CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Dear High School Parents,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics!
This week the campus had a very different feel, as High School students began staying after school for pre-season conditioning, sophomores and juniors took the Pre-ACT and PSAT exams, and MUN students geared up for CACMUN 42. It was wonderful to feel the positive energy on campus, and we hope that energy grows as we continue our phased reopening.
As I said at the grade level parent coffees and a senior class meeting this week, the success of that reopening will continue to depend on what students do off campus. Please encourage your children to think and act carefully in social situations, and make sure your family practices the 4 W’s: Wash Your Hands, Wear Your Mask, Watch Your Distance, and Work Together.
We are looking forward to welcoming our seniors back to campus for four days a week starting Sunday. Rumor has it the Booster Club has some nice surprises in store for them.
Stay safe!
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
• CACMUN 42
• Skyward Gradebook
• Progress Reports
• Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Special Schedules October 25-27
• Prophet’s Birthday Holiday
• Health and Safety Checklist
• NESA Parents as Partners Webinars
• Travel for the SAT/ACT
• Winter Break Travel Plans
CACMUN 42
The Model United Nations (MUN) club provides a challenging and enriching forum for students to discuss current international issues and to view those issues from different perspectives. Over 70 CAC students will participate in this year’s conference, which will take place virtually on Friday and Saturday. Students will debate topics around the theme of “Embracing Change”, with a focus on finding viable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.
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. With students attending classes fewer days than normal, we think students and parents can find it a useful tool. Skyward will remain open for student and parent viewing until the morning of October 18, when progress reports will be completed.
Progress Reports
Mid-semester narrative progress reports will be available on Skyward on October 19. Instructions for accessing the reports will be sent when they are posted. Please be aware that this progress report represents the grades to date at the half-way mark of the semester. All students will be provided with narrative feedback on this progress report, which we hope you as parents find helpful. The reports provide a reference for parent/teacher conferences. Please note this progress report is used to determine athletic/activity eligibility and academic probation.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held online after school on Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20. Parent booking of conferences started on October 11 via Skyward. Update: Please note that the deadline for parents to book conferences will be end of the day on Saturday, October 17. Instructions for how to book meetings have been sent in a separate email. There will be no Tutorial Day that week, as students will be encouraged to attend conferences with their parents online. Some teachers may also require students participation in conferences.
Special Schedules October 25-27
The week of October 25 is a short week, with an Early Release day on October 27 followed by a four-day weekend. In order to ensure equal time for Groups 1 and 2 and all classes, we will run special schedules that week:
● Sunday, October 25—Blocks A-H, Group 1 (and all seniors)
● Monday, October 26—Blocks A-H, Group 2 (and all seniors)
● Tuesday, October 27—Tutorial Tuesday online, 8:00-11:30
The specific schedules can be found here.
Prophet’s Birthday Holiday
There will be no classes October 28-29 in celebration of the Prophet’s Birthday. Classes resume November 1. We hope everyone enjoys a safe long weekend. Please be mindful that all the same social distancing rules should be followed while traveling, especially in hotels and restaurants.
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.
NESA Parents as Partners Webinars
NESA, the Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools, has been hosting a webinar series allowing parents “to hear from distinguished specialists and to explore and learn new strategies in support of your child as a learner.” I have heard good reviews from our parent community. CAC is a NESA member school, and parents can register for the series with Zoom HERE.
Travel for the SAT/ACT
The cancellation of the SAT in Egypt has continued to cause great anxiety for seniors and juniors. Standardized tests are only one metric colleges and universities use to consider applicants, and many have announced they will accept (and even encourage) test optional applications. College recruiters have repeatedly confirmed this in sessions they have held for our students and parents. We strongly advise against traveling abroad to take standardized tests, especially in a time when flight cancellations and changing quarantine requirements may cause students to miss more school.
Winter Break Travel Plans
If you are making travel plans for the Holiday Season, a reminder that the first day of Winter Break is December 18. Students will have final exams and should not depart early. Classes will resume again on January 10.
Jerry Duggan Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Upcoming College Virtual Visit for our CAC HS families:
Join us for a Virtual Town Hall with the University of Michigan on Wednesday, October 21st at 6:00 pm. Learn about what it is like to be part of the student community at a top public research institution in the Midwest of the US that has NCAA Division 1 sports and is in one of the best college towns around! Register here: U of M Virtual Session
Registration will close at 4:30 PM on the 21st. The webinar link will be sent to your CAC email at 5 PM on the day of the webinar.
