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Elementary Express
April 13, 2006 PRINCIPAL'S NOTEDear Parents,Spring break is right around the corner and we wish you all a lovely vacation. If you travel out of Cairo, please travel safely. This has been a long stretch for our students but a good concentrated period for digging deeper into curriculum. Our kids are deserving of a fun, relaxing break! Once they come back the time will just zip by before everyone heads off in different directions for the summer. We want to make use of every instructional day so we ask that you please not extend vacation time and keep your child in school until the last day of the semester, June 8. The end of the school year is full of presentations, plays, and slide shows for parents where students can show off what they have learned during the year. It is also an important closure time for students who are leaving as well as those staying on at CAC who want that last shared experience (the end of the year pool party) with their friends. Please be reminded that when we return after spring break the ELEMENTARY ART SHOW will be in full swing. The art opening is on Monday, May 1st from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. in room 600. We invite you to attend and enjoy the art created by our talented youngsters. Please note that we have the PRE-K PARENT INFORMATION SESSION coming up on Sunday, May 7th from 1:45 – 2:45 p.m. as well as the KINDERGARTEN PARENT INFORMATION SESSION from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. the same day in room 600. If you are considering putting your child in one of these programs, please come find out what we are all about.
Sincerely,
What’s for Lunch
Download What's for Lunch Fridge Reminder (PDF)
Important Dates
Counselors' Corner
AnnouncementsPE UPDATE Rhythms is the unit that we are currently experiencing in PE. The KG, 1st, and 2nd graders are learning about 4/4 time, levels, pathways, and speed in their creative dance. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are learning to do the jitterbug (also known as the lindy). They are doing a great job and despite what they might say, they look like they’re enjoying themselves immensely! Rhythms will continue through the two days after Spring Break, April 26th & 27th. Swimming starts on the first Sunday after Spring Break, April 30th, and will continue until the end of the school year. Please make sure that your child has goggles (not a mask), swimsuit, and towel put into a swim bag (plastic is fine) to carry to PE class. PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING WITH NAME AND CLASS CODE! Swimsuits may NOT be worn to school. This is for hygiene reasons as well as how sandy many of the children become on the playground before PE class. In addition, children often forget shorts and underwear when they wear their suits to school. We don’t want them sitting in a wet suit in their classrooms! We have a supply of clean swimsuits and towels that the children will use if these items are forgotten. Continuity is very important and we expect the children to swim every day that they are in school. Please send a doctor’s note to one of us, and not the classroom teacher, if your child needs to be excused from swimming with the reason and length of time to be missed. Swim levels have changed this year, and we have revised which level has to be passed at each grade level. We will share that with you after Spring Break.
PTO MULTICULTURAL COMMITTEE We are pleased to have as our final speaker this school year, Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities on Tuesday, May 2nd at 6:30 p.m. in the CAC Theatre. This special event will be open to CAC card holders only through advance ticket purchase. Tickets will be available for purchase in front of the health office this week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. The price of each ticket is 10 LE and will be available on a first come, first serve basis. If the tickets are not “sold out” this week, they will be available for sale after spring break on April 26 & 27, same time, same place. Please join us as CAC welcomes Dr. Hawass for a unique opportunity to see and hear the world’s foremost Egyptologist! PTO Multicultural Committee
5TH GRADE STUDENTS 5th Grade students will participate in a two-day orientation to middle school next month. The afternoons of May 3 and May 4 will provide students with time to meet their prospective core teachers, counselors and the administration, as well as to learn about middle school in general. In addition, students will have the opportunity to visit and participate in exploratory classes, giving them a small “taste” of the excitement of middle school explorations. Lastly, students will receive the Program of Studies and the explorations selection card on the 4th. The completed card, with both student and parent signature, will be due back to the student’s classroom teacher no later than May 8th. MODERN STANDARD ARABIC AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM The after school language program (currently open to Elementary School students) will be extended to include grade 6 students (native speakers). This will enable these students to continue learning Arabic at a level that is not offered/available to Grade 6 students in the regular school schedule. However, once in grade 7 and/or 8, all students will have access to all levels beyond Arabic B. It is understood that parents will pay the cost of $650 for the year 2006-2007 if they choose this option. The registration for this program will take place after May 20, 2006. Ms. Ashnadelle Mortagy, program coordinator, will notify parents of those current Grade 5 students recommended for higher level Arabic and all pertinent information will be sent home. The program will run if we have enough students to open a section. We look forward to working with you on this program which will give our students the opportunity to pursue their native language study under our academic auspices even though the program is offered after school.
