Dear Community Members:
It’s great to be back. We hope you all had a restful Winter Break and that we are all prepared for another refreshing start of this academic year.
We had the honor yesterday to have our new US Consul General, Mr. Lawrence Randolph, visit us at school. It’s a visit full of significance following the inauguration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday. The US and Morocco have always held distinguished relationships framed with respect since Morocco's acknowledgement of our Independence in 1776. This relationship is one of the most treasured of traits that we, as an institution, value at CAS: Respect of culture, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual differences, race, the environment is what makes us the Leading Institution in the region. Mr. Lawrence Randolph was greeted with dates and milk, as the Moroccan Tradition dictates, presented by one of our faithful and long-term cleaning ladies, Ms. Hajiba Salama, who celebrates this month 40 years of loyal service to CAS. I take this opportunity to heartedly thank Mr. Said Mohamed Fadile for showing our honorable guest the Moroccan hospitality that went above and beyond the normal welcome and is an example of CAS parents' generosity. As we wish Mr. Randolph Lawrence all the best in his new position, I’m certain that Morocco will embrace him and his family with grace and love.
As announced by our Board President, Ms. Sofia Amrani, we will be holding our Ordinary General Assembly, Thursday, January 28th at 6:00 pm. Due to the restrictions on assembly numbers, the assembly will be held virtually and a Zoom Meet link will be shared with our members to follow and approve the items on the agenda. Thank you in advance for your support and for your attendance at this meeting!
As we continue with our Hybrid Program, adapting to new ways of learning, teaching, and communicating, please make sure you are up-to-date with the different correspondences sent by the US and LS divisions. In this regard, as of next week, I/we will be holding Google Meet sessions with the LS parents beginning with Nursery to discuss where we are with our Hybrid Programs and share views/concerns about the future. These sessions will also be extended to US parents.
As much as these past rains have been in part beneficial to Morocco, we have noticed some damage especially in the CAS LS building where leaks were found in some classrooms and the Library. The leaks have been temporarily taken care of until we can make major repairs to the Terrace.
Finally, it has been my pleasure this past trimester to interact with students through Puppet Shows, Softball games, and more. This coming trimester, I’m looking forward to spending some time as well interacting with students in the Lower School Science/Technology Lab, teaching Biological Science.
Wishing for better days to come! Please keep safe and healthy...
John J. Randolph
Since the start of this school year, we have had 31 and 13 positive cases among our students and staff consecutively. These cases occurred at separate dates. Most of the students are usually asymptomatic and each fulfilled their quarantine period as per the guidelines the local authorities ask us to follow to keep our population safe and out of danger.
I would like to briefly reiterate our set procedures in face of COVID-19:
Step 1: The parent or member of staff informs the school Nurse
Step 2: The nurse informs the divisional principals
Step 3: Parents in the cohort group are informed and the group itself is sent home for quarantine with a letter from the School Director.
Step 4: The infected student will be admitted to class after quarantine pending a negative Covid-19 test result.
John J. Randolph
How wonderful it is to have students back on campus following Winter Break! While full online learning was an added precaution, something was clearly missing...the kids! Having students on campus really does breathe life into the school and we treasure our time with them.
I sent out a few announcements in a parent communication on January 18. I'd like to remind you yearbook pictures are next week and there is Early Dismissal on Wednesday, January 27 @ 12:00. Your child's teacher will remind you of the details in their Weekly Bulletin.
Elizabeth Phillips
Dear Parents and Students:
Thanks to all the members involved in our IB evaluation process. This is another golden opportunity, along with preparing for our NEASC preliminary visit, to assess our strengths and areas of growth.
In this connection, I would like to let you know that Mr. Randolph is leading a review of our mission and vision statement. Thanks to the teachers, parents and students that are part of the review committee. More teachers will be invited to join the process later this year.
I will be holding Google meets with students and parents to maximize our communication in regard to our day-to-day teaching and learning.
Based on the data collected from parents’ monthly declaration of intention (Hybrid- Online learning), we will be able to receive students everyday if space and safety conditions allow for that.
Please consider a specific office hour after school for students to reach out to you should they need support/ task clarification… Make sure you communicate your office hour to your head of dept.
