Middle School Principal’s Letter
Dear Parents,
Thank you for reading this week’s version of the News and Views. It was our first full week of school. The teachers and students enjoy building relationships, developing common agreements for the classroom, and exploring. For some students, they are creating new friendship groups.
The PRIME Trips play a crucial role in fostering these friendship groups. These trips provide students with a shared experience, a cornerstone in the formation of friendships. At this stage in a child’s development, friendship is the most important thing they can have. As humans, we need to connect. It is how we are wired. So, the best thing you can do for your child is to make this trip a reality.
I am writing to express my sincere gratitude to all parents who attended Tuesday’s New Parents PRIME Trips presentation. We greatly appreciate your participation and look forward to your continued involvement.
We live in a ‘dopamine culture, ‘ where tech companies have designed algorithms to captivate us with small doses of dopamine, compelling us to seek more. This has led to a noticeable shift in students’ learning behavior. We have observed that students in 2024 are different from those in 2020 in terms of their approach to learning.
Many students need more attention span to focus and read for 15 minutes. Research has shown the following: This study found that people who participated in a bibliotherapy program, which involved reading and discussing fiction novels, experienced significant reductions in symptoms of depression compared to a control group. When you read something enjoyable or emotionally resonant, you’re changing your brain chemistry by giving your brain a powerful boost of feel-good hormones.
We need our students to read more, not just for academic purposes, but for the joy of reading. After lunch, the silent sustained reading program is an opportunity to practice reading for pleasure. Stressing the importance of reading at home for 30 minutes each night would benefit your child in the long run. In two weeks, they will be taking the MAP Reading test. They will struggle to do their best if they don’t have the stamina to sit and read for 15 – 30 minutes. However, this takes practice; therefore, we must work in partnership to help students develop their reading stamina.
Please mark the date on your calendar. Our Back to School Night is next Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a significant event where you will have the opportunity to meet the teachers with whom your child spends eight hours of the day. We are looking forward to welcoming you and to having you meet the teachers.
On September 12th, we will have the Welcome Back Social after school from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. This is another way for students to bond and make new friends. It promises to be an evening of good, clean fun.
In Partnership,
Courtney Bailey
The Middle School Principal
Announcements
From The Booster Club
From Fresh & Co
2024 Service Fair
From CAC PTO
We’ve all completed the first full week of school! Great work getting off to a great start, everyone!
In the beginning of the year, so much of the focus in classrooms and on campus is centered on creating community. One way PTO helps foster community is by providing a number of informal WhatsApp chats to help parents connect. Please remember that these are not channels for official communication from the school.
There are broad groups for each division (Elementary, Middle, and High School) as well as grade-level groups and for elementary there are classroom groups as well. It is useful to be a part of each of the relevant groups because they each serve a different role in communicating with the community.
Broad announcements and questions that pertain to the whole division are appropriate on the ES, MS, and HS chats. When PTO is hosting events where the whole community is invited, we will share that information through the blog and the division level groups.
If you are looking to promote a community event, we appreciate you following the same guidelines. If you need help posting in one of our Admin-only groups you’re welcome to text any of the admins to forward your message. This way the grade level and classroom groups avoid being clogged up by repetitive messages and their conversations can stay focused on topics specific to the particular grade or class.
If you would need a link to one of the WhatsApp groups, please email CACPTOoc@cacegypt.org with your phone number and our Outreach Coordinator will get you connected.
We are delighted to invite both new and returning parents to a relaxed and informal Coffee Morning this Sunday, September 1st at 8:30 in the PTO Lounge on the first floor of the Admin building. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other parents, meet the PTO team, and learn more about our upcoming events. We hope you can join us for a cup of coffee and some light refreshments. It’s a great chance to get to know each other better and discuss the exciting year ahead. We look forward to seeing you there!
HASSAN-WEBB AQUATICS CENTER
Learn-to-Swim Program
The Learn-to-Swim program is for new or beginner to intermediate-level swimmers ages 3 years old and up to help them improve their swimming skills and water safety knowledge. It’s a great program for swimmers who are not yet ready for the swim team but still want to be involved in swimming activities. Learn-to-swim classes begin at 3:15 p.m. and end at 4:15 p.m.
Find more information HERE!
FALL AGE GROUP SWIM TEAM
The Fall Age Group Swim Team season for MS/HS extends
from August 1st – November 7th, 2024, and for ES extends from August 8th – November 7th, 2024.
More information HERE.
Three Cheers
Three Cheers to all the teachers who signed up to offer an activity or coach a team this season.
Three Cheers to all our students who signed up to participate in an activity or sports team this season.
Three Cheers to the team leaders, Ms. Harouny, Mr. Miller, and Ms. Sorky, for the outstanding start we had to begin the school year.
Three Cheers to our school psychologist, Ms. White, for all she does for students, teachers, and parents.
Three Cheers to Mr. Bustamante and the Dhub crew for supporting the BYOD program.
Three Cheers to PRIME trips leaders Mr. Kasal, Mr. Vogel, Mr, Miller, Mr. El Bably, and Mr. Storey for their grade level presentations last Tuesday.