GRADE 5-6 TRANSITION MEETING FOR PARENTS On Wednesday evening, April 12, we had an information meeting for parents of current Grade 5 students. During this meeting we presented a power point presentation and distributed handouts. For those who were unable to attend, handouts may be picked up from either the Elementary or Middle School office. You will also find all this information on the Middle School Website under the link <http://www.cacegypt.org/ms/transition.html>. Thank you to those parents who were able to be present.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YEARBOOK SALE You may now reserve your copy of the 2005-06 full-color Elementary Yearbook at the SCHOOL STORE for 150 LE. Kindly note that the School Store will be closed during the Spring Break.
LAUNCHING THE MASTER PLAN PROCESS As you may know, the CAC Board of Trustees has selected Hillier Architecture to generate our Master Plan. Without missing a beat, we are moving into the next phase, which is to provide you with the opportunity to meet the Hillier consultants, learn about the master planning process, and provide input for the plan. Please join us in the CAC theater on Monday, May 1, at 7 p.m. and contribute to the creation of an improved CAC campus.
CAT MEMBERS If you are interested in applying for the Middle School CAT team membership for the 2006-07 school year please remember to fill out an application, available at the middle school office, or email Annelies at (ahoogland@cacegypt.org). The deadline to submit applications is May 3. We have 2 openings for grade six parents and 2 for grade eight.
CAC MEMORABILIA ANNOUNCEMENT As you prepare for Spring Break or plan ahead to your summer travels, consider sharing a piece of CAC with your family and friends. The CAC School Store has an array of memorabilia in stock, including polo shirts, t-shirts, stationery featuring student artwork, silver pendants, and a limited edition CD ROM filled with CAC history, images, interviews and more. Visit the School Store to browse and shop.
NOTE If your family will be moving from Cairo at the end of this school year, please let Amina O’Kane at the Admissions office know as soon as possible. This is very helpful in planning for the 2006/07 school year. Thank you!
From The Egypt Culture Department
EASTERN EASTER On April 23rd, Egyptian Coptic Christians will celebrate Eastern Easter. This occasion is celebrated in Egypt after the big fast which lasts 55 days. During the fast Copts abstain from eating meat, poultry, fish, milk or any of their products. Cereals and vegetables form the main dishes for Copts during this fast. The celebrations for Easter start one week earlier by Palm Sunday where families weave special Coptic crosses out of palm reeds. Several services are held in the churches all the week round. Special hymns are read and chanted every single day of the week. The final celebration is a night service in the churches where special rituals are followed, during which the Church is kept dark at certain times. The service ends up by lifting a cross and lighting the church referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The main service is held in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mark in Abasseya, and attended by Pope Shenouda the third, the high officials of the Coptic Church as well as representatives of the president and the government. Family gatherings and festivities take place among all Coptic families. Children get new clothes and take the eideyya, which is a gift of money from parents and close family. SHAM EL NASIM The Word Sham El Nasim means “the breeze”. Sham El Nasim is the most popular feast in Egypt. It is the one national occasion celebrated by all the Egyptians. Muslims and Christians, farmers and city dwellers all celebrate it. It is a time to sniff a new fresh breeze. That is the breeze of spring at its beginning. The date of Sham El Nasim is not a fixed one. It is calculated according to the Coptic calendar. Coptic documents mention that when Christianity was introduced to Egypt, this feast was celebrated. It came in the middle of the Easter fasting time. The date was then changed to the first day after the fast ends. This means one day after Eastern Easter. Therefore Sham El Nasim comes always on a Monday. It takes place in spring. This year it will be on April 24th. It is believed that the origin of this feast is an agricultural one, associated with ancient harvest festivals. In such festivals people danced, sang and had boat rides in the Nile. SINAI LIBERATION DAY April 25th is Sinai Day in Egypt. It is a day when Egyptians celebrate the liberation of the land of Sinai. Sinai means the land of the moon. This is the name with which it is known today. In ancient Egypt it was known as Ta Mefkat or the land of the Turquoise. Traces of human existence in Sinai go back to about eight thousand years, when early Bronze Age settlers arrived in search of valuable metals. Copper and turquoise mines were the most important treasures of this area. This was the main reason that drew the attention of the pharaohs to explore its mines. By 3000 BC Egypt took full control of the region. For the next three millennia, ancient Egyptians continued exploring the mines of Sinai, building fortresses and developing the roads that served primarily the mining region and as a military route between Egypt and the great civilizations of the Fertile Crescent. Greco-Roman, Coptic and Islamic historical sites also exist in Sinai. Today Sinai has the most beautiful resorts in Egypt, and among some of the most beautiful in the world. Together with this, there are several natural protectorates.
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