CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Dear High School Parents,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics!
Monday was the Peace Day. This year the UN asked the world to “Celebrate the International Day of Peace by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.” We commemorated Peace Day with a lunchtime performance by our Middle and High School strings class. The arts remain a vital way for us to express our emotions and develop empathy, which is always important, but especially so in these times. Thank you to our talented strings students for sharing their beautiful music with us.
We have now finished Week 5 of our Blended Learning Program. It is important to remember that it is a new learning environment for everyone, and it is still early in its implementation. One benefit of such a platform is that it fosters a student’s ability to learn independently, though that takes time to develop. As your student begins to encounter more difficult material, they may become frustrated, but with perseverance they can learn to take responsibility for their learning, advocate for themselves, and improve their time management. These are skills that will serve them well beyond high school.
I have had the good fortune to be a guest teacher in a few classes recently (Economics and English, specifically). It was very fun! But it was the first time I had taught a class with all our mitigation measures, and I found that masks certainly present a challenge for teachers and students. It is more tiring to speak with a mask, and harder to project one’s voice. No one ever has a problem hearing me, but students have a harder time being heard. That being said, it is very important that everyone wear masks, as research has shown it to be one of the simplest, most effective measures in preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Of course, we would all like to see our students on campus full-time when it is possible and safe to do so. To that end, I would like to reiterate the message I sent last week: to maintain the momentum of our campus reopening, we all have a responsibility to practice mitigation when we are away from campus. There are numerous tricks we can all use to remember what to do. Two such mnemonic devices I have found helpful come from Japan:
Avoid the 3 C’s: Crowds, Closed Spaces, Close Conversations
Practice the 4 W’s: Wash Your Hands, Wear Your Mask, Watch Your Distance, and Work Together.
Stay safe!
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
● Principal’s Virtual Coffee
● Skyward Gradebook
● HS Yearbook Photos Next Week
● Upcoming Tutorial Day Changes
● October 8 Holiday
● Pre-ACT/PSAT
● Parent-Teacher Conferences
● Activities During Lunch (see announcements)
● Health and Safety Checklist
Principal’s Virtual Coffee
Join us for a principal’s virtual coffee Tuesday, September 29 at 2:00 pm. Topics will include updates to our learning platform, how to keep students motivated in trying times, and various other concerns. Parents will receive a Zoom link via email on Tuesday morning.
Skyward Gradebook
Skyward is the secured student information system used at CAC. The gradebook section of Family Access allows students and parents to view student progress each fortnight. It will be open from today after school until Sunday morning. Teachers are available to speak to students in person and on Tutorial Tuesdays about progress and academic performance.
The next Skyward opening date is October 7, as October 8 is now a holiday.
HS Yearbook Photos Next Week
Yearbook photos for students in grades 9-11 are taking place Sunday-Monday, September 27-28 and Wednesday-Thursday, September 30-October 1 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Library (change of location). All students in grades 9-11 will have their pictures taken during study hall and flex. Grade 9 will be accompanied by teachers during their study hall periods. Grades 10-11 who are on flex should sign in for flex then have their pictures taken. Students without a flex will have their pictures taken during lunch.
Students wishing to purchase school photos must fill out this form High School Photography 2020/21. All payments should be delivered directly to the photographer.
Purchasing photos is optional, but all students in grades 9-11 must have their photo taken for the purpose of publication in the annual High School Yearbook. Students in Grade 12 may arrange to have their own photos taken according to requirements that will be sent by Ms. Salmawy.
Upcoming Tutorial Day Changes
The Armed Forces Holiday, the PSAT/Pre-ACT exams, and Parent Teacher Conferences will all affect upcoming Tutorial Days. Please see the respective announcements below.
October 8 Holiday
As Dr. Harris has announced, CAC will celebrate the Armed Forces holiday on Thursday, October 8. There will be no tutorial day that week. The rotation for the week will proceed as follows:
Sunday, Oct. 4: A1
Monday, Oct. 5: A2
Tuesday, Oct. 6: E1
Wednesday, Oct. 7: E2
Pre-ACT/PSAT
On Wednesday, October 14, all sophomores will take the Pre-ACT exam on campus. All juniors will take the PSAT on campus. More details will be announced next week. The rotation for the week of October 11 will be as follows:
Sunday, Oct. 11: A1
Monday, Oct. 12: A2
Tuesday, Oct. 13: E1
Wednesday, Oct. 14: Grade 10 Pre-ACT, Grade 11 PSAT,
Grades 9 and 12 Tutorial Day
Thursday, Oct. 15: E2
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held online after school on Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20. More information will be sent next week. There will be no Tutorial Day that week, as students will be encouraged to attend conferences with their parents online.