Simohamed Sarhane
Reminder of Upper School Rotation for week 18:
January 25th To January 29th
May 2021 Examination Session update: As an IB World school, we strictly follow the official communication coming from IB. Despite many rumors circulating on social media, there is no plan to cancel the IB Exams in May 2021. The IB organization takes into consideration the world pandemic situation and adjusts the examination elements. Parts of the components were removed from most subjects, and the examination schedule was updated to reflect these changes. The Internal assessments (now in progress for our seniors) will be all uploaded for external marking that takes place along with the internal evaluation. The Academic Integrity becomes the most important as no student work can be submitted without the teacher's authentication. Using Turnitin to check for similarities is not enough. The direct interaction with the teacher/supervisor must take place regularly.
Please spend 5 minutes watching the video prepared by IB students winner of the "Academic Honesty" contest organized by IB a few years ago.
DP Evaluation 2021: Our work on the self-study continues. Last Wednesday, during the PD afternoon, time was assigned to complete Section C - Curriculum in IB subjects groups. Despite a large amount of evidence we need to collect, teachers are confident they will complete Section C by June.
If you have not yet read the most recent edition of the monthly newsletter produced by 10th and 11th Graders you may find it on our school website. Click on this link to be read The CAS Tribune (scroll down to the Department News Section).
This year has been most troublesome and there have been many changes to our regular school schedule, extra-curricular and sporting activities that we offer. We want to advise everyone that we shall be making two changes to our school calendar and, therefore, we shall be holding school on Monday, January 18th Dr. Martin Luther King Day, and also on Monday, May 31st US Memorial Day. Both of these days are noted as holidays in our school calendar, but we shall be having school on both days. We wanted to let you know this in advance since we go on Winter Break this Friday for three weeks.
Please refer to this revised calendar! It is also available on our school website should you wish to print it or refer back to it (or take a screen shot!).
Lower School Picture Schedule
Upper School Picture Schedule
On Monday Yearbook pictures will be taking place for the entire week. Due to Covid19, we have scheduled a longer time period to ensure that everyone is able to get their pictures taken safely. We would kindly appreciate it if all students arrive to school in proper uniform attire. Given the current circumstances, it will be difficult for us to schedule picture retakes so we ask you to please respect the schedule. ONLINE-ONLY students are expected to come to school on Wednesday afternoon.
More details are communicated by each base teacher in their newsletter as well as by the US and LS Principals. See pictures provided for the schedules.
Kindgarten students have planted some seeds in the fall and their first vegetables are starting to show! This week they were able to pick horseradishes and potatoes! The perk of it all is that these are organic! Well done:)
We would like to thank all of our community members who have been actively participating in the PTC. Thanks to our wonderful team and community support we were able to create incredible events that have brought our community together.
We would like to continue on this positive track and it is that time of the year where the PTC opens its doors to new committee members willing to perpetuate what has been fostered.
We are calling for all those interested in joining the PTC to email us at ptc@cas.ac.ma
Grade 12 Students Kamil Lahjouji and Al Hassan Fadile are pleased to announce the:
CAS 21/22 Virtual Covid Calendar Art Contest
The Contest has the aim to publish artwork accompanied by a quote by CAS students that represent the Covid Pandemic. CAS art teachers will be the judges and have the opportunity to vote on their favorite art piece per grade level and these winning pieces will be published in the 2021/22 Calendar. The artwork and quotes will be displayed on a website created by Kamil and Al Hassan for all members of the CAS community to view.
Who is eligible to enter:
All CAS students, Hybrid and Online, Grades PF-12.
Deadline
All entries must be submitted NO LATER than January 30, 2021.
Online Exhibit and Winners Announcement
We aim to launch the online gallery and announce the winners sometime in March.
Questions?
Contact Kamil or Al Hassan at: art-contest@cas.ac.ma.
For more details on the contest please check your inboxes as an email was sent out!
Indeed this Pandemic has been disastrous in so many ways. Yet, it has inspired many of us to move forward and show their incredible talents as is the case for Mrs. Nezha Ababou, mother of former students Taha and Samiya Ababou. Mrs. Ababou’s Artistic talents are amazing and we are sincerely looking for her 1st exhibition. More to follow…
Wed. Jan 27, 2021
Early Dismissal
Monday January 25- January 29
Ms. Haroun organizes regular university virtual visits. These are open to students and parents of grade 10-12. Please look out for emails announcing future visits and sign up! It is a great opportunity for students to learn more about university options and the university application process.
