Welcome to this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
● Kudos!
● Skyward opening
● Kira Goodwin Scholarship
● Final exams information
● Winter Vacation
● Second semester information
Kudos!
Congratulations to the Strings, Band, and Choir students for a magnificent performance on Wednesday evening! Congratulations also to Mr. McCuaig, Mr. Dzamashvili, and Ms. Rozier. As Mr. McCuaig said during the show, an event such as this gives students and teachers the opportunity to demonstrate the learning that has come from the hard work they have put in. Thanks to everyone for continuing the CAC tradition of excellence in the performing arts.
Congratulations also to the Boys’ Varsity Basketball team for opening their season with a convincing win over MCS.
Skyward Gradebook
The gradebook section of Family Access on Skyward will open today, December 5, and remain open until final exams begin on December 15. Students are encouraged to speak with their teachers 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.
Registration, Second Semester Exams, and Graduation
Course Registration – Course registration for the 2020-2021 academic year will start in February.
Second semester exam dates are June 1-2 for seniors and June 3-8 for grades 9-11. Please keep in mind while you plan your summer travels that seniors are able to depart after graduation and underclassmen after their final examination.
Graduation – A memo will be circulated to all parents of seniors in early March outlining the events leading up to graduation. As we know that some extended family members plan to come to Cairo please note that this year’s Graduation Ceremony is on Friday, June 5.
Jerry Duggan Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
With the arrival of exam season, counselors want to remind students to make time to reflect on how to take care of themselves during this stressful time. Creating a balance between studying and self care is key to a successful school life as a teenager. Take a look at this article about how to prepare for exams and manage stress. See your counselor if you want to talk more about strategies for managing stress.
Seniors, be sure to check your university portals for application updates and any additional documents or information needed by the university.
Claudia Bean, Stephanie Barker, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
GISC & STUCO Thanksgiving GIVING trip!
Last week, HS Students from GISC & STUCO clubs visited the Association of the protection of the environment (APE) in the Zabaleen area to deliver donations. They had over 460 blankets and 10 large bags of baby items in addition to recycled paper from the school.
What a great way to enjoy Thanksgiving!
If you have a strong passion towards a specific NGO or a certain cause, kindly share their contact information with our Ms. Ereeny Gawdat, Our Service Learning Coordinator
egergess@cacegypt.org.
New Year Gifts from CAC
Flourish by Spreading Happiness Among Our Community! Dec. 8-19, Front Gate
Click below for more details
New Year Gifts from CAC
Service Learning Office
StoryFest
We are thrilled to present StoryFest to the CAC community on December 10-12, from 3:15-5:00 each day. Come explore storytelling through talks, presentations, performances, games, and workshops. Record a reminiscence of your time at CAC in our “sound booth,” listen to a PoetrySLAM or StorySLAM live event, read and view the entries in the flash fiction contest, and enjoy everything that StoryFest has to offer. We hope to see you there.
Click here for the complete program of events.
The CAC Annual Gala 
will delight you on
February 14, 2020
Come celebrate the Day of Love and our CAC community at the extraordinary Marriott Mena House with a delicious dinner, special musical performances, open bar, wonderful people – a Valentine’s Day dinner with a touch of Tango!
Marriott Mena House has blocked a limited number of rooms for our Valentine’s Gala. If you would like to spend the night after our fabulous event, please do so as soon as possible by following this link: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1569258982735&key=GRP&app=resvlink
Tickets go on sale Sunday, December 8, 2019. If you buy them before December 20, the cost is EGP 1,700; after that, the price is EGP 1,800 per ticket.
This event is organized by the CAC PTO. If you have any questions, please email Marcela Clavel at clavelmarcela@gmail.com.
PTO
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
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
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 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