Week 25 February 15 to February 19

Director's Message

Dear Parents,

Recently, we have had a couple of new cases of COVID 19 discovered from one family's exposure. The protocols that we have set, which align with the guidelines set forth by the local authorities remain unchanged. Each time there is a COVID case, the child in question and his or her cohort group will be sent home and will only come back after complete recovery or quarantine period. We would like to reassure our community that all COVID tests for those teachers who have been in contact with the students in question are negative and all are back on campus. This said, COVID has definitely impacted us socially, but we at CAS take our responsibility seriously towards our students with the only goal being to offer them a highly engaging education in a safe and nurturing setting.

On another note, a group of dedicated staff members, parents and students have been working on our Mission and Vision statements for our 5 year NEASC Self Study and we will soon release a updated version.

In this edition, I especially would like to reiterate that we will not under any circumstances tolerate Bullying especially during these unusual times. As we all know, bullying can assume all sorts of forms; verbal, physical, sexual or emotional in addition to its new form: cyber-bullying. The school's measures are clear about bullying which could lead to expulsion in certain cases. It is very important that we are aware of this danger. That is why it is important to communicate, talk, explain and report to ensure we protect all of children who may fall victim to bullying. Thank you for being our partners in fighting this scourge as only together can we really educate everyone about this!

I wish you all a relaxing February Break, and I’m looking forward to our next "Randy’s fireside chats!"

John J. Randolph

Have you seen our Fall 2020 Re-Opening page on our website? It holds a good deal of information as well as a copy of our COVID Handbook available for downloading. Please click Here to access it.

Academics

From the LS Principal

I am a middle school teacher. Give me those hormones characteristic of angsty early adolescents. I love the awkwardness that comes with the age group--the ups, the downs, the clumsiness, the social drama. I appreciate the important role adults have in a middle schooler's life..helping them navigate this at-times-traumatic, period of development. And I take that role seriously.

When I facilitate parent workshops, one that repeatedly has high attendance is about the development--biological, cognitive, social, and emotional--of early adolescents and their transition to middle and high school. I could be heard saying, "Well you know, this is considered a critical period--more development and change happens during this time than at any other in one's life..." And then casually mentioned, as an afterthought, "Except for the other critical period of early childhood."

Although my undergraduate degree is in elementary education, I've only taught middle and high school. Though many of my teacher friends teach at the elementary level, and I saw what a different challenge they face as teachers, I would smugly think yea, but I'm doing the real work.

Boy, was I wrong.

Leading the Lower School reminds me that we are all doing the "real" work, it just looks different at each level. I fully appreciate that effective educators, at all levels (and in partnership with parents and students), are necessary to cultivate creative and critical thinkers who are good human beings.

We are so quick to push academics on our youngest learners. However, research and evidence shows us differently: Talking with children, teaching them how to be a good friend full of empathy and compassion, ensuring safe and nurturing environments, allowing exploration and discovery, and PLAY are the factors that set a child up for a life of learning and likely success...a person who is resilient and able to take on this ever-changing world.

Take a moment to read this article and PLAY (safely) over the break. I look forward to seeing everyone back on March 1 (or 2).

From the Upper School Principal

I wish you a well-deserved break as we head toward the end of the second trimester. Enjoy and stay safe!

We will continue our meetings with parents/students who were required to attend parent-teacher conferences. I would like to thank our faculty for their feedback and I strongly encourage students to share their improvement action plans with their teachers and our learning support team: Mr Guttridge and Mrs Cohen.

Please be advised that students who are not responsive verbally and in writing and who don't have their cameras on are automatically marked absent by their teachers.

Thanks to those who have informed us about the change that they intend to make for their children for the month of March. Please be informed that no changes will be made. Further communication on this matter will be shared with you shortly.

Reminder of Upper School Rotation for week 22: This general Schedule applies to Hybrid learning.

International Baccalaureate news

May 2021 IB Examination:

Based on the information our school provided to the IB and in line with local or national health and safety restrictions, in May 2021 our students’ results will be awarded using coursework marks and predicted grades.
The school's IB Deadlines calendar was already published and sent to all current IB candidates since last June 2020.
The IB Mocks will take place between March 29th and April 7th.
Submission of the examination materials: French A HL; English A HL Essays and the Extended Essays are finalized and submitted for examination. Congratulations to the teachers for guiding the candidates and good luck, students!

IB Juniors (Grade 11):

Our active EE Coordinator, Mr.Klemp, organized a virtual seminar, still called “Extended Essay (EE) Subject Preference Cafe”. Juniors had the opportunity to speak with various teachers about the possibility to write extended research on their subject. Currently, all juniors chose their EE subject and supervisor. Congratulations Mr. Klemp and good luck with your choice, juniors!

Future IB students (Grade 10):

Right after the February break, we will start the registration process for the current grade 10 students. An initial survey on preferred subjects will be sent out followed by a virtual Information Night. All grade 10 teachers will be asked to give recommendations for their students. Individual meetings with the IB Coordinator (one or more, as necessary) will take place to look over all the data and decide the best choice for next year.

For any information concerning the IB programm contact the IB Coordinator, Ms. Zamfirescu, at azamfirescu@cas.ac.ma

Preschool Pals

We always have a fun Friday at CAS because Mr. Randolph does an amazing Puppet Show for our Preschool students.

