Dear Community Members,

We welcome you all to our third edition of the What’s Up Cobras for the 2023-2024 school year!

It has been a very busy month. We are putting the finishing touches to the Finance and the Admissions wings and both are in the process of becoming fully operational. The US library is starting to take shape with so much light and space for the joy of the students and teachers alike. We also hope that parents will be able to come and use it once it’s finished. The Reception area is awaiting furniture and admissions is functioning and has a proper testing center. We are in the process of recruiting  2 receptionists to better assist parents and students by directing them to the right teacher, administrator, or staff member. Again, we thank you for your patience as we finalize all these projects and a special thank you goes out to the Construction and Facilities Committee for their dedication to these projects.

CAS Staff and Faculty are dedicated to helping and assisting all students without exception. Our aim is to make all students succeed and thrive and we count on the involvement and engagement of our parents in this process. Parents involvement always begins with a collaborative relationship with their child’s teachers. It is imperative to contact the teacher first should any problems arise.  If the parent needs more assistance, the divisional principals will get involved. Finally the school director can be contacted for more guidance and support.  We sincerely thank you for respecting this procedure as we all strive to safeguard a welcoming and  learning environment for our students.

Again, Happy Eid Al Mawlid to our Muslim Community. Classes will resume on Monday, October 2nd. We look forward to seeing  you all on Wednesday, October 4th for Parents Teachers Conferences.

Sincerely yours

John J. Randolph

School Director

Upper School News:  

As we look back at the first month of school, I am so proud of what we have accomplished.  I arrived a few days after school began, but I never felt like a stranger.   I was quickly accepted and assimilated into the CAS community.  I know why so many return to visit the school and the community.  I appreciate the support and wisdom of the Upper School Staff as I navigated some tricky changes to preserve and increase learning times as well as changes to support an active student experience at school.

Congratulations to CAS Senior, Mhamed “Ibnou” , who was selected to participate in the John Lock Essay Competition for receiving a High Commendation on his essay placing him in the top 5% of his competing peers.

The Upper School will become a more welcoming and safe place for learning due to the Anti Bullying and Mentoring initative which began last week by 10th grade leaders, Rébal and Taha.  This work will ensure there is a place for all our students, no student eats alone, and everybody is part of our community without fear of bullying.

While there have been a lot of changes in the past few weeks, nothing has changed our community more than the catastrophic earthquake, which struck the Atlas mountains and Marrakech.  Our students will always remember this year as a time they were called to serve others who are not as fortunate as we have been in Casablanca.  

I am inspired by brothers, Neil and Yann, who responded early to the crisis and spent several days in service in the affected areas. 

Our Lions Club/ Leo Club led by Faiza, Hiba, Kenza, and Lilya and the other volunteers quickly organized with other local schools and Lions Club International to initiate a first response with aid and service.  theywere on the ground in the earthquake zone, helping others and distributing relief items.  These are true global leaders in action and we are proud of the work they’ve accomplished.  Please see the message from the Lion’s Club and their gratitude for your support in another section of this What's Up Cobras Update.

When we learned of three of our staff members' home villages being devastated by the earthquake, our teachers, both upper and lower school, were quick to respond.  They created a one-day collection which provided enough money to lend support and temporary shelter to the village.  A huge thank you to Boujema, Omar, and Ahmed who helped ensure needed aid arrived at the villages.

I was honored to join the CAS community, and I am humbled by its abundance of compassion, service, and empathy to others.

The Leo Club of CAS would like to extend their sincere gratitude and appreciation to all faculty members, staff, parents, and students who helped with donating to the Leo Club’s Solidarity Collection. Although it was short notice, we received more than enough items to help the people affected by the Earthquake in Al Haouz and Chechaoua

On Monday, September 18th, the leadership team took care of transporting numerous boxes of blankets, solar panels, hygiène products, sleeping bags, etc. They were packaged and sent on a truck to Marrakech, provided by the Lions Club International, along with all the other donations accumulated by other Leo Club schools in Morocco. Our team mainly focused on providing items that were not received as much by the villages. 

The last part of this action will be distributing the items to the villages which the Leo leadership and a couple of members will take care of this weekend. We hope to keep our CAS Community updated during this journey!

Derek Harwell

Interim Upper School Principal

Dear Parents,

As we are approaching Flu season, we would like to remind our parents about remaining vigilant in regards the symptoms your child may be experiencing.

Flu Virus symptoms mimic Covid-19 virus, if your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, please keep them at home and get them tested so they can be prescribed the proper treatment.                  

Covid-19 Virus Symptoms:  

• Fever or feeling feverish/having chills.

• Cough

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• Fatigue (tiredness)

• Sore throat

• Runny or stuffy nose

• Muscle pain or body aches

• Headache

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea (more frequent in children with flu, but can occur in any age with COVID-19)

• Change in or loss of taste or smell, although this is more frequent with COVID-19

Please stay safe and have a wonderful break.

Mouna Lekfy

School Nurse 

Dear Parents,

We are getting into full swing in the Early Childhood Center and Lower School!  It is hard to believe that we are at the one month mark of the 2023-24 school year.  Please take note of the following items...

Fall MAP testing is complete and reports have been sent home.  Teachers are analyzing the data and using it to individualize instruction for students.  The next MAP testing window is in Winter upon return from break.

This week we launched our character social-emotional learning program, Choose Love.  CL is a movement out of the United States and is now present in all 50 states and over 120 countries.  You can learn more about Choose Love and register for Choose Love for Families here.  To understand the motivation behind the movement  click here.

We are implementing a new Early Childhood curriculum, Creative Curriculum.  It is the official EC program of several school districts in the United States and around the world.  Your child's teacher has sent communication about the Creative Curriculum along with an invitation for the Family app so you can stay connected.  If you have questions, please see the Early Childhood Coordinator, Dana Baran (dbaran@cas.ac.ma).

Communication was sent to EC and LS parents about routine procedures and operations.  Thank you for your understanding.

Be on the lookout for communication from your child's teacher about Parent Teacher Conferences on October 4.  There is no school for students on this Wednesday nor child care on campus.  Students should attend Student Led Conferences in February.  All parents are encouraged to attend PTCs.

Best regards,

Abderrazak Behhar

N-12 Curriculum Coordinator

NEASC Accreditation Coordinator

Lower School After School Activities start on Monday, October 2nd from 15:00 to 16:00. Please remember to pick up your child/ children at the front gate. 

LS PE Department- Ms. Hala Al-Hassan and Ms. Fatiha Dahbi- 

Dear CAS Community,

We hope that you and your families are doing well after the earthquake. We are proud to see our community come together to help all those that were affected near or far by this terrible tragedy. May the CAS spirit always prevail.

Here at Admissions, we continue to accept applications for the few remaining spots. Should you have friends or family who are interested please send them our way. We would be happy to schedule a campus tour/interview.

We wish you a wonderful Eid El Mawlid, and hope that you will have a restful long week-end.

Sincerely,

Zaineb Sajid

Admissions Officer

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