 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||
  |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
* CAC Switchboard #: 2755-5555/5520
|
|
Superintendent’s News Dear CAC Community,
What a beautiful spring we have experienced here in Maadi! As summer makes her presence known, our calendars continue to fill with events which are both celebratory and bittersweet as our community, always in flux, brings closure to the school year and braces for the moves of friends and colleagues. The good news is that our sense of community spans years and continents, so friendships and connections will survive and thrive. Every May, a group of CAC parents, Board members, students, faculty, staff, and administrators review our Strategic Plan. We consider initiatives and programs, our goals, and the progress we have made toward achieving those goals. This year we invited CAT members to participate and altogether forty stakeholders spent a valuable afternoon sharing information, asking questions, and considering next steps for our Learning and Teaching, Technology, and Service, Sustainability, and Citizenship strategies. It was a very valuable exercise which should bear fruits in the coming year as CAC continues to ensure that our Strategic Plan is current and dynamic. One of the many braggable developments of recent years at CAC is the introduction of the international Middle School Virtual Science Fair. Our own MS science teachers Catherine Berghahn and Carissa Melk have worked especially hard with our budding scientists this year and we are proud to announce that two CAC teams made it to the final round and earned the third and fourth overall placements! In third place are Basil Baldauff and Justin Pintak with their Baseball Project, while Mariam El Magrissy and Megan Bestor are fourth with their Dairy Glue project. The competition was fierce, with over 500 teams. Mabrouk to our winners as well as our inspirational teachers and mentors. Congratulations to the 2008-2009 PTO for their many accomplishments and contributions during the year. Most recently, the PTO hosted an elegant, highly successful second annual Gala, and parents provided faculty and staff with a magnificent Appreciation Breakfast on May 13th. The tireless efforts of Elmare Maurin and her Executive Committee have provided terrific support for CAC students and staff throughout the year and contribute in a major way to enhancing the home-school partnership which is so important to our school’s health. Thank you to the 312 of you (about 23% of the parents) who completed this year’s Satisfaction Surveys. Your valuable feedback drives agendas and decisions among administrators, CATs, and faculty. This year we included issues very dear to our hearts – the CAC core values of respect, responsibility and integrity as well as concepts of tolerance and diversity. We are pleased that the vast majority of respondents believe our core values are evident, but we know that we must remain vigilant regarding any evidence of bias or intolerance among students as well as adults in our community. These issues will remain a focus for the coming year. Every year CAC bids farewell to parents who have contributed hugely to the lives of our students over the years. One of many who deserve recognition this year is Melanie Nelson, who has in all likelihood decorated more proms, organized more spring festivals and Halloween carnivals, housed more visiting athletes, and flipped more burgers than she can even remember. For the past two years, Melanie has also served on the CAC Board of Trustees, always keeping the good of the students in her sights. This campus will miss Melanie with her energy, her commitment, and that unrivaled - and yes, irreverent - sense of humor. Our community also owes a vote of thanks to Patrick Brennan, proud parent of three CAC alums, who has represented Apache on the Board of Trustees for the past two years. Pat’s quiet, thorough, reflective approach to issues and his leadership of the Facilities Committee during this challenging period have been of great benefit to both current and future generations of our students. At a recent farewell gathering with some CAC parents, we were talking about the challenges of moving and not only how some of our children lack what we think of as roots, but some of us adults also question ‘where we come from’. I was reminded of the original research on Third Culture Kids (TCKs) by Dr. Ruth Useem, with whom I presented some workshops some years ago. When people bemoaned the lack of a permanent home for children moving from place to place, she advised them to “...think of them like orchids – they carry their roots with them, and my, how they bloom in the right conditions!” So if you and your family are moving, let’s hold onto this image. All of the very best with your move, and may you and yours continue to bloom. For those who remain and continue to help a great school become ever better, all best wishes as you work with your new Superintendent. Dr. Mockrish brings a great deal of experience, many gifts and strengths, and unbridled enthusiasm and energy to his new position. Without doubt, CAC will continue to thrive.
Monica N. Greeley
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
