Welcome to this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics.
Celebrations!
This week we celebrated the talents and hard work of our students with two major events.
On Tuesday evening we held our Fall Athletics Awards Night, honoring the efforts and successes of our sports teams throughout a long and rewarding season. Congratulations to the players and coaches, and thanks to all the members of the community who came out to support the teams.
Today we ended the morning with our annual Fine Arts Assembly, celebrating our students’ creative work in all of the arts. The event was filled with impressive and inspiring performances from the Symphonic Band, Choir, Strings, and Acting classes, against a backdrop of beautiful work from our Visual and Digital Arts classes. Congratulations to all for a great assembly!
Happy Thanksgiving!
There is no school tomorrow for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. We wish your family a happy Thanksgiving and 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. The next Skyward opening is December 5. Teachers are available to speak to students face-to-face about progress and academic performance.
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.
Off Campus Privileges During Exams
During exam week, students are required to be on campus only for their exams. However, once students arrive, they may leave campus only with parental permission.
Students in grades 9-11 must get an off-campus exam permission form and return the signed form to the HS Office.
Seniors who already have off campus permission do not need a form.
IMPORTANT: Students who have had their off-campus privileges revoked for any reason must have them restored by Ms. McCall before their forms will be accepted.
Below is the link to the exam off campus form. Hard copies are also available in the HS Office.
Final Exam Off-Campus Form December 2019
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
• Counselors will be in freshmen study halls on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 2 & 3rd to facilitate a session on preparing for high school exams.
We will go over the final exam schedule, talk about tips on how to prepare for exams, write out a plan on how to organize their study time over the next few weeks, and hear from upperclass students on what they learned from when they were freshman taking final exams.
• Nov. 30th is the University of California application deadline.
Claudia Bean, Stephanie Barker, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
Fall Athletics Awards
Isabel Pav Most Valuable Player Varsity Girls’ Volleyball
Emilee Boettger Coaches’ Award Varsity Girls’ Volleyball
Usha Hollema Most Valuable Player Junior Varsity Girls’ Cross Country
Jacob Lanpher Most Valuable Player Junior Varsity Boys’ Cross Country
Myel Zuberi Most Valuable Player Varsity Girls’ Cross Country
Murad Barakat Most Valuable Player Varsity Boys’ Cross Country
Jude El Mofty Coaches’ Award Junior Varsity Girls’ Cross Country
Youssef Mekawi Coaches’ Award Junior Varsity Boys’ Cross Country
Myel Zuberi Coaches’ Award Varsity Girls’ Cross Country
Kirill Solari Coaches’ Award Varsity Boys’ Cross Country
Jonas Vago Most Valuable Player Varsity Boys’ Volleyball
Samuel Kennedy Coaches’ Award Varsity Boys’ Volleyball
Sherif Abou Gabal Most Valuable Player Varsity Boys’ Soccer
Louis Joly Most Valuable Player Varsity Boys’ Soccer
Mae Greene Most Valuable Player Junior Varsity Girls’ Volleyball
Sara Knox Most Valuable Player Junior Varsity Girls’ Volleyball
Sharon Brinker Coaches’ Award Junior Varsity Girls’ Volleyball
Hayden McMillan Most Valuable Player Varsity Girls’ Soccer
Salma Shabana Coaches’ Award Varsity Girls’ Soccer
Samantha Millward Most Valuable Player Junior Varsity Girls’ Soccer
Olivia Simiskey Coaches’ Award Junior Varsity Girls’ Soccer
Winter Season Trips 2019-2020
Wrestling – February 5-9 AES- New Delhi
Varsity Boys Basketball – March 12-15 BSN- The Hague
Varsity Girls Basketball – March 12-15 ISB- Basel
Athens Cup Swimming – March 5-8 ACS- Athens
JV/Varsity Swimming – March 11-14 BSN- The Hague
Dance – March 12-15 Move It- London
CISSA Tournament Schedule Season 2 2019-2020
JV Girls Basketball, Feb. 14 @ MES
JV Boys Basketball , Feb. 14 @ AISE
Varsity Girls Basketball, Feb. 22 @ AISE
Varsity Boys Basketball, Feb. 22 @ CAC
Athletics Office
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
CAC ID Card Offers
Great news for CAC ID card holders! If you are a current student, parent, faculty/staff member, or an alumni; you now have the opportunity to receive offers and discounts provided by our alumni and community organizations. The list of organizations extending offers will be continuously updated.
To view the list of organizations and their relative offers, please go to the Dashboard and click on “CAC News” on the left hand margin.
If you have an organization and it would like to extend an offer, please send an e-mail to Ms. Engy Rabie at erabie@cacegypt.org.
Office of Advancement
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
Extended Essay Celebration Lunch
Congratulations to our grade 12 full IB students for completing their extended essay (EE) process. We celebrated with a lunch this week where students were presented with a memento of their research journey: a printed image paired to their research question.
The MHS library will be printing exemplary EEs and binding into hard copies, similar to a yearbook, so that future students at CAC can use them as models. These will also be uploaded to the library catalog in digital format. We will be collection permission from each of our seniors for this, as the EE is their intellectual property.
The junior class was welcomed to the EE process and invited to fully use all of the resources the library has to offer in their research. I am looking forward to assisting them as they embark on their EE process.
Saturday Openings for December
The CAC Libraries will be open on the following Saturdays in the month of December:
– 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)
REGISTER HERE by TODAY, and details will follow about submission deadlines!
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.
REGISTER HERE by TODAY and details will follow about submission deadlines!
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.