CAC High School Principal’s Notes
With the recent devastating events in Turkey and Syria, we send messages of hope and strength to those families and communities that have been affected by this tragedy.
CAC students have been giving consideration to ways in which we can help and initiatives have been organized on campus this week in response. For example, the National Honors Society made and then sold chocolate covered strawberries to raise funds and awareness for the work of the Syrian American Medical Society. SAMS is working to provide life-saving medical care to people in acute need in Syria, Turkey and neighboring countries. The group selected SAMS as their agency of choice for donations because the SAMS mission resonates strongly with them: “…to serve those in need with compassion, kindness, and dignity, regardless of background or religious affiliations. Our purpose is to ensure that no one is left untreated in the face of crisis.”
Service at CAC
The CAC Core Values of Compassion and Responsibility drive much of the service work organized by students that takes place within and outside of CAC. For an overview of some of these projects, please click this link.
WWW is almost here!
Finally! WWW is on the horizon. Bon Voyage to those students leaving for outdoor classrooms around the world this week and early next. Students and families are strongly encouraged to revisit the WWW Google Classroom pages for any last minute information or details. Pay special attention to meeting and departure times for traveling WWW adventures.
Many families have asked us about attendance expectations for the WWW week. All students are required to attend school on Thursday, March 2nd (with the exception of the South Africa trip), as it is the final day of the “Week Without Walls,” and students will be engaged in reflective, cumulative activities to conclude their WWW adventures.
2050 – Are you ready?
Nevermind 2050, how about 2022 – Are you ready? For today’s parents, bringing up children in a digital world with ever-present technology and disruptive innovations emerging at a pace which is hard to keep up with, it can be difficult for parents to understand what they need to know and how to talk to their children about responsible internet use. If you have been paying attention to the global media recently, you will not have been able to miss the current interest around an artificial intelligence tool known as ChatGPT. If you have not read anything about this yet, you probably should! For certain, your children are well aware of it and extremely interested in its capabilities. As educators, we too are grappling with this new technology and its implications for teaching and learning, both in the classroom and at home. For a brief, informative article about what ChatGPT is and how to talk about it with your children, you can follow this link to Common Sense Media. CSM is an excellent resource for parents looking for tips and advice on how to navigate these challenging and important topics with teenagers.
HS Parent Coffee Morning
In support of this work, we will be hosting a HS Parent Coffee on Wednesday 22 February, 9:30 – 10:30. The topic will be Parenting in the Digital Age. In this session, we will explore issues relevant to parents of teenagers such as online safety, digital footprints, managing inappropriate content and, of course, ChatGPT. I hope that you will be able to join us.
HS students meet Adriana Brownlee
JV Girls Basketball Team
Digital Arts class on location
IB Science Group 4 Projects
Spring Break / Return to School
Although we have Week Without Walls first, the Spring Break follows not far behind and by then, everyone will be ready for some family time and a chance to catch up on all the wonderful WWW stories that your children will want to share. School resumes on Sunday 12 March. Have a wonderful break.
Dates for your Diary
• Tomorrow, Feb 17: PTO International Festival 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. (Note that campus is closed on this day unless you have a ticket for the International Festival.)
• Wed 22 Feb: Parent Coffee morning: Parenting in a Digital Age. 9:30 a.m. HS Meeting Room
• 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
• Sun 12 Mar: Back to school. E Day.
• Mon 20 Mar: Quarter 3 report card issued in Skyward
Andrew Buckman Rachel McCall
HS Principal HS Assistant Principal
Counseling Department Announcements
Week of February 16, 2023
Course Registration: Rising grades 10 and 12 indicated their course requests this week in Skyward. Verification forms will be ready for families to check the week of Feb. 19-22.
Grade 10 families are requested to schedule the course planning meeting with their counselor to occur by February 22nd.
Grade 11: Tuesday lunch sessions information. Our first university research and exploration session was held this past Tuesday during lunch with many from the class of 2024 in attendance. The focus this week was on US universities. The information from this session and subsequent sessions can be found by going to the following link: CAC HS Resources Webpage – Tuesdays sessions.
Grade 11 families- Please schedule your college meeting (student, parent and counselor) to occur by April 20th (we ask that you calendar the meeting by March 13th).
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 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: students have been reminded to check their application portals for any messages from their universities, and also to check their SPAM folder! They should let the counselors know when they have been given a decision.
Claudia Bean, Jody Stiles, Kasey Semler
HS Counseling
General Announcements
CAS/Volunteering Opportunity!
HELP WANTED IN ES!
The ES Beauty and the Beast Musical production team are looking for some amazing CAC Community volunteers (parents, staff, and students). These extra hands will help create a wonderfully smooth experience for the student cast during the production week rehearsals and performance nights. We need volunteers to help with costume changes, props and scenery, microphones, and make-up before and during the show. All of the information regarding dates and times are listed below.
If you are interested in volunteering or have some additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Kelly (kdao@cacegypt.org) or Mrs. Kasal (lkasal@cacegypt.org).
The ES Musical Production Team
Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Egypt 2023
We kindly inform you that the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Cairo and the European Foundation for Education and Culture Zielona Góra are organizing the next edition of “Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Egypt 2023”, addressed to the young pianists living in Egypt.
The Competition is held in Cairo from March 17th to 20th 2023.
We would like to spread the information so anyone willing to participate could join. More information and registration are available on the web page https://www.chopin-competition-in-cairo.org/.
We cordially invite you to participate!
With kind regards!
Parenting Together With Positive Discipline (Tweens & Teens) – Starts March 28
Join Carey Harris for a parenting course designed for all CAC parents!
The 8-week long course meets weekly to…
• address real issues for parents of today’s tweens & teens
• learn over 50 long-term, take-away tools for parenting during the adolescent years
• create a support network for parents of the Cairo American College community
To learn more about the course visit: https://parentingtogether.edublogs.org/
Space is limited! Save your spot – register here!
Carey Harris
ES Guidance Teacher / School Counselor
Positive Discipline Parent & Classroom Educator
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.
CAC PTO