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

Students teaching students

On Friday, September 22, 2023, one grade 11 IB Language & Literature class had the opportunity to hear grade 12 student Mhamed Ibnoussina deliver an analysis of a Gordon Parks photo. Parks is an American photographer.  

The grade 11 IB Language and Literature students are currently studying the conventions of Ansel Adams’ photography. Ibnou’s presentation provided students with a model analysis of the photography text type, and insight into the IB Individual Oral assessment they will be expected to deliver in this class at the end of this year.  

Ibnou clearly communicated his interpretation of his selected photo, highlighting conventions such as the rule of thirds and use of color, as well as the significance and symbolism of elements of the setting. 

Students teaching students is a wonderful thing, and it so nice to see CAS scholars supporting their peers.

Dear CAS community,

As part of our ongoing commitment to educational excellence, our school is embarking on a re-accreditation journey with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). A pivotal aspect of this process is the Internal Reflection, which kicks off with the administration of NEASC-CIE Learning Surveys. These surveys, aligned with the ACE Learning Principles, will be administered to our learning community, including learners, teachers, parents, and leadership. The aim is to gather insights that will inform our educational strategies and align us more closely with NEASC's foundational standards.

Over the course of approximately nine months, designated committees will analyze survey results, discuss learning principles, and draft reports under the guidance of the ACE Design Team. The culmination of this process will be a Community Workshop aimed at building a shared understanding of our future educational direction. This workshop will present key findings and major learning plans that will significantly impact our community's learning experience. The final Internal Reflection Report will then be submitted to NEASC-CIE at least six weeks before the scheduled External Review Team Visit.

Best regards,

Abderrazak Behhar

N-12 Curriculum Coordinator

NEASC Accreditation Coordinator

Junior Varsity soccer matches 

In order to prepare for the MASAC soccer competition, which will be held at the American School in Rabat at the end of the first month, the junior varsity soccer teams will play against American Academy Casablanca

when: October 6

Time: 4 pm 

where: Casablanca American school 

varsity soccer games 

The varsity boys' and girls' soccer teams will play a friendly game against George Washington Academy on Friday, October 6.

Trip to Tunisia 

The competition has been moved to Marrakesh due to the expensive cost of travel to Tunisia.The tournament is scheduled for November 10 and 11, 2023.

Swimming

The MASAC swim meet is quickly approaching. The competition will be held on October 7th at the Rabat American School, and it will be another opportunity for our cobra boys and girls to meet in a fun and sportsmanlike environment. We hope to bring some hardware (trophies) back to CAS with us, but if we don’t, the athletes will have an amazing experience during the competition and outside of it.

Ghandi Najmeddine

Athletic Director

Head PE Department 

Last Monday, Ms. Rana Haroun, CAS College Counselor,  earned the credential: Certified Educational Planner.

The American Institute of Certified Educational Planners (AICEP) awards the CEP credential to professionals who have achieved the highest level of competence in educational planning. Only the best and most experienced counselors qualify to become CEPs. To earn this credential, she had to take an exam in August, which she passed successfully.

This is her CEP profile: https://www.aicep.org/Sys/PublicProfile/69379910/5555850

As of today, only 245 educators worldwide are CEP-certified.

Upper School Students and their families are welcome to join us for the University Fair in the Moroccan Salon, starting at 15:00 on Wednesday, November 15th

As we celebrate World Teacher Day today, the US Student Council  wants to take a moment to express our warm gratitude to each one of our dedicated educators at Casablanca American School. Your unwavering dedication to developing our young minds, encouraging creativity, and helping mold our future is nothing but sweet.

In honor of this special day, StuCo has put together a heartfelt video as a way to show of our appreciation. This video was filmed by the student body to showcase the admiration and respect we have for our teachers and the incredible work you do day in and day out. We hope you take a moment to watch it, as it captures the gratitude and love the entire CAS community feels towards our exceptional teaching staff. Your impact reaches far beyond the classroom, and for that, we are profoundly grateful.

Thank you for everything you do and for putting a smile on our faces. Happy World Teacher Day!

Warm regards,

Sofia Ziane

Malak Louimine

Wiam Aichour

Abla Mounir

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