Activities During Lunch
Next week we will begin offering recreational activities during lunch. Look for details in next week’s morning announcements.
Health and Safety Checklist
Please regularly review the checklists for students and parents (click here) related to health and safety. It is important we do not become complacent.
Jerry Duggan Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Senior College Meetings: Reminder- Seniors need to have their senior college meetings by September 30.
Standardized Testing Update
As you know, the SAT in Egypt is cancelled for the 2020-21 application season, and the ACT is limited. 1,550 US universities are test optional for this year’s cycle and beyond. However, we know some parents are planning ahead for their younger students who may want to take part in a test prep course for future years. We want to make you aware of an opportunity to pursue test prep- which is online for now- and can resume in person here at CAC post pandemic. Higher Ground Learning offers standardized test prep options for CAC students, including 1-on-1 tutoring and small online classrooms. All of their services start with a free consultation; contact colton@highergroundlearning.com to craft an approach that fits your timeline and goals.
Juniors and Seniors
Save the date! September 29, 2020
CAC Hosted Town Hall – Purdue University
Tuesday, September 29 at 5:00PM
An admissions representative from Purdue University will join students and families of Cairo to provide an overview of what Purdue has to offer. This will be a 20 minute info session followed by a 10 minute Q&A. Registration details will follow.
CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage
Now available in the CAC single sign-on for students and families in grades 11-12, the CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage. On this webpage you will find senior night programming information, including instructional videos and information for when students are applying to universities in the United States, UK, and Canada. Please also be sure to watch the videos on financial aid for US universities and how students should upload their university list to Maia Learning. Please utilize this webpage and feel free to leave feedback/suggestions by filling out the form embedded in the home page. You will find the link at the top of your single sign-on.
For students/families in grades 11-12, the link should be on your single sign on. An example of what it might look like for you is below:
Upcoming External Webinars and Virtual Events
This event is not affiliated with CAC
Join Butler University, Creighton University, Florida Institute of Technology, Johnson and Wales University, Kansas State University, University at Albany, SUNY, University at Pittsburgh, University of Texas Arlington at 4:00pm-6:00pm on Monday, September 28th. This session, hosted by Consultants for Educational Opportunities (CEO), will be taking a look at college application do’s and don’ts, the admissions process as a whole, scholarships, STEM Careers, and general Covid-19 updates. You can register by following this link.
A reminder students and families can check on Maia Learning under the ‘University Visits’ tab for all upcoming virtual events, webinars, and university visits.
Claudia Bean, Kasey Semler, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
Student Physical Reminder for 2020/2021
Completed physicals are accepted at the health office, by email at cgallagher@cacegypt.org or nosama@cacegypt.org or hand-delivered to security at the front gate.
https://www.cacegypt.org/PDF/Student_Physician_form.pdf
CAC Health Office
CAC libraries on Saturdays
As we get ready to allow the ES students in to the library to browse and checkout, we have made more changes to the ES library. For our parents who visit the ES library on Saturdays, please expect the library to look a little different. Signs on the door will outline the set up for students during the week and for parents on Saturdays. You can preview the poster here.
The MHS library will remain the same.
To make a 30 minute appointment to visit our libraries on Saturdays, please log in to the CAC dashboard and look for the box “Campus Facilities Online Booking.”
Josianne Fitzgerald
MHS & Head Librarian
Booster Club
The Booster Club has been working hard with CAC’s IT department to get our online Spirit Store up and running. We appreciate your patience while we finish up with the final adjustments. We will be sure to widely advertise when the Spirit Store is ready for business. We will be offering a vast array of products including: PE uniforms, masks, spirit wear and school supplies. The Spirit Store will offer the options of both safe curbside pick-up and delivery (within Maadi). We appreciate your understanding with this new endeavor that the Booster Club is undertaking. We are sure it will be worth the wait! Thanks!
The Booster Club Volunteers
Let’s put our ideas together “THE IDEAS TANK”
We have created a google form that will serve as a tank of ideas. Questions proposed on this form will vary based on the school phases, safety measures & the calendar. This form will serve as a channel of communication with our CAC community to coordinate and put our ideas into action. The Ideas Tank Form link will be shared regularly in the newsletters.. Students may share their ideas and suggest the next questions, teachers may use these questions in a discussion in their classrooms, parents may start the conversation at their dinner table. We need everyone on board! Our first question will be;
“How can we contribute to the community while maintaining physical distance & managing our own safety?”.
Click here to send your ideas: THE IDEAS TANK. Selected ideas may be shared for inspiration.
Service Learning Office
PTO Monthly Meeting Link:
https://zoom.us/j/99506497883?pwd=d2NxNDFML25VQ01aM25vTitNeU9LQT09
Meeting ID: 995 0649 7883
Passcode: 353379