CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Thank you for reading this week’s Highro-Glyphics!
Thanks to everyone who turned out for two online events this week: the “Meet the Candidates” evening and the Annual General Meeting.
The success of these events demonstrates that even though our learning environment has temporarily changed, the CAC community remains united and strong.
In addition to our academic program, the High School is striving to continue some of our important traditions, and our students haven’t forgotten their commitments to helping their neighbors. You will see these facts reflected in the notes below.
As I write this, we still do not know for how long e-learning will continue. What I do know is that our students have shown tremendous resilience. In my meetings with them this week, they have been remarkably positive, even as they express their concerns and worries. As one of them said today about e-learning, “We are getting the hang of it.”
I could not be more proud of them.
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
● National Honor Society Induction
● Student Council Donation
● High School Yearbook Preliminary Pre-Orders (due tomorrow!)
● Sinai Liberation Holiday
● Student Virtual Meetings with Mr. Duggan
● E-Learning Reminders
● Skyward Gradebook
● Graduation
● Second Semester Exams
National Honor Society Induction
Congratulations to the new members of the National Honor Society, who are being inducted this afternoon in a virtual ceremony! Thanks to NHS and Ms. Gramolini for their hard work to coordinate this important event.
Student Council Donation
Thank you to our High School Student Council for demonstrating our core value of compassion. Having raised money all year for events they are no longer able to hold, they have decided to donate $6,000 to the Egyptian Food Bank, supporting day laborers who have lost their income due to COVID-19.
HS Yearbook Preliminary Pre-Order (Interest Form)
Due to the current home learning situation, please note that this year we need to know in advance who is interested in purchasing the Yearbook. According to your responses and show of interest, we will be able to get a quotation on the price. Please fill out the form below including the student’s full name, grade and # of yearbooks ordered.
Click here to go to the HS Yearbook Preliminary Pre-Order Form.
Please note that this is a preliminary form and presents no commitment to purchase.
The deadline for submitting this form is 3:00 pm on Friday, April 24.
You will be receiving the final form with the quoted price per yearbook soon. Parents who will fill out that form will be committed to purchase the 2019/20 Yearbook.
Sinai Liberation Holiday
There will be no classes on Sunday, April 26 in recognition of the Sinai Liberation holiday.
Student Virtual Meetings with Mr. Duggan
I have been holding 30-minute virtual meetings with groups of students by grade level during Flex blocks, to give them a chance to ask questions and share their perspectives. I am hosting these meetings at different times on different days, and over time I will try to offer every student the chance to participate. Participation is optional. If your child receives a Google Meet invitation, please encourage them to join in.
E-Learning Reminders
● We will continue the 2-day rotation of ABCD/EFGH for as long as we are using the e-learning platform.
● It is important that students try to maintain a regular schedule.
● Though e-learning remains asynchronous, students should make every effort to attend live sessions. When possible, teachers will record live sessions for the benefit of those who have connectivity problems or other issues.
● Remember that if you see an “N” in your student’s attendance in Skyward, it means their participation has been below expectations during that week. Please see the note below regarding the Skyward Gradebook.
● Teachers will continue to be available for office hours for a given class during the block that class would meet according to the two-day rotation. Of course, students may contact teachers by email at any time, but they should not expect to receive replies outside of regular school hours.
● It is very important that students also check email and respond to emails within 24 hours.
Skyward Gradebook
The gradebook section of Family Access on Skyward will remain open as long as we are engaged in e-learning. This will provide students and parents a way to track completion of assignments. Be aware that teachers may post assignments that have not been graded, or even collected, therefore a mark with of * (asterisk) is not cause for concern. However, a mark of “0” means that the work is overdue, and that it has been factored into the semester grade.
Graduation
At present, we plan to hold our graduation ceremony as scheduled June 5 at the Pyramids of Giza. We recognize circumstances may force us to alter those plans, so we are working on contingencies. I have been and will be soliciting input from seniors during our virtual meetings.
Second Semester Exams
Second semester exam dates are currently scheduled for June 1-2 for seniors (in non-IB/AP and year 1 IB classes) and June 3-8 for grades 9-11. As e-learning continues, we are evaluating alternative methods of assessment in case we need to cancel final exams or hold some of them online. We will send more information when we have a clearer idea of when classes may resume on campus.
Jerry Duggan Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Juniors
Our university planning meetings have moved online! If you haven’t already scheduled yours with your counselor, be sure to do so ASAP to occur by the end of April. Have your packet from Junior College Night handy so we can discuss your transcript, your testing strategy, and your timeline for university applications.
Claudia Bean, Stephanie Barker, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
Athletics:
Season 2 Athletes:
Please follow up on returning CAC uniforms to the front gate. Thanks to athletes who have returned uniforms already.
CAC Athletics
Curbside delivery of print library books
The CAC libraries will continue to provide curbside delivery of library books. Patrons need to place a hold on a title by 8 am of the day of pick up, and the book – if it’s in the library – will be delivered to the front gate for pick up between 12 and 3 pm. Please note this is only on business days, so this next Sunday there will not be a curbside delivery.
Please follow instructions here for placing holds.
PARENTS: All parents at CAC are listed in the ES catalog, so you will need to log in on the ES library side even if you wish to place holds on MHS books.
See here for a short video tutorial on how to place holds on MHS books from the ES catalog.
Enjoy our ebooks and digital audiobooks
We have lots and lots of titles available on Sora, the e-reading app. Download Sora to your mobile device or visit soraapp.com. You will need to log in with your CAC single sign on when you are asked for a Follett account.
Here is a brief video tutorial on how to use Sora.
PARENTS: If you would like to see titles for you, please click on the little binoculars at the bottom of the screen on the app, then click on “Preferences”. There you can change the audience to “general adult”.
By default, Sora will limit students in the ES to the “juvenile” audience level so they will not see the young adult and general adult titles.
Josianne Fitzgerald and Nan Miller
CAC Librarians
Thank You PTO & Booster Club
Last week, all our general services staff, each one received a generous gift of 500 Egyptian pounds to prepare for Coptic Easter & the Holy Month of Ramadan.
It was very well received considering the current circumstances.
Our general services staff includes security guards, janitors, gardeners, bus monitors, drivers, car washers, electricians, painters & carpenters. A total of 148.
Thank you PTO & Booster Club for supporting the funds
Happy Easter & Ramadan Karim
LUCKY – our reporter from AMC-SNAP is enjoying his new bed!
AMC- SNAP The Animal Medical Center & Spay/Neuter Awareness Program is a spay/neuter facility for street animals, to reduce their overpopulation in Cairo.
Lucky’s bed was among other pet supplies donated by our community through the New Year’s drive we had back in December.
In addition, the ES Production, Peter Pan, donated their ticket sale proceeds ($509.8) which allowed AMC-SNAP to purchase surgical materials used to sterilize and vaccinate 20 dogs only this week.
They also got dry food and other needed supplies.
Check this video of Mrs. Rasha Hasanein’s – AMC-SNAP Manager, during her meeting with the ES Production Cast back in March. Click Here.
Thank you CAC Community & ES Production Team