Nile Academy

Nile Academy (Turkish: Nil Akademi) (Nicknamed "Okul"; lit. "School" in Turkish), located in the Humber Summit neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, is a Canadian private school[1] for students between Kindergarten and Grade Twelve. Originally founded in 2005 by Muslim[2] Turkish immigrants belonging to the Hizmet Movement[3][4][5][6] in order to better serve the growing Turkish-Canadian community, the school now has a wide range of students from a variety of backgrounds.

Nile Academy
Nil Akademi
Address
5 Blue Haven Crescent, Toronto, Ontario,

M9M 1W6
Information
TypePrivate day school
MottoExcellence in Education and Ethics
Opened2005
StatusOpen/Active
PrincipalMr. Esat Gokce
GradesK-12
GenderCo-ed
Enrollment300
Average class size15-18
Color(s)Light Blue and Orange
Team nameNile Leopards
Annual tuition$8,000-$28,500
Websitehttps://nileacademy.ca/

Campuses

At one point, Nile Academy had three campuses; one boys' school[7] (Plunkett Campus[8][9]), one girls' high school with co-ed K-8 (Blue Haven Campus), and one elementary school (Scarborough Campus[10]). However, the Plunkett and Scarborough Campuses were shut down, and consecutively merged with the Blue Haven Campus in 2016 to form a single school on a single campus.

Extracurricular activities

Nile Academy actively competes in regional student competitions in sports, mathematics, robotics, and the sciences, in tournaments such as OFSAA and the Toronto Science Fair, among others. Nile Academy also offers supplementary programs for chess, fine arts, water marbling, drama, choir, guitar, violin, and wrestling.[11] The school is part of the Toronto District College Athletic Association, even though it is not a Catholic school or part of the TCSDB.

Partnerships and affiliated organizations

The school is funded by the followers and business partners of the Hizmet Movement.[6][12] The school also partners with organizations and non-profits such as the Anatolian Heritage Federation,[12] the Northern Lights Relief Foundation[13][14][15] (Turkish: Kanada Kuzey Işıkları Yardım Vakfı), the Dicle Islamic Society,[8][16][17][10] the Anatolian Cultural Centre,[18][19][9][20][21] the Intercultural Dialogue Institute,[22][23][24] and various governmental organizations of Canada such as the Toronto Police Services.[17] The school is a strong supporter of intercultural dialogue and humanitarianism,[21][15][25] and has sent many expeditions to countries in Africa and the West Indies.

Controversies

The vast majority of the students and staff of Nile Academy practice the Hanafi maddhab of Sunni Islam, and the school is directly linked to Turkish preacher and writer, Fethullah Gulen, who currently resides in the State of Pennsylvania. The school is controversial in the Canadian-Turkish community due to its ties to the Hizmet Movement, which has been accused of perpetrating the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt. The school has -on many occasions- been the target of a shutdown request by the Government of Turkey through formal requests to the Federal Canadian Government in Parliament Hill.[4][5][3][6]

References
  1. ourkids.net. "Nile Academy - Toronto Private Day Boarding School". www.ourkids.net. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  2. "Eid Festival Toronto 2014 - Anatolian Cultural Centre". Anatolian Cultural Centre. August 9, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  3. Sheikh, Abdi. "Turkey's anti-Gulen crackdown ripples far and wide". U.S. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  4. "Why Turkish diplomats are pressuring Canada's Somali diaspora - Macleans.ca". Macleans.ca. May 8, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  5. "Canada's Turkish community on edge as government crackdown continues | The Star". thestar.com. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  6. "Turkey's Gulen crackdown hits Canada". Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  7. "Nile Academy Plunkett Campus Yearbook 2015" (PDF).
  8. "Dicle Islamic Society – Iftar Dinner at Nile Academy Plunkett Campus". www.islamicteaching.info. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  9. "Turkish Bake sale at Nile Academy Plunkett Campus - Anatolian Cultural Centre". Anatolian Cultural Centre. June 20, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  10. "Dicle Islamic Society – Dicle Islamic Society's Ramadan Iftar Dinners 2013". www.islamicteaching.info. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  11. "Clubs". Nile Academy. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  12. "Anatolian Heritage Federation Canada | AHF". anatolianheritage.ca. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  13. "Kuzey Işıkları Yardım Vakfı | Zaman Amerika". zamanamerika.com (in Turkish). Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  14. "Ernestine Women's Shelter Qurban Halal Meat Donation - Northern Lights Relief". Northern Lights Relief. September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  15. "Nile Academy Relief Club". www.facebook.com. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  16. "Dicle Islamic Society – Daily Prayers in Islam – 4th Word from Risale-i Nur Collection". www.islamicteaching.info. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  17. "Dicle Islamic Society – Home Security Seminar by Toronto Police". www.islamicteaching.info. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  18. "Indian Turkish Friendship Breakfast at Nile Academy - Anatolian Cultural Centre". Anatolian Cultural Centre. November 24, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  19. "Outreach Breakfast at Nile Academy - Anatolian Cultural Centre". Anatolian Cultural Centre. August 18, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  20. "Nevruz Spring Festival - Anatolian Cultural Centre". Anatolian Cultural Centre. April 1, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  21. ""Blankets for Syrian Refugees in Turkey" Fundraiser Surpasses Expectations - Anatolian Cultural Centre". Anatolian Cultural Centre. February 14, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  22. "Tradition in an Age of Modernity - May 6, 2018 - Intercultural Dialogue Institute - GTA (Toronto)". Intercultural Dialogue Institute - GTA (Toronto). April 11, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  23. "2018 Archives - Intercultural Dialogue Institute - GTA (Toronto)". Intercultural Dialogue Institute - GTA (Toronto). Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  24. "Nile Academy Visits Mennonite Church". Waterloo Intercultural Dialogue Institute. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  25. "Batı Yarım Küresi'nin en fakir ülkesi: HAİTİ". CANADATURK. Retrieved September 3, 2018.

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