CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Dear High School Parents,
Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics!
It was another busy, full week in the High School, capped by a brief ceremony honoring the senior IB Diploma candidates for the completion of their Extended Essays. For each of them, the EE is the product of months of research and work around a focused question chosen by the student. Congratulations to them on a job well done! Thanks to Dr. Pav for his tireless work as EE Coordinator, and thanks to all the faculty who served as advisors to individual students as they pushed through this project, which is at the core of the Diploma and which provides excellent preparation for university studies.
This week we also began bringing back our mitigated after school activities and athletics, including pre-season conditioning for our swimmers. Next week we plan to resume conditioning for basketball (see details in the Athletics/Activities section below).
As we continue making adjustments in our current school year, we are also looking toward the future. On Tuesday we held a brief virtual assembly to roll out our new course selection process for the 2021-22 school year. Parents of students in grades 8 and 9 participated in a virtual presentation by Mr. Williams on paths of study in high school, including the IB Diploma. And seniors continued to receive university offers.
As I have communicated many times, keeping our campus open and safe depends on all of our collective efforts away from campus. Make sure your family members keep in mind the 4 W’s: Wear a Mask, Watch Your Distance, Wash Your Hands, Work Together.
Have a great week, and stay safe!
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
• Parent/Principal Virtual Coffee
• Early Release Day Schedule on February 18
• 2021-22 Course Registration
• High School Lunch
• NESA Parents as Partners 2.0 Webinars
• Skyward Gradebook
• Second Semester Exams and Graduation
Parent/Principal Virtual Coffees
We will continue to hold virtual coffees for all High School Parents on February 17 at 9:30 am. We hope you are able to participate. We will now be using Webex for all parent coffees. Parents will receive an email with the link and instructions the day before the coffee for their respective grade level.
Early Release Day Schedule on February 18
We will follow an early release day schedule on Thursday, February 18. Students will be dismissed at 11:30 am.
2021-22 Course Registration
Students will receive emails with instructions of course registration for their respective grade levels. They should also see the morning announcements for additional details.
High School Lunch
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are happy to inform you that your son/daughter can now pre-order special items from our HS Vendor, Coffee Bean, using the Spare App. CAC, in partnership with Spare Payments, provides a cashless system for these items. First introduced on campus in November 2020, Spare will eventually be used at all on-campus vendors to replace cash transactions.
The Spare system uses smart technology connected to a mobile application on which you will be able to recharge your son/daughter’s balance (set budget) and set a limit for their spending. Accounts may be recharged via credit card in-app or with cash on campus, at CSA Maadi and at Power Plant Store. Students use their IDs to purchase items on campus, or parents may purchase items for them using the Spare app.
The menu of pre-order items from Coffee Bean will be available in the Spare app starting February 13. To view the menu, click on “Online Store”. Pre-purchase will be available 3 pm – 9 pm the day before pick up. Please note at this time, Coffee Bean will limit online selections to pre-ordered salads; other items may still be purchased on site using cash or with IDs linked to Spare.
To open a Spare account and pair a student’s ID, please follow the instructions sent to you via email on February 11.
NESA Parents as Partners 2.0 Webinars
The next webinar is Tuesday, February 16, from 4:00-5:00pm on the topic of Parents as Partners in Learning: Managing Digital Media in the Home. The full schedule of upcoming webinars in this helpful series can be found by clicking here. You can register by clicking here.
Skyward Gradebook
Skyward gradebook is open for student and parent viewing. Students are encouraged to reach out to the teachers if they have questions about assignments.
Second Semester Exams
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
Week of Feb 11
Course Registration
On Tuesday, counselors held an assembly for Grade 9-11 in order to provide an overview of the course registration process for the 2021-22 academic year. Please note that parents will be receiving a copy of the powerpoint.
Students in grades 9-11 were sent an email on Wednesday with specific instructions on how to register for classes. Please have your student reach out to their counselor should they have any questions or concerns.
Rising Grade 12- Sunday February 14th at 7:00am to Monday, February 15th at 4:00 pm
Rising Grade 10- Tuesday, February 16th from 7:00 am to Wednesday, February 17th at 4:00 pm
Grade 10 Skills assessment and Career Exploration through MAIA Learning.
Counselors will be meeting with Grade 10 students next week during their Flex periods on Monday and Tuesday (Feb 15-16). Students who do not have a Flex will receive a separate email with instructions and due date. This is a great opportunity for college/career exploration as we explore postsecondary options in the US, UK, and Canada via Maia Learning and other platforms. This will be a starting point for further discussions on course registration and university planning.
