Dear CAC Community,

At the end of each academic year, as is the case in many international schools around the world, we are overcome with mixed emotions of - sadness as many of our dear friends depart Cairo and CAC - and joy as we reflect proudly on our accomplishments for the year.

The board consistently ensures that its work is student-centered and mission focused. We believe that CAC has an important role to play in the success of our students and the board is committed to the development of the whole child and the continued growth of our academic programs as well as a rich and varied co-curricular program encouraging student engagement in many varied areas. 

Over the 2022-2023 school year CAC has achieved important holistic educational experiences, thanks to the dedication of our students, teachers, and staff.  The ES adoption of the PYP (Primary Years Programme) led to a transformative learning experience that fostered a global perspective and nurtured well-rounded inquisitive students.  The unforgettable Egypt culture trip to Alexandria not only enriched our students' understanding of Egyptian history and heritage but also strengthened friendships and ensured cultural appreciation.  Furthermore, the Imagination Innovation Program ignited creativity and problem-solving skills, empowering our ES students to explore the potential of their ideas. 

In middle school, the students celebrated community outreach, digital citizenship, and the performing arts.  Our talented MS students put on spectacular performances, showcasing their creativity and passion for the arts, while demonstrating their responsible use of technology and online platforms, bolstering a safe and positive learning environment.  Furthermore, the middle school's dedication to community outreach was exemplified through supporting the African Hope School, where students collaborated and shared experiences to promote cultural interactions.

In high school, we continue to take student well-being seriously, as one of the pillars of our strategic plan. The link between student well-being, mental health, and academic success is well documented. Happy and healthy students learn best. In another step to further improve the well-being ecosystem in the high school, we introduced a new Homeroom program. Small groups of students meet every day with their homeroom advisor. They get to know each other well and the advisors can leverage these strong and positive relationships to support students in their academic journey. We look forward to further embedding this program into high school next year.

We were especially proud to fully bring back the international week without walls program again this year. We offered seven international trips in February and due to the high demand among students, we expanded this to 10 international trip offerings for October 2023. Getting outside of the classroom and exploring different countries, cultures, and environments is a deeply enriching and rewarding experience for our students. It is a testament to the commitment to holistic learning that we include a program like this as a required part of the high school experience and we are privileged to include WWW once again.

We saw very high interest and uptake in our athletics and activities program this year. Our sports teams enjoyed the return of international tournaments in Europe. Teams traveled to many different European destinations and competed in soccer, basketball, volleyball, swimming, track, and field, golf, wrestling, and tennis. In addition to the international tournaments, we saw a strong resurgence in our local competitive league for JV and younger students traveling around Cairo to compete with other international schools. All in all, a highly successful year for our student athletes with many medals and wins under their belts.

Our HS activities programs cater to a full range of interests: arts, academic competition, environmental sustainability, technology and innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and service to name but a few. A particular highlight of the year was for our green team when they were able to represent CAC in Sharm El Sheikh at the COP 27 conference. We were exceptionally proud of our students and their achievements. The Board is also excited to announce that the CAC solar project is near completion, which will significantly decrease our carbon footprint.

The board continues its important work on Child Protection to ensure a safe and nurturing environment for all our students.  Our comprehensive approach includes appointing a point person for all child protection issues. Thank you to one of our HS counselors, Mr. Kasey Semler, for agreeing to take on the role of Child Protection Officer (CPO). The board continues to develop clear policies and procedures for reporting and handling child abuse and neglect concerns, fostering a culture of vigilance and awareness among staff, students, and parents, and conducting regular training on child protection issues to faculty, staff, administration, and Board members.

Finally, our CAC community is excitedly anticipating the January 2024 launch of the Early Intervention Program (EIC) for neurodiverse children.  This initiative will provide tailored support and intervention to students with diverse learning needs.  Through specialized curricula and highly trained specialists the EIC will make a lasting impact on the lives of countless neurodiverse learners and serve as an inspiring model for other educational institutions to follow in Egypt.

Board work is challenging, but rewarding and worthwhile. I would like to thank my board colleagues for their tireless work and in particular Sam Levin, NAMRU representative to the CAC board who is departing Egypt this summer. We will miss you Sam and wish the best for you and your family! The board feels extremely grateful and fortunate to work on behalf of a very special, warm and committed community of parents, students, faculty, staff and administrators. We would like to express our appreciation for all that you do - day in and day out - for CAC and our children. 

Thank you all for being a part of this great community and for allowing us to serve you. On behalf of the board of trustees, I would like to wish you all a rejuvenating summer full of warmth and love and wishing all of us a peaceful and prosperous year ahead.

Warmly,

Maha ElShinnawy 
CAC Board Chair

2022-2023 CAC Board Members: Hassan Abdou (Appointed), David Chi (Apache), Maha ElShinnawy (Board Chair, AUC), Stuart Farquhar (BP), Ericka Galegher (Secretary), Nawal Gamal (Board Executive Assistant), Jared Harris (HoS), Hassan Khalifa (Elected), Dalia Khorshid (Appointed), Sam Levin (NAMRU), Tarek Sakr (Elected), Chahrazed Sioud (US Embassy), Amal Soliman (Treasurer), Tarek Zaghloul (Facilities Committee Chair).