CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Dear High School Parents,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics!
This was a frantic but festive short week on campus! We are immensely grateful to the PTO, Booster Club, and Student Council for all the hard work putting together a “spooktacular” Halloween celebration—twice! The students enjoyed the decorations, bags of candy, costume parades, photo opportunities, and cookies.
Next week brings significant changes to our daily schedules as we move more fully into Phase 1.5. We welcome the juniors back to campus four days a week. Freshmen and sophomores will begin adding alternating Tuesdays to their on-campus days, starting with Group 1 on November 3. Though we believe these changes will benefit students, any adjustment to the established routine will present its own challenges. Encourage your teenager to get consistent sleep, maintain a daily schedule during their online days, and check in regularly with their teachers.
We hope everyone enjoys a restful holiday weekend. Please remember that social distancing keeps us all safe, and that the health of our community depends heavily on what we do outside of school. Consistently practice the 4 W’s: Wash Your Hands, Wear Your Mask, Watch Your Distance, and Work Together.
Stay safe!
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
● Prophet’s Birthday Holiday
● Phase 1.5 Revised Schedule
● Skyward Gradebook
● Upcoming Grade Level Parent/Principal Virtual Coffees
● Thanksgiving Week Schedule
● Health and Safety Checklist
● Travel for the SAT/ACT
● Winter Break Travel Plans
Prophet’s Birthday Holiday
There will be no classes October 28-29 in celebration of the Prophet’s Birthday. Classes resume November 1.
Phase 1.5 Revised Schedule
As noted above, the weekly schedule changes on November 1. Click here for the Phase 1.5 Revised Schedule.
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. Students should speak to teachers individually if they have concerns about assignments or grades in Skyward.
Upcoming Grade Level Parent/Principal Virtual Coffees
We will continue to hold parent/principal virtual coffees by grade level. This will allow us to discuss topics particular to each grade. We hope you are able to participate. Below is the schedule of upcoming coffees:
● Grade 12: Wednesday, November 4, 10:00 am
● Grade 11: Thursday, November 5, 10:00 am
● Grade 10: Sunday, November 8, 12:00 noon
● Grade 9: Monday, November 9, 12:00 noon
Parents will receive a Zoom link via email on the morning of the coffee for their respective grade level.
Thanksgiving Week Schedule
Our next short week of classes will be the week of November 22, as we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. There will be no Tutorial Day that week. The rotation will be as follows:
Sunday, November 22: A1
Monday, November 23: A2
Tuesday, November 24: E1
Wednesday, November 25: E2, Early Release Day (Dismissal at 11:30)
Thursday, November 26: No School.
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.
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. The last scheduled final exams will be on December 16. Students should not plan to travel before their exams are concluded. Classes will resume again on January 10.
Jerry Duggan Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Pomona College Town Hall
On Monday, November 9, Pomona College will join CAC for a Virtual Town Hall. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about Pomona and the value of a Liberal Arts education. More information about registration will be provided soon.
Upcoming Virtual University Events, Visits, and Webinars
Counselors receive many emails and invites to virtual university events happening all over the world. Students and families may now view and register for these opportunities by visiting the CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage. Upcoming CAC-specific university visits and Town Halls will also be posted here. This document will be updated regularly, and you can find it here: CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage – University Visits.
Seniors- Some Early Action/Early Decision external (university) deadlines are November 15th. All EA/ED document request forms should be submitted (online) to the counseling office by November 1 (CAC’s internal deadline).
Claudia Bean, Kasey Semler, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
The Environmental Action Plan Committee
The Environmental Action Plan Committee has taken the initiative to eliminate the use of single-use plastic on the CAC campus. As a first step, we encourage ALL faculty members and parents to bring their own cups for coffee and avoid using disposable cups. There are cups for sale in the spirit store as well If you would like to buy one!
Environmental Action Plan Committee (c/o NHS)
CAC Libraries Closed This Weekend
The CAC libraries will be closed on Saturday, October 31. Please see list of open Saturdays here.
You can 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 and a week in advance.
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