Our puppets are called the Preschool Pals.They are great characters, they can sing, they cry, they whisper, they laugh out loud and make funny voices and noises.

Our story today was about a bear who sleeps in the winter while his cave is filling up with other animals looking for shelter from the cold. While they wait, they prepare a little party.

All the time, Bear snores on. When Bear awakes, he’s in for a surprise but feels like he has missed out on the fun.

Our questions are :

Have you ever heard someone snore?

What does that sound like?

Do all snores sound the same?

A big thank you to Mr. Randolph for making us laugh and be happy! The little ones always look forward to seeing him ️

Preschool Team

From the Admissions Office

CAS families are invited to start the application process asap for the 2021-2022 academic year as seat availability is very limited!

During the application process, make sure to meet the deadlines to ensure an easy enrollment for your child.

Please feel free to contact the Admissions office at ,with questions about the admissions process.

Enjoy your break!

Samira Peters

Community News

When students initiate activities...

Successful Blood Drive

On Saturday, Feb. 13th, 11th grade students Neil Chaoui and Dany Kanaan successfully planned and held a blood drive here at CAS along with the Centre Régional de Transfusion Sanguine for their IB Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) project. Neil, and Dany developed the idea for the project after recognizing the massive blood shortages with the pandemic. The center had hoped we would have at least 40-50 donors, and we exceeded their expectations with a total of 62 donations! Just one donation can save three lives, so with our community's help, we have donated enough to save over 180 lives.

Thank you to the CAS community members who donated or tried to donate! We really appreciated seeing you there.

Thank you to Mr. John Randolph, Ms. Fatiha Sajid, and Mr. Victor Cherubim for their help in carrying out this project!

Another thanks to the People-to-People student volunteers who volunteered: Aya Amoudi, Abla Alioui, Anna Lydon, Kenza Hafid, Lina Ryadi, Aya Oqaidi, Rim El Mafrouhi, Dounia Baroudi, Elias Monferrer, Amine Chahoui, Omar Alami, Adam Bouazza, Ahmed Khattabi, Salim Bennis, Ali El Jerari, Malak Naaman, Alya Mernissi, Adam Adnani, Douae Aichour, Nour Azmi, and Rita Bennani.

We may attempt another one in the spring, so stay tuned!

-Melissa Mitchem

(Dany, & Neil's CAS project supervisor)

Our Ambassadors at MUN

The past two weekends, several of our upper school students in Model United Nations participated in their second virtual conference of the year, WiMUN. This conference was incredibly time consuming, with students putting in around 12 hours this weekend and last to participate.

Please congratulate the following students on their participation:

1) Anna Lydon

2) Alia Kafil

3) Yahya Haitami

4) Dany Kanaan

5) Linnea Finegold

And give an extra congratulation to Alia Kafil for winning her third best diplomat award and Dany Kanaan for receiving his first best diplomat award!

-Dane Conroy & Melissa Mitchem (MUN Faculty Advisors)

Cookbook Brochure lulu flyer.pdf

AIWA Moroccan Cookbook for Charity

If you are interested in purchasing a Moroccan Cookbook whether you are Moroccan or not please drop by the administration offices! This cookbook costs 180 dh and is created by one of our Alumni Staff members, Mrs Nancy Saloui, and the American International Women's Association. All proceeds go to AIWA charity work done in Rabat and Sale.

It is also available for purchase in the U.S online on lulu.com . The price is $20 + shipping. They will ship anywhere in the world!

On behalf of Mrs Nancy Slaoui, thank you for your support!

KEY DATES

February Break

Feb 22- 26

No School

IB Mock Exams

March 4th- March 10th

SAT Testing

March 13th

College Counseling

University Virtual Visits

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.

Upcoming Visits

Université Internationale de Casablanca - March 2 at 5 pm
Study Medicine in Europe Info Session - March 22 at 5:30 pm

Please contact Ms. Haroun if you are interested in any of these virtual conferences.

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On February 17, M. Dan Seneker, from Bishop's University, lead a presentation about university admissions and financial aid in Canada.

If you missed it, please find the recording here and the presentation here.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about university admissions in Canada.

United Kingdom

United States

Europe

Canada

Grade 12 Scholarship Awards

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. She also received a $ 1,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Psychology at McMaster 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. She also received a $ 1,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Criminology at McMaster 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 Ghalia Ezzaoudi for receiving a $ 6,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Hisotry at Carleton University in Canada.

Congratulations to Hakim Filali Chahad for receiving a $ 66,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor in Business Administration at Pace University in the U.S.

Congratulations to Meryem Matar for receiving a $ 7,000 scholarship to pursue a Bachelor in Biomedical Science at the University of Ottawa in Canada.

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. Also, she received a $ 17,000 per year scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's of Art in Animation at the California College of the Arts 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.

To Grade 11 students

Dear Students,

This is a reminder that you must register for the May SAT as soon as possible, in case you have not done so yet. If you have taken the December SAT, and are planning to take the March 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 upcoming date is May 8, 2021. You must register for the May 8th SAT as soon as possible, as all seats at CAS 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.

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

Alumni Profiles

Shout out to All Alumni!

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

What's Up Cobras