CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Dear High School Parents,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics!
We made it! Today was the last day of regular classes in the High School, as next week we conduct our semester exams. The Booster Club helped us celebrate by providing hot chocolate and holiday cookies, and the week concluded with a fabulous (and socially distanced) performance from a mixed student and faculty band. Congratulations to the students for their hard work, and thank you for your continued support of our community in this most unusual of years.
Of course, we aren’t quite done yet, with exams coming up. As we have discussed at the recent parent coffees, students can prepare using methods shown by cognitive science to be effective. You can find information about those methods in your student’s daily planner.
During exams we will continue the COVID mitigation procedures that have aided us in preventing the spread of the virus on our campus. While we do not know for certain what phase of our reopening will be in effect in January, we will continue to prioritize a strong learning program in a safe environment. As Dr. Harris stated in his email last week, we anticipate providing more information sometime during the last week of December.
Next week will be the final edition of Highro-Glyphics in 2020. Thank you for reading!
Stay safe!
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
● Dressing for Colder Weather
● Semester Exams
● Attendance Requirements/Off-Campus Privileges During Exam Week
● Skyward Gradebook
● Health and Safety Checklist
● Winter Break Travel Plans
● Registration, Second Semester Exams, and Graduation
Dressing for Colder Weather
As the weather turns colder, remind your children to dress accordingly. As part of our COVID mitigation, we keep doors and windows open in classrooms, including during semester exams. Typically this time of year, mornings are cool while afternoons are warm, so it is important for students to wear layers.
Semester Exams
Students in grades 9-12 will have semester exams Sunday – Wednesday, December 13-16. New this year, 9th /10th graders will be expected to come to campus all four days for exams; we will use mitigation efforts to keep groups 1 and 2 separate during testing. Click here to see the exam schedule. Only those students with a medical emergency may be excused from school during exams week. If you have any questions regarding exams attendance, please direct them to Ms. McCall (rmccall@cacegypt.org).
Attendance Requirements/Off-Campus Privileges During Exam Week
This clarifies attendance requirements for Exams Week (December 13-16), and procedures for leaving campus early.
Students are required to sit for their exams as scheduled. If a student becomes suddenly ill, their parents must contact the office same day by 8:00 am via email, and submit a doctor’s note upon return to excuse the absence.
Students in grades 9-11 who already have off-campus privileges will be allowed to leave campus right after their last exam for the day. No special pass is needed, if there is already a yellow stripe on a student’s ID card. If parents wish to rescind this privilege, please email the HS Office.
For students who do not have off-campus privileges, their parents may approve temporary privileges to leave campus early during Exams Week. In these cases, parents should email the HS office to give temporary authorization, and the student should stop by the HS Office with his/her ID card.
We recommend that students leave campus after their last exam every day to study at home. If they wish or need to remain on campus, they may do so. Coffee Bean will remain open for lunch and snacks. The library will also be open to students via appointment via the cacegypt.org “Campus Open Areas Signup” portal, or drop-in, if there is space.
Unless otherwise directed by the IB Coordinator, HS students are not required to attend school on Thursday.
Please contact the HS office if you have any questions.
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. Remind your children (no matter how many times they’ve heard it) to avoid the 3 C’s: Crowded places, Closed spaces, and Close conversations; and to 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.
Registration, Second Semester Exams, and Graduation
Course Registration – Course registration for the 2021-22 academic year will start in February.
Second semester exam dates are May 31 – June 1 for seniors and June 2-7 for grades 9-11. Please keep in mind while you plan your summer travels that seniors are able to depart after graduation and underclassmen after their final examination.
Graduation – A memo will be circulated to all parents of seniors in early March outlining the events leading up to graduation. This year’s Graduation Ceremony is on Friday, June 4.
Jerry Duggan Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Seniors: Seniors have been reminded to please submit any document request forms now to our office for any universities with deadlines up through January 15th, 2021. Since CAC is closed for winter break as of December 18th until January 10th, no documents can be processed from CAC during that time.
Documents will resume being processed after we return from winter break on January 10th. Students should double check deadlines and what applications still need to be submitted before the break and fill out and turn in the forms now. The link to Document Request Forms is here.
Juniors: Save the date! February 2, 2021. Junior College Night programming will be a little different this year. The kickoff live virtual session will be held on February 2nd. We will be providing more information when we return from break, so stay tuned!
PSAT: Please note that PSAT scores have been released. Students have received an email detailing how to login to their College Board account. Students will also have a debrief next semester with counselors.
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.
Mail- If students have mail delivered to CAC (usually college brochures or notifications) that would normally be placed in the mailboxes outside of the counseling office, we will still have the mail delivered here, and the counseling office will email the student to retrieve it.
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
CAC Libraries Open This Weekend
December 12 will be the last Saturday in 2020 to be open for parents. Please make an appointment for the libraries on the parent dashboard. Look for the box “Campus Facilities Online Appointment.” You can get to that via the CAC website, cacegypt.org, or via the SchoolStream app.
Please note that the checkout limits for December will stay the same as always. Parents and ES students can each check out 10 books from the ES library, and parents and MHS students can check out 10 books from the MHS library.
Sora is open 24/7 with hundreds of ebooks and digital audiobooks to enjoy from the convenience of your mobile device or computer. Here is a screencast tutorial on how to access.
All books checked out for December break reading are due back at CAC on January 10. The libraries will re-open on Saturdays on January 16.
Josianne Fitzgerald
MHS Head Librarian
CAC Talks Recording
Check out the recording out our latest CAC Talks: Nurturing the Emotional Intelligence of Boys: What their Favorite Books, Movies, and Video Games are Telling Us. A special thanks to Dr. Laura Valdez Pagliaro, Ph.D. for providing such a great task to our PTO community.
Link to recording:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yfTaPOK9XwDpnin8SnGy14SZ3nqtvytZSP0hA_mTU_k/edit
PTO Virtual Book Auction
Give the gift of BOOKS!
PTO has an online Book Auction where you can get wonderful book bundles for minimal prices. They make fabulous gifts, at a fraction of the retail cost.
How does it work? Open this document, look around, and write down your bid and contact info. We will be in touch when the Auction closes on Dec 15, and deliver your books to you.
Link to the document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iGZqJTpBdZ_NqyeD2BGhsh0dIxK84-rRctVGxMXyriw/edit#heading=h.36el3l20mtkp
This document opens normally if you’re logged into your CAC email account. For all others, please just ask for permission to edit the doc, and PTO will issue it within minutes.
CAC PTO
Support the ES Kindness Campaign to the Health & Hope Oasis:
ES Students are leading a Kindness Campaign to collect needed items for the Health & Hope Oasis.
Check this video where the ES students are telling you about their campaign: Please click here
All the details can be found here: Kind Words & Actions Make a Difference
If you would like to donate, please drop your donations on Thursday, December 17 from 7:30 – 2:00 pm at gate 6. Please make a quick drop off so we don’t cause traffic.
Needed items include; Kid’s Clothing, Toys, Stationery, Blankets, Strollers, etc,..
Adult Volunteers are needed: Please sign up here: Thursday, Dec. 17 Volunteer Form
Ereeny Gergess
Service Learning Coordinator