CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Wow! Having got to the end of my first Spirit Week here at CAC I can safely say I am truly staggered at the energy, passion and excitement this week has generated on campus. Starting on Monday when students (and teachers!) wore their pajamas to school, through to today, with our closing assembly and satirical grade level skits, the enthusiasm has been infectious and our students’ love of their school and sense of belonging are wonderful to see. A huge thank you and nod of kudos must go once again to our student council advisors: Dorothy Knox, Tony Knox, Ashley Gramolini, Erik Dunham, and Kasey Semler. Kudos also to all our faculty and staff for all the support that goes into making a week like this possible and successful. If you want a concrete example of CAC’s commitment to its mission statement, Learn, Explore and Have Fun, Spirit Week surely ticks all the boxes.
We also recognised and celebrated the UN International Peace Day on Tuesday as part of our Spirit Week. Students performed in the MS/HS choir and the school band, and our Student Council presidents addressed the community with a few words on the significance of the day. Our Core Values of Respect, Compassion and Courage all connect strongly with the themes explored on Peace Day and our student leaders spoke eloquently about this at the event.
While talking about school spirit, perhaps this is a good time to recognise and thank our dedicated team of parents who run the Booster Club and Spirit Store. They too exhibit their passion and commitment to the school by dedicating time and energy to running the Booster Club initiatives, providing food at events and many other types of support too. It is worthy of note that they are all volunteers who give willingly of their time (lots of it!). Please be respectful of their efforts and also note that the Spirit Store cannot accept credit cards for any payments. Thank you Booster Club!
This week has not only been about having fun, we have also been focussed on learning and specifically learning in mathematics. The math teachers have been working with a visiting consultant, Megan Holstrom, this week. Their work so far has included a review of research-based effective math teaching strategies (see below) as well as examining The Common Core’s Eight Standards for Mathematical Practice for students (also below). The work will continue through the year with a combination of face-to-face and online sessions with Megan. We will also invite parents into school later in the year to learn more about this work and the current research that informs how math is taught in school these days–much has changed since we adults were at school!
We continue to be fortunate in the high school that there are still no active cases of Covid-19 among our students. Our mitigation measures and safe practices at school are working to protect our students and enable effective face-to-face learning to be ongoing. At home you can also help out by reminding your children of safe behaviors outside of school, especially when they are socialising with friends at parties or special occasions etc. Mask wearing, good ventilation and distancing are all critical in helping to curb the spread of the virus. We all want kids to be able to enjoy the benefits of socialising with friends but please let’s work together to ensure they do this as safely as possible. As always, you can review the latest information about the school’s response to the pandemic on our dashboard, accessible from the CAC website.
Dates for your Diary
• Degla Dash: Friday 24 September
• High School Student Photos: 26 – 30 September (Library)
• CAC PTO Monthly Meeting: Sunday 26 September. 5:00 p.m. (Zoom)
• CAC Talk: Sunday 3 October. 5:30 p.m. (Zoom)
• Principal’s Coffee: Tuesday 5 October. 9:30-10:30 a.m. (MS 116)
• PSAT Test (Grade 10 & 11): Wednesday 13 October (morning)
• Quarter 1 Progress Check Reports posted on Skyward: Monday 18 October
Yours in partnership and learning,
Andrew Buckman Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Week of Sept. 23, 2021
New Students
New student lunch will be held next week for all students new to CAC. Grade 9 will meet Sunday, and Grades 10-12 will meet Tuesday. We will check in on how the transition to CAC is and continue to direct them to resources to make their transitions smooth. An RSVP was sent to students earlier this week.
Upcoming Virtual Events
Events hosted by CAC
Purdue University Save the date! September 28 3:15-4:00pm. Purdue University will be leading a session focused on applying to Engineering programs in the USA. Two CAC alumni who are current Purdue students will be joining the session. No prior registration required – Join the Zoom session with this link.
External Events
Ontario University Fair September 25 at 6pm. All universities in Ontario will be participating. Free to join and no prior registration required. Info here.
Claudia Bean, Kasey Semler, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
From Athletics
The 25th Mike Ross Degla Dash
Friday, September 24, 2021-Wadi Degla
Register online
Contact CAC Athletics at 2755-5406 or sfitzgerald@cacegypt.org
Dedicated to Mr. Mike Ross — former Physical Education Teacher and coach of Cairo American College who passed away after a short battle with cancer on October 23, 1995–in appreciation for his wisdom and friendship to CAC and its community. The funds raised will be donated to the National Cancer Institute in Egypt. If anyone would like to donate without taking part, then your donation is more than welcome. Please contact the Athletic Office to do so.
Volunteers: First and foremost, if you would like to volunteer your services on the day of the event please contact the Athletic Office immediately. It is important that we have your contact information in order to allocate jobs and plan accordingly.
Events:
* 2.5K individual Fun Run/Walk (families welcome)
* 5K individual Cross Country run
Date: Friday, September 24, 2021.
Departure Time: 8:00 a.m. SHARP! COVID NOTICE: ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST WEAR A MASK WHILE RIDING ON CAC BUSES.
CAC buses will depart from the Front Gate.
Start Time: All races will start at 9:00
Latest Return Time: CAC front gate at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Running Numbers: Will be handed out at the registration table outside the CAC front gate from 7:00 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. You MUST bring your own water, refreshments, and 4 safety pins (to hang your numbered bib).
Results: Will be posted on the CAC website the week following the race.
For more information please contact:
sfitzgerald@cacegypt.org
dgomaa@cacegypt.org / 27555406
snasr@cacegypt.org / 27555428
Athletics Office
From the Library
Read Books Online with the Sora App, our digital library open 24/7
All CAC patrons with a CAC google account can access our online collection of books. Read on your computer by going to soraapp.com or download the Sora App on your phone. Here are more detailed instructions on how to access Sora (note that Kindle books are not available to us in Egypt because of digital rights management). If there is a book you would like to request for Sora, please email Ms. Ennis (mennis@cacegypt.org)
o When you are asked for a Follett account, use your CAC single sign-on
Free Subscription to the New York Times
CAC patrons with a CAC Gmail account can access our school subscription to the NY Times online. Follow these detailed instructions here. Subscriptions must be renewed every year.
Parent Hours for the MHS Library
Parents are welcome in the MHS library just before and just after school to come check out books Sunday-Thursday. If you would like to spend more time in the library, please visit us on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. Thank you.
Meghan Ennis
MHS Librarian
PTO DEI Cookbook Submissions Form
Call for Recipes: The PTO DEI Committee kindly invites recipe submissions to be published in a cookbook in December. The theme of the cookbook is “Family Favorites.” A family favorite is a dish you love to make and your family loves to eat! The dish may be savory or sweet, and may but does not have to originate from your family background. The recipes should be simple to follow, and original or adapted from a cookbook, blog, website or other source.
To submit your family favorite recipe, please complete this form. Thank you!
The PTO DEI Committee
CAC PTO Monthly Meeting
Time: Sunday 26 September @ 5pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/99506497883?pwd=d2NxNDFML25VQ01aM25vTitNeU9LQT09
Meeting ID: 995 0649 7883
Passcode: 353379
CAC Talk
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84779716980?pwd=c3JoWE1yQ2w1em5uS1pKbDhxNGRvUT09
Meeting ID: 847 7971 6980 Passcode: 168709
CAC PTO