Middle School Principal’s Letter
Dear Parents,
Thank you for taking the time to read this week’s version of the News and Views. We are into our fourth week, and we couldn’t have made it this far without your support. Although we are in phase one of our mitigation protocol, we modify some things to provide our students with more opportunities.
Our teachers have been intentional about finding options to help our students build essential skills. With self-management, guiding students to learn to manage their time, to deal with the stress that may result from these transitions, now and in the future, is essential. We want students to develop and sustain self-reliance and understand their needs and manage emotions as well as stress. We realize that their competency in SEL (Social Emotional Learning) can positively impact their future success as a student.
With students learning from home three times per week, parents need to have a positive mindset to promote a positive environment. Parents must make an effort to understand what children are going through and how hard it might be for some to stay engaged. We can empower them to look at all the positive aspects to avoid them feeling overwhelmed or depressed. We must also act as role models by being determined and letting our young people know the crucial role they play in rebuilding this world. During these times, children are counting on the school-parent partnership to help them stay in the learning game.
In 8th Grade science, students are applying the concepts of velocity and acceleration to real-world situations. The students are calculating the top velocity and acceleration produced when they are running. They are also working to determine a tennis ball’s acceleration when dropped off of the middle school building. Next week, the students will discuss and experience examples of Newton’s Laws of Motion.
In Grade Six Language Arts this week, students have been working on understanding character traits and emotion when reading fictional texts. We are exploring the idea that characters may be complicated and may have many characteristics. Students have read a short excerpt called “Popularity” as a guiding short story text. Next week, students will start their book clubs and come home with a physical book.
In 8th Grade Social Studies, students have reviewed a brief history of government development from prehistory to the Enlightenment. We have looked at the single-person rule and the evolution of shared power systems; they have completed work online, and a physical packet of information sent home with them last week. We are beginning to discuss the evolution of thought in the Enlightenment era and what it meant for modern governmental systems, especially the Enlightenment language, directly inserted into the US Declaration of Independence.
In 8th grade Language Arts, we are using a truly blended learning model where we begin and end class together. Students are currently reading Dystopian Fiction, where they connect the world’s complexities around us to our novels. Students have studied symbolism, plot structure, archetypes, and systemic obstacles that characters have to overcome in the past week. Additionally, they are using their notebooks to analyze while reading and writing. The reading clubs are used to discuss and collaborate to support deeper analytical thinking and real-world connections with their novels.
Monday, September 21st, is Peace Day, and we will celebrate it on Sunday and Monday with our students. In 2002 the United Nations General Assembly officially declared September 21st as the International Day of Peace. The International Day of Peace is devoted to the goal of worldwide peace for all humankind. The U.N. Resolution that established the International Day of Peace suggested that:
Peace Day should be dedicated to commemorating and strengthening peace ideals both within and among all nations and peoples. This day will serve as a reminder to all people that our organization, with all its limitations, is a living instrument in the service of peace and should help all of us here within the organization as a constantly peeling bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace.
Each year on September 21st, events are organized globally to commemorate and celebrate this day. The impact of millions of people in all parts of the world, coming together for one day of peace, is indeed profound. CAC is proud to participate in this global event, and we look forward to our students and teachers wearing white on this special day to show their support.
Thank you for your continuous support of the middle school.
In Partnership,
Courtney Bailey
Middle School Principal
Announcements
PTO Monthly Meeting Link:
https://zoom.us/j/99506497883?pwd=d2NxNDFML25VQ01aM25vTitNeU9LQT09
Meeting ID: 995 0649 7883
Passcode: 353379
From the Service -Learning Office
Let’s put our ideas together
“THE IDEAS TANK”
We have created a google form that will serve as a tank of ideas. Questions proposed on this form will vary based on the school phases, safety measures & the calendar. This form will serve as a channel of communication with our CAC community to coordinate and put our ideas into action. The Ideas Tank Form link will be shared regularly in the newsletters. Students may share their ideas and suggest the next questions, teachers may use these questions in a discussion in their classrooms, parents may start the conversation at their dinner table. We need everyone on board! Our first question will be;
“How can we contribute to the community while maintaining physical distance & managing our own safety?”.
Click here to send your ideas: THE IDEAS TANK. Selected ideas may be shared for inspiration.
Ereeny Gawdat
Service Learning Coordinator
egergess@cacegypt.org
CAC Stories Showing Compassion
From the MS/HS Library
CAC libraries on Saturdays
As we get ready to allow the ES students in to the library to browse and checkout, we have made more changes to the ES library. For our parents who visit the ES library on Saturdays, please expect the library to look a little different. Signs on the door will outline the set up for students during the week and for parents on Saturdays. You can preview the poster here.
The MHS library will remain the same.
To make a 30 minute appointment to visit our libraries on Saturdays, please log in to the CAC dashboard and look for the box “Campus Facilities Online Booking.”
Three Cheers
Three Cheers to Mr. Fadi El Duweini for his presentation to faculty on Progress Report input into Skyward.
Three Cheers to Ms. Mona Abdel Hady for her support with the operations of the dashboard.
Three Cheers to the board of trustees for their support of the administration and teachers.