Highro Glyphics Newsletter Week of May 14, 2020

CAC High School Principal’s Notes

Thank you for reading this week’s Highro-Glyphics!.

This week three roving teams (Ms. Rabie & Mr. Williams, Ms. McCall & Ms. Davis Hall, Dr. Harris & yours truly) delivered some very cool gift bags to seniors around Cairo. These deliveries were actually a secret, and we still have some bags left to deliver, so SHHHH!!! They include some special 2020 memorabilia and some other great gifts from the Advancement Office to congratulate our soon-to-be graduates as they transition from students to alumni. I know the students Dr. Harris and I met were happy and grateful, if a bit stunned to be greeted in the morning by two administrators wearing masks and gloves. Thanks especially to Engy Rabie for arranging this complex operation!

Some seniors haven’t received their gift bag yet. We plan more deliveries on Tuesday (SHHHH!!!). Also, some did not update their address in the survey sent last week, so we couldn’t find them. Please make sure they complete the survey if they haven’t already.

Here is what we have coming up:

Principal’s Notes Highlights:

● Graduation
● “Master Classes” for Seniors
● High School Recognition Night/Athletic Awards
● CIS Virtual Preparatory Accreditation Visit
● Yearbook Orders
● Final Exams
● Student Virtual Meetings with Mr. Duggan
● E-Learning Reminders
● Skyward Gradebook
● Moving on from CAC at the end of the year

Graduation

An email explaining specific plans was sent to seniors and their parents this week. Of course, ultimately we need to follow government decrees, and we will keep the community apprised of any changes.

“Master Classes” for Seniors

Two of our illustrious CAC alumni are offering online “Master Classes” to our seniors. On May 17, Hassan Abdou will offer a session on entrepreneurship. Chase Waites’ virtual cooking class, originally scheduled for this week, had to be postponed due to a power outage and has been rescheduled for May 20. Seniors will be sent more information and invitations via email. Please encourage your senior to participate!

High School Recognition/Athletic Awards Virtual Ceremony

The annual High School Recognition Ceremony will take place online May 18 at 4:00 pm. This year’s ceremony will include the End-of-Year Athletic Awards. Recipients have received invitations via email. but everyone is welcome to attend (virtually, of course) and can join through this link. Because there is a limit to the number of people who may attend, we ask that families log in from one computer and attend the ceremony together if possible. If parents do need to login separately, we ask that they do so through their CAC parent email account.

CIS Virtual Preparatory Accreditation Visit

During the week commencing 17th May, CAC will be undergoing a Virtual Preparatory Accreditation Visit by Priscilla Feir from the Middle States Association and George Hobson from the Council of International Schools (CIS). This visit is the culmination of several months’ work during which the school has measured itself against core standards from CIS’s revised International Accreditation Framework (2019). A detailed Preparatory Evaluation Report has been submitted which the evaluators will be using as the basis for a series of meetings with stakeholders next week. The evaluator’s schedule includes meetings with teachers, parents, students, and trustees on themes such as the school’s purpose and direction, curriculum, teaching and learning practices, and well-being. In addition, CAC is excited to be one of the first schools undertaking a remote preparatory evaluation using a recently published virtual accreditation protocol that has been put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the visit, the school will receive a progress report from the evaluators which will be used to initiate a comprehensive self-study process starting next academic year and including broad representation from all stakeholders in CAC’s community.

Yearbook Orders

HS Parents, don’t wait to order your copy of the CAC 2019-2020 Yearbook!

Fill out the following HS Yearbook Order Form to reserve your copy. Yearbooks will be on sale for LE 550.  After June 2nd, the HS Yearbook will be available for 600 LE. For multiple copies, please fill out a separate form for each copy you request. Google forms will send you a confirmation receipt once your answers are submitted. Make sure to print out your emailed receipt to claim your copy. Parents who will fill out the form will be committed to purchase the 2019/20 Yearbook. Pick up date will be announced soon. Please check the morning announcements for more information.

