CAC High School Principal’s Notes
The picture above shows students packing books to donate to the Educate Me Foundation. It is always great to see our students’ commitment to helping others.
Dear High School Parents,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics!
Thanks to all who attended this week’s virtual coffee to learn more about summative assessments, the principles we use to design them, and ways students can prepare for them. As I said at the coffee, we are working to finalize the exam schedule, and we should be able to share more details next week.
As we move more fully into Phase 2, our sports teams will be able to hold some intrasquad competitions, and more activities can meet after school. Season 2 sports signups will begin next week. We are also looking to bring Coffee Bean back on campus so students can purchase beverages and prepackaged lunches. We are working with the vendor to finalize menu options and make sure we have virus mitigation measures safely in place before reopening.
Though small, these steps can have a big impact on student morale. That will be important in the coming few weeks, as the stress brought by end-of-semester projects, final exams, and college applications begins to mount. We aim to help students manage that stress so that when they go to university, they have learned how to manage it themselves. A positive atmosphere on campus helps keep our students learning, exploring, and having fun.
Have a great weekend, and stay safe!
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
● Grade Level Parent/Principal Virtual Coffees
● Thanksgiving Week Schedule
● Skyward Gradebook
● Health and Safety Checklist
● Winter Break Travel Plans
Grade Level Parent/Principal Virtual Coffees
We will hold one more round of grade level parent coffees in early December. Please check Highro-Glyphics next week for the specific dates and times.
Thanksgiving Week Schedule
Next week will be a shorter one, as we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. There will be no Tutorial Day next 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.
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.
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. Consistently practice the 4 W’s: Wash Your Hands, Wear Your Mask, Watch Your Distance, and Work Together.
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
Upcoming Virtual University Events, Visits, and Webinars
See the CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage to see the upcoming visits. This document is updated regularly: CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage – University Visits.
Seniors- Once applications are submitted to universities, students are encouraged to check those university portals once every two-three weeks to check the status of the application.
Reminder: All Document Request forms for your university deadlines between now and January 30th are due to the counseling office by November 29th. No documents can be sent from CAC over winter break.
The University of California applications are due November 30th which means CAC’s internal deadline to complete the application and submit the DRF’s is November 15th. The U. C. application is all self-reported, but students should still submit a DRF to the counseling office (only one for all campuses). Here is a reference guide for the UC Admission process.
Some universities have a Regular Deadline of December 1st, which means CAC’s internal deadline to complete the application and submit the DRF’s was November 15th.
Claudia Bean, Kasey Semler, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
Moving on from CAC before the winter break?
To help us prepare your records in time for your departure, please use the link below to let us know if you are withdrawing from CAC this semester.
https://www.cacegypt.org/index.php/cac-withdrawal-request
A few days before your departure, a withdrawal form that includes several signatures must also be completed in order to clear any outstanding obligations, and turned in to the Admission/Registrar’s Office to release records. Due to the current circumstances the Middle and High School withdrawal form is being prepared by the Counseling offices and shared with teachers and student online.
Please note that High School transcripts including this semester’s grades will not be available until January 17, 2021.
Registrar’s office
Season 2 Signup:
CAC season 2 sport conditioning signup will take place online from Tuesday, November 24 at 8:00 am, through Monday, November 30 at 8:00 pm. (Link, https://forms.gle/MS45mx1Pkt9XrQ5E8)
The sports available for signups are:
JV and Varsity Girls Basketball
JV and Varsity Boys Basketball
Junior and Varsity (grades 6-12) Girls and Boys Swimming
The CAC JV and Varsity Wrestling and Dance programs are on hold for the 2020-2021 school year until further notice.
All practices will be on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 3:15-4:30, until further notice.
CAC season 2 is scheduled from December 2, 2020, until March 14, 2021.
Basketball facilities schedule:
Girls: Sunday- main gym, Monday- outdoor court, Wednesday- main gym, Thursday- outdoor court.
