CAC High School Principal’s Notes
THIMUN ’23 Delegation
At THIMUN
2050; Are you Ready?
On Monday next week, students will begin thinking about the course registration process for next year. This may seem early, but there is a large amount of information needed in order for us to plan the staffing and scheduling for next academic year. Every year we build our programs and schedule around student needs and interests; we adapt current course content to keep the programs fresh and relevant and, from time to time, add new courses to our offerings to broaden the scope of the educational program.
Next year, we will be introducing three new courses to the high school. All three will be connected under the unifying theme of Technology and Innovation and framed by the powerful question; 2050; are you ready?
The world around us is changing fast and our current high school students will be entering the workforce sometime between 2027 and 2033. We know for certain that the world will look increasingly different as it is shaped further and faster by technological advances. However, it is not always possible for us to know exactly what these changes will be and how they will impact our world. By 2040— the time when all students currently at CAC from pre-K to Grade 12 will be adults in the workforce— many of these currently emerging technologies will have transformed and disrupted the world beyond recognition. Artificial intelligence is a perfect example of just such a disruptive innovation which is currently emerging and is still in its infancy.
Starting with our existing Design Technology program, we will be renaming and focusing the course to introduce students to the fundamentals of Design and Engineering by developing skills, ways of thinking, conceptual understandings and aptitudes that are highly desirable in current and future workplaces. The second new course will be Disruptive Innovation and Technology—an exciting introduction to new technologies that are fundamentally shifting and re-shaping our world. Students will have opportunities to experiment and trial AI applications and VR headsets as well as learning about green energies, genome sequencing and the Metaverse etc. The third new course will be The Future of Finance. This will focus not only on helping students develop their understanding of their own financial future, it will also introduce them to the ways in which financial markets work and how they are evolving at a rapid pace to encompass FinTech, Blockchain and cryptocurrencies, three more examples of disruptive technologies that are changing the world around us.
More than ever before, the world needs informed, innovative, courageous and empathetic problem-solvers to tackle the global challenges of our modern age. These new courses are intended to begin meeting that need by setting our students on a path towards becoming innovators and change-makers.
In the coming weeks, you will receive more information about all of the courses available in the high school for next year and we will work in partnership with you and your child to help plan around their interests and academic needs. At CAC, we pride ourselves on being able to construct these types of individualized programs, preparing students for their futures in the best way that we are able.
WWW Updates
• Medical Forms must be completed by all students traveling overnight with WWW by February 9th.
• Students traveling internationally must show proof of visa (where applicable) to the trip leader by February 9th.
• Payments are now past due. Overnight students who have not paid in full for their WWW trips by February 15th may not be allowed to travel. Contact Dina Sadek in the Finance Office for assistance.
In just one month we will be embarking on WWW adventures, here in Cairo and abroad! We hope you will join us for the parent information sessions taking place online next week. Trip leaders will send links directly to parents’ emails. Here are the dates for your planning:
Dates for your Diary
• 20-27 Jan: THIMUN Trip – The Hague
• Tue Jan 31 – Tue 7 Feb: WWW parent information sessions
• Tue 7 Feb: Grade 11 University Information Event (6:00 PM, CAC Theater); All Juniors and parents are invited. RSVP to be sent soon.
• Feb 9: WWW medical form due
• Thu 16 Feb: Early Release Day. Students dismissed at 11:30
• Feb 17: PTO International Fair
• 26 Feb – Mar 2 – Week Without Walls (note: some international trips depart ahead of this date, check your child’s individual trip information)
• 3-11 Mar: Spring Break
Andrew Buckman Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Week of January 25, 2023
Grade 11 Class of 2024 University Application Kick Off!!!
Tuesday, February 7th – 6 pm to 7:30 pm in the CAC Theater; All juniors and parents are invited. The RSVP and pre event survey will be sent to your email soon.
Upcoming College Visits
Grades 9-11: Summer Programs
Immersing yourself in a summer program is one of the best ways to use your time away from CAC to gain valuable experience. There are thousands of summer opportunities and programs being offered around the world each year. Click HERE to check out a few we have come across.
ACT Prep Course
CAC has partnered with Higher Ground Learning to offer a 2-weekend in-person ACT prep course at CAC in March. To learn more about registration and the cost, please click here. There must be at least 5 people enrolled for the course to take place. The deadline to register is February 10th.
ACT Test information:
Students may register for the upcoming 22-23 test dates at CAC, or other test locations in Cairo. Please go here to find out more.
Grade 12: Reminders for your senior students: Upcoming Applications: The next upcoming internal CAC deadline to have all applications ready to submit for deadlines of Feb. 15h onwards is February 1st.
Claudia Bean, Jody Stiles, Kasey Semler
HS Counseling
General Announcements
Community Core Values award – To honor our community’s involvement, the CAC Board of Trustees every year seeks 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 through volunteering their time, expertise and love for CAC. 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 this person for the Core Values Award. The nomination form is available here. 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 February 2, 2023. All members of the parent community – not currently on the Board of Trustees – are eligible to be considered for this award. Faculty and staff can also be considered so long as they make contributions to the community that are above and beyond their regular, expected duties. Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge the contributions of outstanding members of our CAC community.
Art Competition Winners – Congratulations!
Thank you so much for sharing our contest with you students. We had some wonderful submissions and amazing creative ideas. The team has chosen the Top 3 winners and will be using their images for the show.
Kelly Dao
ES Teacher
CAC PTO Open Meeting
PreK & KG Open House – Jan. 30 (8:30 am)
PreK 3/4 & KG Open House Registration Link
NESA Parents as Partners Series
ON-DEMAND LIBRARIES OF WEBINAR RECORDINGS
2020-2021 / 2021-2022 / 2022-2023
You may access the libraries and their over 35 webinar recordings at this link.
Parents as Partners: Bringing Out the Best
WITH JOY MARCHESE
February 28, March 21, April 4, 2023
Sessions, Tuesdays 4:00-5:00pm (Athens GMT+2/+3)
VIEW INFOSHEET | VISIT THE INFOHUB
REGISTER NOW
Note: There is no cost to register. Register at any time before the session you wish to attend. You will receive a link to join in an email shortly after completing the form. You may use the same link to join all three sessions, or register again to receive a new link.
*Please note: Daylight savings time begins in Greece on March 26, 2023. This will affect local session start times in areas that do not observe daylight savings.
Recordings will be uploaded to the InfoHub after each session.
Bring Out the Best in Yourself, Your Child and Your Home
Continue to develop community practices within the home to increase your confidence as a parent and develop a plan for those (inevitable) challenging times. Learn practical tools and habits that anyone – a caregiver or not – can apply to their lives.
This 4-part series will explore effective communication, child development, wellbeing, behavioral psychology, and positive parenting as a way to create an environment where children (and adults) are encouraged and engaged, and feel a sense of connection, value and belonging.
Learn more »
About Joy Marchese
Joy Marchese is founder and director of Positive Discipline UK and co-author of Positive Discipline for Today’s Busy (& Overwhelmed) Parent. She runs a successful global educational consultancy and coaching practice, and develops SEL courses and products to teach social-emotional skills in homes, schools, and multiple organizations throughout the world.