Final Exams

Given the unusual circumstances of this year, we have decided not to hold final exams as originally planned. This change will allow teachers to add some instructional time to their classes, enable us to provide students with alternative assessments to demonstrate their learning, and mitigate the stress that might come from high stakes testing in a novel learning environment. Please see the morning announcements for more information and for the revised schedule for June 3-8. Students should make every effort to attend a synchronous meeting for the last class of each block. Those who cannot attend because of time zone differences should communicate in advance with teachers regarding expectations for the last days of school.

Student Virtual Meetings with Mr. Duggan

My Flex Block virtual meetings are back! 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.

Moving on from CAC at the end of the year?

To help us with our planning for next year, and In order to prepare your records in time for your departure if you haven’t already done so, please use the link below to let us know if you are withdrawing from CAC at the end of this year.
https://www.cacegypt.org/index.php/cac-withdrawal-request

 

Jerry Duggan               Rachel McCall
                HS Principal                  HS Assistant Principal

 

Counseling Department Announcements

10th and 11th grade HS families,

Over the years, CAC has provided students information regarding standardized tests that are traditionally used for US admissions (SAT & ACT). Along with holding the practice test each fall for students in Grades 10 and 11 (PreACT & PSAT), we have offered classes on campus from our preferred provider, Higher Ground Learning.

The application cycle and university admissions requirements will look very different for the Class of 2021 and 2022. Already at this point, more than 54% of US universities have dropped the requirement for standardized tests as part of the admissions process for Fall 2021 entry. The College Board and ACT are assessing if and where an in-person test may be offered next fall, and they are also looking into creating an online test option. However, if a university has already dropped the standardized test requirement for next cycle, they will not reinstate it.

Universities in the USA will continue to rely on transcripts, essays and academic resumes to assess their applicant pool.

Since many of you are applying to universities that may still require a test score, we want to make you aware of this test prep opportunity from Higher Ground Learning for next fall:

highergroundprep.com/enroll/CAC2020

At this time, it is not assured that Higher Ground Learning can send an instructor to Cairo to teach the class in person. However, they will be able to offer the course online. The link above gives details about the course including the fees. The registration deadline is June 5, 2020.

This is an individual decision, so please contact your counselor to discuss your circumstances so we can advise based on your plans.

 

Claudia Bean, Stephanie Barker, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling

General Announcements

Moving on from CAC at the end of the year?

To help us with our planning for next year, and In order to prepare your records in time for your departure if you haven’t already done so, please use the link below to let us know if you are withdrawing from CAC at the end of this year.

https://www.cacegypt.org/index.php/cac-withdrawal-request

Registrar’s Office

2020/2021 Detailed Calendar

• 2020/21 detailed calendar is now available online.
• Proposed dates for CAC Week Without Walls (HS) and Prime Trips (MS) for the SECOND SEMESTER of the 2020-2021 school year will be confirmed in August 2020 by the CAC administration for February 14-18 or March 21-25, 2021.

Scott Fitzgerald
Activities & Athletic Director

End of year preparations for the MHS library

May 28 – last day of curbside delivery
June 1 – all library materials due back

Please return your library materials by June 1. There is a library drop box at the CAC front gate, now from 10 am to 3 pm daily, except for weekends and holidays. If you miss the drop box, please give to the gate guards but label with your name and “MHS library” so the guards know to pass them on to us.

Patrons can see what materials they have out by following these steps:

1. Visit the library catalog, library.cacegypt.org
2. Choosing the MHS library, THEN logging in with their CAC single sign on
a. Parents, please log in to the ES library, regardless of what division your children are in.
3. Click on the “My Info” tab.

The “My Info” tab will have a list of all the materials currently checked out to the patron.

Overdue notices for library materials due back before school closed (May 12) will be going out on Sunday for the next two weeks and daily in June. Please return all your library materials.

Please contact Mrs. Fitzgerald, librarian@cacegypt.org, with questions about your library account.

Josianne Fitzgerald 
MHS and Head Librarian

Booster Club Thank You to Teachers

Please click on the link (or copy and paste) to watch some of our students thank our deserving teachers for all that they do.
Thank you to the families who sent in videos/pictures.
Please enjoy!
https://youtu.be/wgujAd6SwW8

Booster Club