Middle School Principal’s Letter
Dear Parents,
Thank you for taking the time to read this week’s version of the News and Views. It is hard to believe that we had no students on campus one year ago and that instead, students were at home doing e-learning.
Who would have known that the pandemic would leave over half a million Americans dead or that we would still be in a sort of suspended animation as the first anniversary arrived?
We know humans are social animals, and we get tired of separation and long for connection. As a community, I want to express my appreciation to everyone for focusing on others’ health and not just yourself. Before this pandemic, I don’t think we understood collectively how important being in the presence of others has been for our energy, our motivation, our sense of connection, and joy.
If we could go back in time with the knowledge that we have now and start our pandemic response from scratch, how would we do it differently? We did not act fast enough to shut down the virus and deny the virus hosts, for starters. If we thought the lockdown would be short-term, and we could assure ourselves that getting through the lockdown would keep us safe, we wouldn’t be in this position. Now we are tired, and we’re ignoring the fact that vaccines don’t keep us safe. They merely reduce severity and mortality rates and may not even do that with these new variants we are seeing.
Also, we assume people would commit to social distancing. But it’s not consistent with human nature. We’re social beings, and there will be lapses in motivation. Without strict mitigation and protocols, we might struggle to maintain face-to-face learning like other schools in the city. Thank you for helping to lead the way through this pandemic with teachers and students.
In a sixth-grade science class, they are studying the circulatory system. Station 1: MODELS
Directions: In the 2D model, trace the flow of blood through the heart and lungs.
Station 2: MICROSCOPES – EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL LAYERS OF VEINS AND ARTERIES
Directions: View the cross-section of the cardiac tissue that shows veins and arteries. In your lab notebook, make a detailed drawing of what you see.
Station 3: SHEEP HEART
Directions: Identify the chambers of the heart. Find the valves. In your lab notebook, make a detailed drawing of what you see.
Station 4: STETHOSCOPE
Directions: Use the stethoscope to listen to your partner’s heartbeat. Can you hear the valve opening and closing? Practice finding your radial, brachial, and anterior tibial pulse.
Thank you for your continuous support of the middle school.
In Partnership,
Courtney Bailey
Middle School Principal
Announcements
Moving on from CAC at the end of the year?
We are in the process of finalizing plans for the next school year. If you already know that you will be moving on from CAC at the end of this year it would be much appreciated if you could let us know at this time. You can use the link below as a withdrawal notification.
https://www.cacegypt.org/index.php/cac-withdrawal-request
Thank you
Registrar’s office
Spirit Week is Next Week! (March 21-March 25)
Check out the Spirit Week 2021 Schedule and Spirit Week Presentation to see the dress up themes and activities for each day. Remember to practice Respect, Integrity, Responsibility, Compassion, and good sportsmanship. Dress code expectations apply to the dress-up day outfits. Let’s show our school spirit, have fun and win some awesome prizes!
Dress up Theme for Sunday, March 21st: Sleepy Sunday – Pajama Day!
Fundraising and Activity Competitions during Spirit Week:
1. Raising funds to help Afaq El-Hayah (CAC Alumni charity) – There are TWO ways to contribute donations and compete for points:
– Money donations – Grade level boxes in front of the MS Office – put your donation in your grade level box. Each day there will be an updated count so everyone can see who is in the lead. Our goal is to reach 15,000 LE to be able to purchase school supplies for all the students at Afaq El-Hayah’s school.
– Food Drive for Ramadan Box – Advisory competition, each item is worth 1 point. The winning advisory across all the grade levels will receive a special Booster Club prize. We hope to gather enough goods to fill 500 plus boxes with all of the items.
-8th Grade – Bags of rice and lentils
-7th Grade – Bags of rice and fava bean (foul)
-6th Grade – Bags of pasta and sugar
2. Sunday to Tuesday – Advisory Competitions: Advisories will rotate through each activity each day during lunch. The winning advisory will receive a special basket of coupons for special privileges like Elevator Passes, Get-Out-of-Class Early Pass (10 minutes) and etc.
Basketball Shootout
Teacher Trivia
Home Run Derby
3. Wednesday and Thursday – Grade Level Competitions: Students will sign-up during advisory for the preferred challenge on Wednesday and if they want to participate in the assembly on Thursday.