Seniors
CAC Application Internal Deadlines. A reminder that the counseling office has internal deadlines for all applications being submitted. This is to ensure there is ample time for the counseling team to submit official documents on the student’s behalf. For example, The US Early Action/Early Decision internal deadline is Oct. 15th. Applications are to be polished and ready to be sent to the universities by October 15, for any school with a November 1st deadline.
Freshmen
As a follow up to the freshman seminars, freshmen are reminded to complete the Learning and Productivity Assessment on Maia Learning, share their results with their counselor, and schedule an individual appointment with their counselor.
Student Appointments
As seniors will be back on campus 4 days a week starting next week, we ask that students continue to book appointments with their counselor, and avoid walk-in appointments as much as possible. This is to ensure we continue following proper Covid-19 mitigation procedures. Students are encouraged to book appointments using the online booking system. QR codes are posted around campus and the daily announcements also have the links.
Last names A-E: Mr. Simon
Last names F-M: Ms. Bean
Last Names N-Z: Mr. Semler
Claudia Bean, Kasey Semler, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
Fall Sports Conditioning
Following proper mitigation guidelines, CAC has started fall sports conditioning for student athletes by sport. It is nice to see volleyball, soccer and cross country boys and girls back in action. Go CAC Screaming Eagles!, #whereelsebutCAC, #CACturns75
https://www.facebook.com/CairoAmericanCollegeAthleticsActivities
Scott Fitzgerald
Activities & Athletics Director
CAC Libraries Open This Weekend
The CAC libraries will be open for community this Saturday and October 23. Please see list of open Saturdays here.
Please book a 30-minute appointment slot on the CAC parent dashboard’s “CAC Campus Facilities Online Booking” form. Bookings are accepted until Fridays at 7 pm.
You can access the booking system through the new CAC School Stream app. Click “CAC” at the bottom of the screen, then scroll down to “Parents Dashboard.” You will be prompted to log in, which you’ll do with your parent CAC single sign on. Look for the “CAC Campus Facilities Online Booking” link and follow the prompts.
Sora, our ebook and digital audiobook app
With the Sora app, available on all mobile platforms, or soraapp.com, CAC students, parents and teachers can access a large and growing collection of ebooks and digital audiobooks. All you need is your CAC single sign on to log in.
See a preview here. (Sora will ask for your Follett account. That just means your CAC single sign on.)
Please write to librarian@cacegypt.org if you encounter any problems.
Josianne Fitzgerald
MHS & Head Librarian
Spirit Store Opening
The Booster Club would like to announce the opening of the Spirit Store for all products! We are happy to now be open during every school day from 8:30-10:00am and 1:30-2:45pm. Please stop by using Gate 7 and shop through our windows. We still cannot have customers inside the store, but we will soon be offering an online catalogue of all of our products for you to make your list at home and bring to the Spirit Store for us to fill! Come on by and shop for spirit wear, lunch box items and school supplies (as well as masks and PE uniforms). We can’t wait to see you at the Store!
WELCOME BACK TO OUR SENIORS!!! The Booster Club is so happy to have our seniors back on campus 4 days a week. Seniors, look out for a special Booster Club “SENIOR SURPRISE” every day next week! Go Class of 2021!
The Booster Club
Coming up! Join us at this school-wide LIVE Virtual Event! Our Head of School and all Principals will be there to answer questions from the PTO community. Please email questions in advance to cacpto@cacegypt.org.
Advanced questions are encouraged and will be given priority, but if time allows in the 1-hour session, we will take questions from the Zoom Chat feature. Note that we have learned from our previous Q & A and have now planned capacity for up to 500 attendees. Typed transcript will follow.
Zoom Meeting Link https://fundforteachers.zoom.us/j/96115447581?pwd=bzFLNW9STTdOM2dmenkzMUYvaWt6Zz09
Meeting ID: 961 1544 7581 / Passcode: 499561
Welcome to the CAC TALKS PTO Archives! Below you will find a link to a document holding the recent recorded CAC Talks session, compiled notes, and additional resources.
“COVID-19: Mental Wellness” – Dr Anne Justus, September 8, 2020 (recording only): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IHuZQNNHx1uCrfEMm0Aw2B6eLEvBfjES/view?usp=sharing
“Talking [to Kids] About Feminism” – Dr. Jason Beckett, September 30, 2020:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_-QKrljYSU1qKjvoABJUsnbV5j5RBF9VK6ug8tlFKlA/edit?usp=sharing
“Depression in Children & Adolescents” – Dr. Anne Justus, October 6, 2020:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zoIhVFfIbEQRRQYnTSom5ezM328h78nzk7Y7Lhw__Wc/edit?usp=sharing
Please contact cacpto@cacegypt.org if you have any questions.
PTO
