students unlearn some of the knowledge, they worked so hard to attain when too
much consecutive time is taken off from school. Also, students will take additional
short breaks during the school year to help them stay motivated and improve their
learning experience.

We believe that our students will come to school prepared to learn and also that
their classrooms will be fully ready with everything they need.

The decision will be implemented from the current session and students will get
some extended time to revise the concepts and explore new learning.

There is a lot of work being done behind the scenes to monitor student involvement
and to support welfare, but at the moment our primary focus is making sure the best
utilisation of the time to enhance overall achievements of students.

The extended time bestows many blessings. Students will get more opportunities
and more choices for enrichment than ever before. A well-developed plan has been
articulated by the school in this regard. The extended time curriculum is closely
linked to the regular academic programme and offer a carefully selected and
various age-appropriate enrichment activities.

Therefore, extended mathematics, science and reading exercises are planned by

teachers. Also, school days will broaden, and children will learn and will be exposed
to variety of disciplines, such as arts, music, theatre, sports, and religious activities.
This will be integrated to promote students' ability to write creatively and
experiment with social science and daily life sciences.
During this extended time, students will explore a remarkable variety of enrichment
activities, as well as a range of programmes in social and emotional learning
domains. All these activities contribute to help students receive a truly well-rounded
education.

The research says that in schools, where expanded learning time initiative was
introduced, (which was only 30 percent; about two hours) to school’s duration, this
practice not only improved students’ performance but also improved school overall
achievement level. It is important that students should have frequent and increasing
opportunities to develop and consolidate their competencies as independent
learners.

Pak-Turk Maarif’s commitment to enhancing the school's quality will persist with a
fresh approach, inclusive of school administrators, educators, pupils, parents, and
community members. Our primary objective is to shape the vision and devise a
strategy that will drive us towards achieving excellence collectively.

We believe in the day-to-day pursuits of helping students learn in productive ways

and have ownership in that ideal and are committed to change.
We would also like to share with you that parents will not bear any monetary charges
for this extended time.

Kindly note some important points and dates:

❖ This decision will be implemented for Pre-school, grade 1 to grade7 in

Capital, Punjab and KPK. However, Sindh will follow it for all grades.
❖ Grade 8 promotion will take place in the month of April. Therefore, grade 8
Term II Assessment II will be held from Monday, 20 March 2023. The result
will be announced for grade 8 on Friday, 31 March 2023. (Punjab, KPK and
Capital only)
❖ The new academic session 2023-24 for SSC-I and IGCSE-I will start from
Monday, 10 April 2023.
❖ The students of preschool, Primary and lower secondary will have spring
break between 3 – 7 April 2023.
❖ Preschool, grade 1 to grade 7 Term II Assessment II will be held between May
18 – 26 May 2023. The result will be announced on 1 June 2023.
 ❖ The New Academic session for all grades (preschool, grade 1 to grade 7) will
start on 14 August 2023.

Schools will also arrange orientation meetings with all parents to inform about this
initiative in detail. The schedule of your meeting with class teacher, Vice principal
and principal will be shared with you soon.

Regards,

Image 1: Timeline of Events and Activities during Extended Phase - 2022-2023 Academic Year