Boys: Sunday- outdoor court, Monday- main gym, Wednesday- outdoor court, Thursday- main gym.
Scott Fitzgerald
Activities & Athletics Director
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 Open This Weekend
The CAC libraries will be open this Saturday, November 21. Please see list of open Saturdays here.
You will need to make an appointment for Saturdays through the online booking system on the CAC dashboard.
New York Times access for CAC
The CAC libraries have a digital subscription to the New York Times. To access, go to nytimes.com/passes and create a new account or log in with your CAC single sign on. Follow the prompts until the site says, “Get Started.”
Class of 2020 Extended Essays on the library catalog
The EEs that earned As or Bs written by the Class of 2020 are now on the library catalog for the CAC community to read. These are examples of solid research and good writing, and can serve as samples for future IB candidates.
To access the EEs, visit the library catalog, library.cacegypt.org and choose the MHS library. No need to log in. In the search field, enter “extended essay 2019-2020” and browse through the essays listed. Click on “Open” next to each result to read the essay on your browser.
So far, we have the EEs from the class of 2019 and the class of 2020. We’re looking forward to uploading the essays written by the class of 2021!
Josianne Fitzgerald
MHS & Head Librarian
Sunday, Nov. 22 – Maadi Kindness Rock Project Launch (For Students)
Looking for student representatives from the 3 divisions to kick off the launch, lead the marketing campaign, and take on the project. If you can do any of these, please contact Ms. Ereeny by Thursday, Nov. 19 at the latest. This is part of an inspiring wider global movement, click here to know more and share your rock photos on the Facebook group; Maadi Kindness Rocks. Thanks to Lakesha PTO Head of Community Service Committee who reintroduced the event this year.
In 2017 the CAC High School STUCO lead by Dorothy Knox did a fantastic job of leading the Kindness Rock Project – even taking some rocks with them on WWW trips and spreading kindness around the world. We are looking forward to joining this movement again.
Tuesday Nov. 24 – GSS Appreciation Lunch Volunteer Form
It is heartwarming and inspiring to see our wonderful CAC community joining & coordinating their efforts together.
How can you help on the day?
If you can offer an extra hand, please submit this Volunteer Sign up form.
Slots will be closed as we reach the maximum number so we can respect safety mitigation steps.
What is still needed?
1- A second meal! that GSS can take home to their families. Please click here to confirm the number of meals or desserts that you will order so we can track of the progress and update in the announcement link, here.
2- Appreciation notes to our GSS in Arabic/English. Notes can be left in the ES, MS & HS Offices. These will be placed inside the meals boxes/bags for the GSS to enjoy.
Middle School Thanksgiving Clothing Drive
Let’s show our thanks by giving. As the weather gets colder and we start organizing our winter and summer clothes, it’s a good time to sift through your small and unused clothing items. The MS Student Council is sponsoring a clothing drive to donate to local charities – The Egyptian Clothing Bank, MOVE Egypt and Awladi Orphange. We are collecting gently used clothing items and blankets to donate to those in need of all ages, infant to adult size (includes: T-shirts, sweaters, socks, pants, jackets, etc).
Click these links to know more about the organizations; The Egyptian Clothing Bank , MOVE Foundation and Awlady Orphanage.
The drive is running from Sunday, November 15 to Sunday, November 29. The delivery will be on the week of Nov.29
Middle school students should bring their items to their advisory classroom to be counted and stored. The advisory that collects the most clothing items will win a lunch of their choice (delivered during lunch the following week).
CAC Community (ES students, HS students, faculty & staff) can put their donations in the red donation box at the front gate.
Remember: all items must be clean and in good condition. Please do not bring torn or worn out items. Students, please make sure you have your parents’ permission to donate the clothing items.
In honor of our 75th anniversary, our goal is to reach 75 kilos of clothing/blankets to donate. Help us reach that goal!
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Ereeny Gawdat (egergess@cacegypt.org).
Ereeny Gergess
Service Learning Coordinator