Over 15 challenges and competitions to earn points – sign-up during advisory
Thursday’s final Assembly will have several performance challenges and announcement of winners – sign-up during advisory
Sports Season 3 (March 21, 2021 – May 27, 2021)
Girls’ and Boys’ Track & Field
Coaches: Hatem Mersal, Rebecca Riddle, Darren Kennedy, Passant Herky,
Bassant Hazem & Bassem Reda.
Locations: CAC campus (Sunday and Thursday),
Maadi Olympic Center Track (Monday and Wednesday).
All practices will follow CAC mitigation guidelines in place.
All practices will be on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 3:15-4:30, until further notice.
No late bus transportation will be provided.
CAC PTO GRANT – DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL MARCH 21!
Each year we invite all teachers, parents, staff and students to submit ideas for projects that could make a difference to our school community. Proposals should always be framed by CAC’s core values. Priority will be given to projects that identify a specific need, have a clear purpose, and are innovative and beneficial to our CAC community or beyond. The budget for the grant program for 2020-2021 is $1,000. There is a limit on each grant request this year of $500 or less per grant. If you have a funding idea for the PTO that exceeds this limit, please email us for discussion. Email cacpto@cacegypt.org for more information.
CAC PTO Meeting
Teachers! Parents! Administrators – you’re all already in the PTO, so join our monthly meeting in March! Our admin will be present to award the CAC Core Values Award and PTO will announce vacancies for the next school year. We will also discuss our upcoming initiative to gift Ramadan boxes to our GSS staff and can’t wait to tell you more.
Zoom Meeting Link:
https://zoom.us/j/97208854547?pwd=bzRlWlZpUG5taDdiVVRFMUdWSnoxZz09
Meeting ID: 972 0885 4547
Passcode: 661239
NESA Parents as Partners 2.0 – Webinar 5: Recording & Feedback
Thank you for joining us for the NESA Parents as Partners Series 2.0: Webinar 5, “The Human Side of Changing Education”, with Julie Wilson.
Webinar recordings, materials, and feedback forms are available on the NESA website.
Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts on the webinar you attended.
View Recording and Share Feedback
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE NEXT WEBINAR
March 30, 2021 | 4:00-5:00pm GMT+3 [VIEW LOCAL TIME]
Parenting in a Pandemic, Part II
Presented by MICHAEL THOMPSON
Clinical Psychologist, School Consultant, Author
As the pandemic reaches the one-year mark, the worries of parents about their children’s mental health and their learning have changed. Dr. Thompson has been tracking the evolving concerns of parents; he will address parental fears about learning loss, disengagement from school, social isolation and sibling relationships. There will be ample time for questions. (Note: Part I of “Parenting in a Pandemic” took place during the fall Parents as Partners webinar series.)
ACCESS INFOSHEET | VISIT NESA FOR DETAILS
*IMPORTANT*
To join this session, you don’t need to re-register. You may use the same link you used previously. Or, you may register again to receive a new email/link.
RE-REGISTER – ONLY IF YOU NEED A NEW LINK
2021 Booster Club CAC Spirit Art Contest
Calling all CAC students to have fun, be creative, and show off your amazing talents in one or two Booster Club Spirit Art Contest events. You can “Fly like an Eagle” by taking a photo of yourself and others and/or design a CAC Spirit T-shirt for the Spirit store.
And there are exciting prizes: 1st place $100; 2nd place $50; and 3rd place $25.
The contest is open to all students, and ages are grouped in the following categories: 4-8 years; 9-13 years; and 14-18 years.
The contest runs from March 8th until April 8th.
For more details, click the CAC Booster Club website link https://www.cacegypt.org/index.php/cac-campus-life-booster-club
or pick-up an application form from your school’s office.
Three Cheers
Three Cheers to MS. Torky, Mr. Brown, Ms. Petrovna, Ms. Spencer, and Ms. Urbiztondo for Spirit Week planning.
Three Cheers to students and teachers for their excellent work with the implementation of the mitigation protocols.
Three Cheers to Ms. Fahmy and Ms. Urbiztondo for their support of parents, teachers, and students daily.
Three Cheers to our janitorial staff for their efforts during these challenging times.
Three Cheers to Ms. Soha for her help with the design of the Yearbook.
Three Cheers to the PTO for providing the delicious lunch for all faculty and staff.