CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Welcome back to the new semester and happy New Year to all our families. It has been great to see the students on campus and to hear about their holiday experiences while they dive back into learning. Of course, the enthusiasm has been slightly dampened by the situation with Covid. As you know, we are closely monitoring the situation as well as adjusting our mitigation steps as appropriate in response.
We know that face to face learning in school is the most effective and preferred option and as such, we aim to keep the school open and safely operating while we can. Our students have responded excellently to the requirement to wear their masks all the time, the classrooms are fully ventilated and so far we have not seen any evidence of on-campus transmission.
As you are aware, CAC is using a layered mitigation approach which includes universal indoor mask wearing, fully ventilated classrooms, physical distancing, hand hygiene, regular sanitisation of classroom spaces and air purification. All these mitigation layers are consistent with CDC and WHO guidance and are helping to keep our community safe whilst at school.
In order to be vigilant and cautious, we ask that you monitor your child for any COVID-like symptoms in the coming days. Omicron symptoms are presenting as very similar to the common cold (headache, runny nose, sore/scratchy throat) whereas the more ‘typical’ COVID symptoms also include fever, coughing, fatigue, difficulty breathing, or loss of taste and/or smell. If your child develops any of these symptoms, please keep them at home and contact the CAC Health Office (see email addresses below).
CAC continues to urge all families to consider the benefits of having your student vaccinated due to the substantial protection against serious illness and possible transmission that vaccination provides.
Claire Gallagher: cgallagher@cacegypt.org
Naglaa Osama: nosama@cacegypt.org
Continuing Learning When Absent from School
With some students absent due to illness and others out needing to quarantine, our goal is to ensure that learning can continue for all students. Although our current mode of education is fully face-to-face, we do support the continuity of learning for those students who need to be absent. Specifically, all our teachers:
• Ensure that all assignments, HW, class materials and resources are readily available online on Google Classroom
• Regularly monitor email and respond as quickly as possible to student queries and requests for help
• Reach out and communicate proactively with students and parents if they are concerned about missing work etc.
Any student who needs to be absent from school should contact their teachers directly to let them know and seek whatever assistance they may need to remain up-to-date with school work. Of course, if a student is unwell, the first priority is to rest and recover–catching up work can be done later when the student is fully well again.
New Building Update
We are happy and excited to finally be in the new building. However, we are aware that it has been a little bit cold in the learning spaces this week. The need to ventilate the rooms well for Covid mitigation has further compounded the situation. We are continuing to investigate and train our teams to adjust and monitor the HVAC ventilation system to maintain a consistent, comfortable temperature. Thank you to our teachers and students for being very patient through this process.
Dates for your Diary
• 13 Jan: Semester 1 report issued
• 25 Jan: Revolution Day Holiday (date is tentative pending government announcement)
• 26 Jan: Principal’s Coffee Morning, 9:30 a.m. (HS Meeting Room) – New HS Building Tours!
• 1 Feb: Grade 11 College Night 4-8 p.m.
Yours in partnership and learning,
Andrew Buckman Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Week of Jan 13, 2022
Grade 12
UCAS Deadline
A reminder to those applying to the UK, the UCAS deadline is quickly approaching – January 26. Students are asked to keep in touch with their counselor regarding their application progress.
Checking Emails, Portals, and SPAM Folder
A kind reminder to seniors to please continue checking emails and university-specific portals once submitting an application. Key information for next steps can be found in these places. Additionally, please regularly check SPAM folders as sometimes important information from an institution can accidentally end up here.
Grade 11
PSAT Debrief and Grade 11 College Night Prep
Next week (Jan 18-19) counselors will meet with Grade 11 students during their Flex to debrief the PSAT they took back in October. Additionally, students will continue their career exploration in preparation for Grade 11 College Night and subsequent individual family meetings.
Grade 11 College Night
A kind Save the Date reminder to grade 11 students and families. Grade 11 College Night will take place Tuesday, February 1. More information will be sent out soon.
Grade 10
In a few weeks, (February 6 and 7), counselors will be meeting with Grade 10 students to debrief the PSAT, and also to begin conversations surrounding course registration for Grade 11.
Grade 9
Grade 9 Seminar will pick back up soon, as students will meet with Ms. Meghan Ennis next week (Jan 18-19) in the library, for Library Research Part 2.
Claudia Bean, Kasey Semler, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
Booster Club
The Booster Club would like to keep our community and our volunteers as safe as possible during this time. Please be advised of the following changes:
1) The Spirit Store will now be open for business ONLY though the window. Customers will not be allowed to shop inside of the Store until further notice. Please make sure to wear your masks when placing an order through the windows in order to keep our volunteers safe.
2) The Spirit Cafe will not be opening until further notice.
Thank you all for your help in keeping our community as safe and healthy as possible!
The Booster Club
NESA Parents as Partners Webinar 1 – Recording & Feedback (2nd Semester)
Happy New Year, and welcome back to the NESA Parents as Partners Series! Thank you for attending Webinar 1 of the new Spring Semester, “Stretching Your Learning Edges: Adults “Growing Up” while Children are “Growing Up” with Jennifer Abrams
The webinar recording and slides from the January 11, 2022 session are now available on the Parents as Partners Info Hub.
If you have not already, we ask that you take a few minutes to share your thoughts on the webinar.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE NEXT SESSION ON JANUARY 25.
January 25, 2022 | 4:00-5:00pm (GMT+2) [VIEW LOCAL TIME]
The Power of Making Thinking Visible
Presented by Mark Church
Co-Author; Making Thinking Visible & The Power Of Making Thinking Visible
Over the last decade there has been an explosion of interest in building a culture of thinking, and nurturing students as powerful thinkers and learners. In this time of disrupted learning, thinking routines are more important than ever, and help advance a broader goal to create classrooms where students’ thinking is visible, valued, and actively promoted. This webinar will explore and engage participants in thinking routines and the power of making thinking visible.
PLEASE NOTE
To join this session, you don’t need to re-register. You may use the same link you used previously. Or, you may register again to receive a new email/link.
RE-REGISTER – ONLY IF YOU NEED A NEW LINK
ISAA Update/CAC Athletics
At the December 3, 2021 ISAA meeting, after checking on the status of all member schools, it was determined to cancel the ISAA tournaments set for March 18 and 19, 2022. Participation in invitational international tournaments on March 18 and 19, 2022, will be reconsidered in January 2022.
There will be a meeting on February 4, 2022 to determine if the ISAA spring tournaments set for May 27 and 28, 2022, will remain as scheduled.
ISAA and all member schools look forward to returning to tournament play when international travel returns as a safe option for member school students.
Go ISAA.
Global Squad Basketball Camp
Global Squad Basketball camp opportunity for CAC students only. See the below flyer. Registration is open.
Athletics Office
The Maadi Basketball Association (MBA)
The MBA is a basketball league for children in the Maadi community. This year, due to Covid-19, the MBA will only be for CAC students. The MBA is open to children from age 5 through 16, and is played in our gyms and outside basketball court. The season runs from Jan. 9 through March 2. Important MBA information is found on the registration form.
Register for the league at this link: Registration Link
*Important notice:
-We need parent volunteers to make the MBA successful. We need division coordinators, head coaches, asst. coaches, and team parents. If a parent volunteers to coach (head coach) a team, one of their child’s fees will be waived.
For more information, contact the MBA Coordinator, Monte Davis at: mdavis@cacegypt.org.
Monte Davis
MBA Coordinator
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