It's The Final Post

It's hard to believe, but this is our final blog post for the 2017-2018 school year! It has been a great year and we have enjoyed being a part of your lives. We wish you all a safe and fun summer vacation and hope to see you next year! For those families moving on to their next great adventure, we truly wish you all the best! 

Please find below some important reminders and dates. 

• Grade 5 Moving On Ceremony begins at 7:55 on Sunday, June 3rd in the ES Hall. We ask that students are here earlier so that they have time to prepare. 

• Report cards and returning books

We would like to finish the year on a positive note and need your help with this. Reports are not issued for students who have not returned all books/library materials. You have this weekend to look under sofas, beds, home bookshelves, in-between seats, anywhere and everywhere! Please make sure they are returned by Sunday. Sometimes books cannot be found. An invoice will be issued and needs to be paid to get the report card. We will be calling families as we want to make sure everyone has a great end of the year and can receive reports.

• Important Message From The MS: 
  Peer Buddies 2018-19Would you like to help students who are new to CAC? We are looking for Peer Buddies for the 2018-19 school year. If you are interested in becoming a Peer Buddy please complete this form. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Bridgette Spencer at bspencer@cacegypt.org.

• Summer Reading: The HMS Library has issued all grade five students and reading challenge for the summer. Reads Without Walls is a reading challenge to all readers. Please follow this link for more information: https://www.slj.com/2017/03/diversity/comfort-zone-an-original-comic-by-gene-luen-yang/#_

• Summer Reading Opportunity: NEWSELA, a site that is popular with both teachers and students, is encouraging students to read as much as they can during the summer.  Students can access this site to read articles that are on their level.  You can sign up to participate in their summer reading challenge as well. 

Preparing for Math Next School Year

• Math Practice: To avoid the dreaded 'summer slide', don't forget to practice your math skills.  Mathletics and sites like Khan Academy, as well as IXL are great to use over the summer. 
• Also, please see an excellent resource called, 'Getting Ready for 6th Grade Math' linked here.
• Mathematical Mindset Teaching Guide, Teaching Video, and Additional Resources
  The ‘Week of Inspirational Maths Lessons’ will be available in time for school to begin.
  Online Student Course
  Research shows that students who take this course:
  Report more positive beliefs about math
  Engage more deeply in math in class
  Perform significantly better on standardized tests
  A home learning opportunity to begin the year? Summer learning? It’s free.  Link here

Lost Property

A final plea to check lost property before the end of school. All remaining items will be boxed on Wednesday, 6 June and given to charity. Encourage your child to pass by the tables and racks.

ES Yearbook 2017-2018 Sales (June 4th & 5th)

For those who already purchased and paid for the Yearbook, they will be delivered to students in class on June 4th and 5th.

If you have not yet purchased your Yearbook, the sales will take place all day on June 4th and 5th in the ES Office.

Please note that after May 31st the price goes up to L.E. 650

MONDAY: Grade 5 students will be helping the PreK class with their Maker Day and with their Water Fun activities. We will also visit the MS Library so that students can check out books from the summer reading challenge list. The last of the class computers will be cleaned and returned in the afternoon. Students will have a chance to sign each other's yearbooks- so please remind your students to bring them on Monday. Students will help to tidy up classroom libraries and pack any of their remaining items to bring home. 

TUESDAY: This is our last day of school.  We have an assembly at 10:30 and students will be dismissed from the assembly at 11:30. 

From the Library:

End of year dates for the ES Library

May 27 - the first day of summer checkout

Summer checkout

Available to all students and parents who:

• Have cleared their library accounts for the year
• Are returning to CAC in the 2018-2019 school year

Limits

• 25 books per patron (parents must be present for checkout)
• 5 DVDs per family checked out to the parent
• All books due back the first day of school in August
• Damaged or lost books will have to be paid for by the patron who checked them out.

Your partners in education,

LeeAnn Kasal lkasal@cacegypt.org
Bonnie Greene barmstronggreene@cacegypt.org
Jonathan O'Sullivan josullivan@cacegypt.org
Caitlin Johnson cjohnson@cacegypt.org

Week 37

TWiG5: This Week in Grade 5...