Upcoming Virtual University Fair
Gulf EDU Tours is hosting a Virtual University Fair for High Schools in Egypt at the beginning of March. Participating universities from Europe, UK, Canada, USA, Malaysia, and UAE. Please click on the registration link below to learn more about the universities that will be participating. Please note this event is not facilitated by CAC.
Date: Tuesday, March 2
Time: 5-8pm local Cairo time
Registration link: Please click here to register
Other Upcoming Virtual Events, Available Scholarships, and Summer Opportunities
See the CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage to see upcoming virtual events, available scholarships, and summer opportunities. This document is updated regularly: CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage – Events
Appointment system: As usual, students can schedule appointments with counselors from the QR codes posted around campus.
Claudia Bean, Kasey Semler, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
CAC Communications App
To receive instant updates, and important announcements, please be reminded to download our CAC Communications App, School Stream, and register with the email address you have given to the admissions office. If you have not yet registered, you are missing out on important announcements. Download Instructions are available here. Please feel free to contact Mona Abdel Hady (mabdelhady@cacegypt.org) for assistance.
Activities/Athletics Update
Starting Sunday, February 14, 2021, the High School will resume conditioning for the girls and boys basketball teams, joining the swim team, all following the protocols we had in place at the start of season 2 in December.
Scott Fitzgerald
Activities & Athletics Director
CAC Libraries open Saturdays in February
The libraries will be open this Saturday and all the Saturdays in February. Remember that you must book a 30-minute time slot on the CAC dashboard, but parents can only book for a Saturday appointment. (You can reach the booking system from the school app as well.) Bookings must be made by 7 pm on Friday.
Josianne Fitzgerald
MHS Head Librarian
Booster Club Spirit Store
The Booster Club Spirit Store has resumed regular weekday hours, from 8:30-10:00am and 1:30-2:45pm. Entrance is at Gate 7 (next to the ATM). All transactions will be through the window with one customer at a time allowed inside the gate. Properly worn masks are mandatory when entering campus through Gate 7 (next to the ATM), with valid CAC ID. Temperatures will be taken at the gate. Customers will need to exit campus as soon as their store transaction is finished.
Please note that the payment methods accepted are only EGP and USD cash. No USD checks accepted.
Booster Club
CAC PTO Meeting
Attention Parents, Teachers, & Admin! Join us for our FEBRUARY PTO Monthly Meeting on Feb 21st at 05:00 PM.
Zoom Meeting Link:
https://zoom.us/j/97208854547?pwd=bzRlWlZpUG5taDdiVVRFMUdWSnoxZz09
Meeting ID: 972 0885 4547
Passcode: 661239
KNITTING GROUP
Meets every Tuesday at 10am at CSA. No experience needed, just come to chat and enjoy some time over knitting. COVID safety precautions taken with social distancing, mask wearing, and meeting outdoors.
S I P & P A I N T — Colors of India
Join us over some creativity as we paint & chat with a COVID safe environment, seated at your own table! Sign up here (limited to 18): https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4DAEA829A2FF2-sipand3
A NOTE FROM OUR CAC BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
Every year we seek to recognize members of our community through the CAC Community/Core Values Award. This award is presented to members of our community who exhibit the CAC core values by making exceptional and varied contributions to the CAC community.
The CAC Core Values are: Compassion, Creativity, Courage, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect, and Responsibility. If you know of someone who has made a difference in the lives of our CAC Community while exhibiting these core values, please nominate her/him for the Core Values Award. Last year’s recipients of the Board of Trustees Community/Core Values Award were: Carmen Allison, Courtney Bailey, and Nadia Rashad.
All members of the community – not currently on the Board of Trustees – are eligible to be considered for this award including faculty and staff so long as they make contributions to the community that are above and beyond their regular, expected duties.
The nomination form is available ONLINE in this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvWW4Vpf1rRkftBPxMNrEZk86QyzYRkUEbOdxKageZTq8LmQ/viewform?hl=en&fbclid=IwAR0vAFs-oTOCgSZLu6uOnAV0QAKWp4PgEfzjEXLU7r60NBwdESSfPJoFb_s
Forms can also be obtained from the Board Executive Assistant, Nawal Gamal, on the 3rd floor of the Admin Building or via email board@cacegypt.org. Nominations are due no later than 3:00 pm on Sunday, February 14, 2021.
Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge the contributions of your friends and colleagues to the CAC community.