Dear Students,
This is a reminder that you must register for the March SAT as soon as possible, in case you have not done so yet. If you have taken the December SAT, taking it once again will give you a chance of increasing your score. As you are half-way into your first year of the International Baccalaureate program this year, we want to ensure your success in this program so you can get into a competitive university and pursue your passions.
All grade 11 students must take the SAT at least twice this academic year (three times, if necessary). Waiting until grade 12 to take the SAT will be detrimental to your university applications as you might miss some important deadlines and score lower on the SAT.
While it is true that many universities went test-optional for the current graduating class (Class of 2021), there is no guarantee that it will remain optional for your class (Class of 2022). In addition, current admission results for the Class of 2021 show that students who submit a strong SAT score were more likely to be admitted than those who did not. A strong SAT score will make your application more competitive.
The two upcoming dates are March 13, 2021, and May 8, 2021. You must register for the March 13th SAT as soon as possible, as all seats for the 2020/2021 academic year might fill up fast. Please note that we are not allowed to reserve seats for CAS students and that registration occurs on a first-come, first-served basis. Here are the instructions to register for the SAT. We recommend that you register for the SAT with essay, as many universities require students to submit their essay scores.
Students must study for the SAT to optimize their scores. Please find resources to help you prepare for the SAT on our website (you will need your CAS login information to access the website). You can also review the SAT STUDY GUIDE.
Do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions about testing or university admissions.
Sincerely,
Rana Haroun - College Counselor
Congratulations to Sijal Adnani for receiving a $ 2,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Science in Computer Science at the University of Toronto in Canada. He also received a € 7,500 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Jacobs University in Germany. In addition, he received a $ 3,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Science in Engineering at McMaster University in Canada
Congratulations to Ahmed Al Saleh for receiving a $ 23,500 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Political Science at Fordham University in the U.S.
Congratulations to Jubin An for receiving a $ 2,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Criminology at York University in Canada.
Congratulations to Juhyeok An for receiving a $ 13,000 per year scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Graphic Design at California College of the Arts in the U.S.
Congratulations to Mamoun Bennani for receiving a $ 1,500 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Commerce at York University in Canada.
Congratulations to Divisha Daswani for receiving a $ 2,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Criminology at York University in Canada.
Congratulations to Matilde De Lambert for receiving a € 5,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in International Relations at John Cabot University in Italy.
Congratulations to Maria El Hanaoui for receiving a £ 1,000 per year scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Product Design at Leeds Beckett University in the UK.
Congratulations to Hakim Filali Chahaf for receiving a $ 66,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Business at Pace University in the U.S.
Congratulations to Abigail Sarno for receiving a $ 10,000 per year scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Animation at Columbia College Chicago in the U.S. In addition, she received a $ 20,000 per year scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Animation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the U.S.
Congratulations to Malek Sibai for receiving a $ 3,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Computer Engineering at the University of Ottawa in Canada.
We seek to share information on our Alumni to our community and it is also an opportunity for the Alumni to stay in touch! Please email us pictures and updates and we would be happy to share them!
We are eager to hear from you! Email us at the following email address: alumni@cas.ac.ma
Click on the link below to bring you to our biographies of our new teachers, staff and administrators
We have created a page on our What's Up Cobras entitled: Together We Can, which enlists all of our parents affiliations submitted so far. Please click HERE to access it. If you are interested in being part of it, please send us a small descriptive and the logo of your company by email. The purpose is to encourage parents to do business with one another taking into consideration their areas of expertise or business.
Mr. Rose's grade 11 IB English students created digital portfolios of their work, designing their own websites using Weebly as their digital platform. Students curated exemplars of their work that reflected mastery of the learning objectives for the first term. They then metacognitively reflected on each piece, assessing their strengths and areas of growth, as well as setting goals for the winter trimester. Students then presented their portfolios to their parents, who were given the opportunity to provide feedback on their child's learning. They will continue to add to their portfolios over the course of the school year.
Digital Portfolios highlighted this week: