CAC High School Principal’s Notes
Dear High School Parents,
Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Highro-Glyphics!
This week Groups 1 and 2 in ninth grade finally came to campus as a full class. We were happy to have them together for the first time as high school students.
Next week we will proceed with our High School Second Semester Reopening plan and welcome the tenth graders to campus for face-to-face classes on all school days. As noted in the plan, we will return to holding classes five days a week, using our regular 8-day rotation schedule.
This will be an adjustment for students, especially new students who have never experienced our regular rotation. Blocks will no longer take place on consecutive days, and the time of a block will change each day. We will not have Tutorial Days. All of these changes will feel disruptive for a while, but in the long run the students will be better served by a return to full-time face-to-face instruction.
Of course, we will continue to face disruptions. The pandemic is not close to being over. Any student who tests positive for COVID-19 will still need to isolate, and close contacts will still need to quarantine. We will continue to follow our COVID Operation Manual, which may require us to quarantine students by class, grade, or division if necessary. It is also possible government measures might force us to close. We are hopeful that none of that will happen, so we can maintain our regular schedule for the rest of the school year. However, we will be prepared to make adjustments for any situation that we face.
You can help minimize the chance of such disruptions by making sure your family adheres to the mitigation measures we all know so well by now: Wear a Mask, Watch Your Distance, Wash Your Hands, Work Together.
Have a great week, and stay safe!
Principal’s Notes Highlights:
● Learning Plan for the Week of January 31
● Police Day/Revolution Day Holiday
● University Application Kickoff and Extended Essay Launch
● NESA Parents as Partners 2.0 Webinars
● Skyward Gradebook
● Registration, Second Semester Exams, and Graduation
Learning Plan for the Week of January 31
As noted above, thanks to the continued success of our mitigation efforts, starting January 31 students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 will attend face-to-face classes on all school days. Please see the High School Second Semester Reopening plan for the schedule.
Police Day/Revolution Day Holiday
There will be no school on Thursday, January 28 in recognition of the holiday.
University Application Kickoff and Extended Essay Launch
This week marks two important starting points for our grade 11 students. See the Counseling Department Announcements below for information regarding the University Application Kickoff, the first major milestone of the application season for the class of 2022. IB students will also begin the process of one of the core elements of the Diploma: the Extended Essay. Diploma candidates have received an email with details from Mr. Williams. Congratulations and good luck to our juniors as they embark on these challenging but rewarding journeys.
NESA Parents as Partners 2.0 Webinars
The next webinar, Bring Out the Best in Children and Yourself, will take place on February 2 at 4:00 pm. The full schedule of upcoming webinars can be found by clicking here.
Skyward Gradebook
First semester report cards were posted on Skyward last week. Skyward gradebook is open for student and parent viewing. This early in the new semester, many classes will not yet have new assignments entered. Students are encouraged to reach out to the teachers if they have questions about assignments.
Registration, Second Semester Exams, and Graduation
Course Registration – Course registration for the 2021-22 academic year will start the week of February.
Second semester exam dates are May 31 – June 1 for seniors and June 2-7 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. This year’s Graduation Ceremony is on Friday, June 4.
Jerry Duggan Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Juniors
Class of 2022 – University Application Kickoff
We are inviting 11th Graders and Parents to attend CAC’s University Application Kickoff (formally known as Junior College Night) on Tuesday, February 2nd from 5:00-6:00 pm.
You will learn about the roles students, parents, counselors, and teachers have in the university application process. We will discuss the timeline you will follow over the next 18 months as you research universities, begin applying, receive admission decisions, and finally choose where you will go after graduation.
A link to the Webex meeting will be sent on Sunday, January 31st to those who register. In order to login to the event, students and parents must use their CAC email address. Each person (student and parent) who plans to attend, should RSVP through this link so that you can receive the Webex link. Please do this by Saturday evening at the latest.
RSVP Form – University Application Kickoff
Application Handbook
While this event will be online, the counselors are also creating an Application Handbook. Students should pick this up at the Counseling Office beginning on Monday, January 31st. It is important that each student get this and share with their parents as we will be discussing the contents during the Kickoff Tuesday evening.
Seniors
1. Please remind your 12th grader to check their individual application web sites to see the status of the applications. They should let the counselors know as the universities reply with decisions.
2. Mid Year Reports. Universities may ask seniors to submit mid year transcripts. These will be sent to universities by the end of January (for universities on MAIA), once Skyward is updated with first semester grades. Students will also receive a PDF copy to forward on to the universities that are requiring students to upload documents on their own.
NEW to the database: Summer programs and scholarship opportunities
See the CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage to see the upcoming visits. This document is updated regularly: CAC HS Counseling Resources Webpage – University Visits.
Appointment system: As usual, students can schedule appointments with counselors from the QR codes posted around campus.
Claudia Bean, Kasey Semler, Cameron Simon
HS Counseling
General Announcements
CAC Libraries closed this Saturday
The libraries will be closed this Saturday because of the holiday. Remember that you must book a 30-minute time slot on the CAC dashboard, but parents can only book for a Saturday appointment. (You can reach the booking system from the school app as well.) Bookings must be made by 7 pm on Friday.
Weekday bookings for the MHS library are only for HS students during their lunchtime.
Josianne Fitzgerald
MHS Head Librarian
CAC Grade 6 PBL unit on Ancient Egypt
As part of our unit on Ancient Egypt, we asked the grade 6 students at CAC to create a video and tourism campaign to help boost tourism to the ancient sites of Egypt.
We asked the students the following question: “Can we design videos that will make tourists excited to see Ancient Egypt?”
Students were placed into teams and were charged with the design and production of a 90-second video that highlights the most important and noteworthy sites of Egypt. Additionally, the students were tasked with the design and production of a travel brochure that was meant to compliment the video. As 6th grade social studies explores Ancient Civilizations, we decided to focus solely on the history and culture of Ancient Egypt.
Expert CAC alumni (and parents) from around the world were invited as panelists with the aim of creating both an authentic learning experience as well as inspiring students with CAC role models. Their collective knowledge was very diverse and included expertise in the following industries: tourism, Egypt culture, Egyptology/Antiquities, branding, marketing/sales, advertising, production and education.
Panelists were responsible for the following:
– Listening attentively to each team’s presentation
– Observing and scoring students’ presentations and introductions to their project.
– Providing questions about the contents of the video and questions of clarification that force the teams to justify their positions (Why did you choose that photo? Why did you choose that type of music, …etc.)
– Providing feedback about what works well and what needs some work
– Providing overall opinions on the project itself
We would like to thank our amazing volunteer panelists for making this an amazing learning experience our Middle School Students will never forget!
Andrew Kasal & Matt Coles
CAC MS Social Studies
Booster Club Spirit Store
The Booster Club Spirit Store has resumed regular weekday hours, from 8:30-10:00am and 1:30-2:45pm. Entrance is at Gate 7 (next to the ATM). All transactions will be through the window with one customer at a time allowed inside the gate. Properly worn masks are mandatory when entering campus through Gate 7 (next to the ATM), with valid CAC ID. Temperatures will be taken at the gate. Customers will need to exit campus as soon as their store transaction is finished.
Please note that the payment methods accepted are only EGP and USD cash. No USD checks accepted.
Booster Club
A NOTE FROM OUR CAC BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
Every year we seek 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.
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 her/him for the Core Values Award. Last year’s recipients of the Board of Trustees Community/Core Values Award were: Carmen Allison, Courtney Bailey, and Nadia Rashad.
All members of the community – not currently on the Board of Trustees – are eligible to be considered for this award including faculty and staff so long as they make contributions to the community that are above and beyond their regular, expected duties.
The nomination form is available ONLINE in this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvWW4Vpf1rRkftBPxMNrEZk86QyzYRkUEbOdxKageZTq8LmQ/viewform?hl=en&fbclid=IwAR0vAFs-oTOCgSZLu6uOnAV0QAKWp4PgEfzjEXLU7r60NBwdESSfPJoFb_s
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 Sunday, February 14, 2021.
Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge the contributions of your friends and colleagues to the CAC community.
JANUARY MONTHLY PTO MEETING
Did you know that you’re automatically in the PTO when you’re a parent or teacher at CAC? Join us for January’s monthly meeting, virtually!
Here are the Zoom Meeting details:
https://zoom.us/j/97208854547?pwd=bzRlWlZpUG5taDdiVVRFMUdWSnoxZz09
Meeting ID: 972 0885 4547 / Passcode: 661239