Highro Glyphics Newsletter Week of November 21, 2019

CAC High School Principal’s Notes

Welcome to this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics.

Last weekend saw another successful PTO International Festival. As always, the food, the entertainment, and the atmosphere made for a tremendous celebration of the international spirit that is such an important part of CAC.

A big thank you to all students, parents, and teachers who helped provide the appreciation lunch for our wonderful General Services Staff!

November 27: Fine Arts Assembly and Half Day for Students

Our annual Fine Arts Assembly, celebrating our students’ creative work in all of the arts, will take place Wednesday at 10:45 in the theater. Wednesday is also a half day for students, as staff and faculty engage in professional development activities. Students will be dismissed at 11:30 am following the assembly..

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is no school November 28 for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. It is a day for reminding ourselves of all the things for which we can be thankful–I personally am thankful to be part of the remarkable CAC community. Have a restful long weekend.

Skyward Gradebook

The gradebook section of Family Access on Skyward allows students and parents to view student progress each fortnight, opening on Thursday after school and remaining open through Sunday. Teachers are available to speak to students face-to-face about progress and academic performance. Below are the dates the Skyward gradebook will be open for the rest of the semester:

Nov. 21 (today)
Dec. 5

Kira Goodwin Legacy Scholarship

A scholarship has been named for a former student, Kira Goodwin, who passed away in a tragic ski accident two years ago. Kira’s family established a legacy gift in her memory which will fund an annual award in High School for a student demonstrating exceptional leadership qualities. In conjunction with the Principal’s Award, the Kira Goodwin Scholarship will recognize a student’s unique abilities to lead by example. If you would like to contribute to this fund or to any of the other funds for HS students, please visit our secure donation page by clicking here and making a gift.

First Semester Final Exams

Semester 1 final exams begin on December 15 and continue to December 18. Please do not make travel plans that depart before final exams are finished.

The final exam day-to-day schedule can be found here.

The month leading up to examinations can be stressful, busy times for students. We have a few suggestions to make in order to help alleviate the stress that most of our students experience as exams approach:
● Your child should be working to make sure his/her class notes and graded assessments are in order and are readily available for study and revision.
● He/she should be devoting some time per day to prepare for exams as well as making wise use of Flex times during the school week.
● We encourage your child to make an appointment to see his/her teachers for extra help if needed.
● Make sure your child is getting proper rest during the days/weeks leading up to exams. One of the best ways to prepare for an exam is getting adequate sleep.
● Your child should avoid cramming – almost all academic studies reveal that cramming is not a particularly efficient method of test preparation. Continually self-testing throughout the semester has been shown by cognitive scientists to be one of the most effective ways to prepare for final exams.

Following these suggestions will not ensure a completely stress-free, pre-exam period for your child, but it will help alleviate harmful stress, thus providing for a better outcome.

Winter Vacation Begins December 20

Making travel plans for the Holiday Season, a reminder that the first day of Winter Break is December 20. The last day of winter break is January 11, as classes will resume again on the 12th of January at 8am, with an assembly in the theater.

Second semester exam dates are June 1-2 for seniors and June 3-8 for grades 9-11. Graduation is June 5. Please keep in mind while you plan your summer travels that seniors are able to depart after graduation and underclassmen after their final examination.

Jerry Duggan Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal

Counseling Department Announcements

Seniors

Please be sure to read the important email communication sent to you today by Mr. Simon about upcoming college application deadlines.

Standardized Tests

The deadline for December 14 ACT registration is 22 November 2019 so please don’t forget to sign up!

Claudia Bean, Stephanie Barker, 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 and turned in to the Admission/Registrar‘s Office to release records. Withdrawal forms can be picked up from the counseling offices or can be downloaded from the same website.

Please note that High School transcripts including this semester’s grades will not be available until January 27, 2020.

Registrar’s office

Meet at the Net! Come Play Volleyball!

Support our CAC athletes and just have fun! The gym is open for play on Friday, November 22, 3-5 p.m. All student and adult players welcome regardless of level–don’t be shy! If you have questions, please email Susanna Fajardo (sfajardo@cacegypt.org) or Anton Pav (apav@cacegypt.org).

Anton Pav and Susanna Fajardo

Fall Athletic Awards Night 2019

All athletes and their families are cordially invited to the Fall Athletic Awards Night on Tuesday, November 26th at 5:30 p.m. in the CAC Theater. The evening will consist of highlights of the season and the culminating season tournament for each team.

Please note that the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Coaches’ Choice awards will be presented on stage. The teams to be honored this season are:

Junior Varsity Girls Volleyball
Junior Varsity Boys Volleyball
Varsity Girls Volleyball
Varsity Boys Volleyball
Junior Varsity Girls Soccer
Junior Varsity Boys Soccer
Varsity Girls Soccer
Varsity Boys Soccer
Junior and Varsity Boys and Girls Cross Country

We hope to see you there. This event dress code is formal or in team uniform.

The Athletic Office

MS Passion Quest Project is looking for Mentors/Panelists:

The Passion Quest Project was introduced in 2015 to encourage Grade 8 students to participate in a sustained, self-directed inquiry within a global context through the UN Sustainable Goals.
We are currently in the process of asking reputable individuals with different educational and professional backgrounds to mentor our students in their Passion Quest Projects.
If you believe that you could contribute within your area of expertise to guide 8th grader students in their research & implementation process,
please fill this form: Mentors/Penalise Form
For more information, Please contact:
Ms. Ereeny Gawdat, Service Learning Coordinator at egergess@cacegypt.org.

Service Learning Office

Transportation Announcement

The Transportation Department would like to remind parents and students that friends are not allowed on buses. It is also not permissible to switch buses. Thank you for your cooperation.

Mohamed El Ghalban
Motor Pool Manager

Saturday Openings for November and December

The CAC Libraries will be open on the following Saturdays in the month of November and December:

– November 23
– December 7
– December 14

You can see the full list of Saturday openings for the CAC libraries here.

Josianne Fitzgerald
MHS & Head Librarian

Story Fest

Registration is now open for Students, Parents, Faculty, Staff and Alumni to sign up for three StoryFest events!

Flash Fiction Contest
StoryFest’s Flash Fiction Contest will include four different categories. You are welcome to submit as many stories to each of the categories as you like!

• Flash Fiction (Write a story in 1000 words or less)
• Drabble (Write a story in EXACTLY 100 words)
• Nano-Fiction (Write a story in EXACTLY 10 words)
• Visual Storytelling – (Tell a story through a series of photographs)

StoryFest SLAMs
Participants will also have the opportunity to tell a story or read a poem live at the event. Here are some guidelines:

PoetrySLAM
• 2 minutes or less
• Suitable for all ages (PG-rated)
• Need examples? Find one here.

StorySlam
• 5 minutes or less
• Suitable for all ages (PG-rated)
• Need examples? Find one here and another one here.

StoryFest is coming your way this December 10, 11, and 12. We have a dedicated team of organizers working to make this inaugural event a memorable one for the whole CAC community.

What is StoryFest?
StoryFest is a celebration of storytelling, in all its myriad forms, for all ages. Stories are how we interact with and understand the world!

Who is StoryFest for?
The festival will have events for all ages! We will welcome students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni to the event. Some will be more geared toward adults, and others toward children.

Can you give me some examples?
• StoryFest will host musical performances from Hazel Ketchum and Bob Culver, two American musicians specializing in balladry and musical storytelling.
• Enas El Masry, an Egyptian journalist-photographer-blogger-storyteller, will give a TED-style talk entitled “Our Brain on Stories: Why Do We Crave Them?” which will explore the intersection of stories and personal identity.
• Giles Abbot, a dynamic performative storyteller, is joining us from the UK to contribute his artistic gifts.
• A team of students and adults will lead an introduction to the collaborative storytelling in roleplaying games. If you’ve ever been interested in why Dungeons and Dragons is having a cultural resurgence, try it for yourself (or another roleplaying game) with some helpful folks to guide you.
• Much, much, much more.

There are many ways to engage with StoryFest:
• Read a story in your native language at the Native-Tongue Story Open Mic event.
• Read a story or poem at the StorySLAM or PoetrySLAM events. Look for sign-ups and registration soon!
• Participate in the Flash Fiction contest. We will have categories for Flash Fiction (1000 words or less), Drabble (100 words or less), and Nano-Fiction (10 words). Look for sign-ups and registration soon!
• Record a reminiscence about CAC. Stories are being collected for CAC’s upcoming 75th anniversary!
Questions about the event? Contact Noah Balazs nbalazs@cacegypt.org.