ISCJ Recognizes Students in Moving On Ceremony

The Islamic Society of Central Jersey held its annual picnic and "Moving On" ceremony for students last month as it wrapped up the school year and headed into summer.

"We hold the 'Moving On' ceremony every year for kids moving on to the next level from our Weekend School," said ISCJ Board Overseer Azra Baig. "This goes up to the ninth grade and those kids end up volunteering to teach our younger grade levels."

The weekend school examines the history of Islam and teaches the students, who mostly attend public schools during the week, to read Arabic. Approximately 400 people attended the ceremony to recognize the students’ achievements.

Also last month, the ISCJ held its annual picnic to celebrate the end of the school year. The event brought community members out for an afternoon of food and games.

"This brings the community together in a fun atmosphere to celebrate the end of the year," Baig said. "We have lots of good food and for the past several years we've had a karate demo that's a big hit. It's just people outside enjoying themselves."

The Noor-Ul-Iman School also held graduation ceremonies for 23 seniors who attend the school full time and will be moving on to college next year. Of those graduates, two are attending Princeton University and one will be attending the University of Pennsylvania. 

One graduate will also be attending the prestigious California Institute of Technology. One student will be attending New York University, with another student deciding between NYU and Cornell University. Other students will be attending Rutgers University.

"We had a beautiful ceremony for those students at the Hamilton Manor," Baig said. "It's amazing what they were able to accomplish."