May 27 - 31

Greetings,

It is with bittersweet emotions that we are nearing the end of fifth grade and elementary school and moving closer to middle school....Time certainly has flown by this year! Now, with the end of the school year coming closer there are a lot of reminders and dates to observe.

Last week we were fortunate to have an interactive talk by Mr. Sam Werberg. Mr. Werberg spoke about journalism and where he fits into it in his role as a press secretary for the US Embassy.

The students learn where news comes from, how different perspectives can change a story, how there are many stories within any one event, and that a great journalist chases tomorrow's story from today’s event. Thank you Mr. Werberg!

We also visited Mr. Johnson's MS Drama class for some improve comedy. The students laughed and enjoyed the drama games and were inspired for next year. Thanks for the invite Mr. Johnson!


Reminders!

The Big Splash - will take place on Tuesday, May 29th. If your child is participating please ensure they bring their swim clothes!

ES Yearbook 2017-2018 Pre-Sales: To our cashier, Mr. Reda in the Welcome Center.
May 13th till May 31st for L.E. 580 ($33)
After May 31st, price increases to L.E. 650 ($37)
Please note that for this week only (May 13 - May 17), the cashier will only be available before 10:00 am and after 2:00 pm.

Moving On Ceremony: June 3 - Starting with an ES assembly at 7:55 in the ES Hall. Then, the Grade fives continue on to the Marriott for a fun, year-ending celebration.

Drama Class Performance
Grade 5 classes have been hard at work, writing their own scripts. They would like to invite you to their final class performances. Please note, Drama class performances are not a typical performance, as it is a part of their classwork. They are very proud of their work, as are the teachers. Please find the schedule below:

5K - 8:15 - 9 on May 27th
5O - 8:15 - 9 on May 28th
5J - 10 - 10:40 on May 30th
5G - 10 - 10:40 on May 31st

Important Dates
May 29 Summer Library check out starts

June 5 - End of Year Assembly (10:30 am - 11:30 am, ES Hall). Parents welcome.

June 5 - Trimester 3 Report Cards issued

CURRICULUM CORNER

This week, the Grade 5 classes will spend some time practicing for our Moving On Ceremony. We will also take time to help the Grade 4 classes by meeting with them to answer what questions they might have about Grade 5. Students will be selected from our classes to sit on a panel to respond to the 4th Graders.

This week, students will continue to work on creating their newspapers as they report on local, national, and international news stories.

In math, students will be completing various activities that include working on mathletics, and work with coordinate graphs.

In Social Studies, we will spend time reading and researching on our chosen topics to look at how technology is impacting our lives today and in the future. Students continue to work on their infographic using Piktochart.

During Circle Solutions this week we will be holding some fun, farewell circles and allowing students to share their emotions about moving and saying goodbye. Expressing their feelings at this time is important, as the students are experiencing very mixed emotions now....exciting events approaching while having to say farewell to members of their class. Circles are a great way to help students handle these feelings by allowing time and a safe space to voice them. We hope they continue the dialogue at home. Please encourage discussions during this emotional time.

Your partners in education,

LeeAnn Kasal lkasal@cacegypt.org
Bonnie Greene barmstronggreene@cacegypt.org
Jonathan O'Sullivan josullivan@cacegypt.org
Caitlin Johnson cjohnson@cacegypt.org

Week 36

TWiG5: This Week in Grade 5...

Week of May 20 to May 24

Welcome to week 36 of learning, exploring and having fun!

Ramadan Kareem to all of those who are celebrating!

An exciting week ahead as we take time together to celebrate our students' progress this year at our student led conferences on Monday, May 21st. 

A big congratulations to all Fifth Grade students for their beautiful music concert performance last week. They had been very busy practicing in music class, and we all feel pride in what they have learned and accomplished. We have some talented students!

We would also like to congratulate all of the students who took the time and effort to prepare and deliver speeches for the Moving On Ceremony that is coming up. It was an enormous treat to listen to the students reflect on their ES experience as they look toward what is coming next. The speeches were heart-warming, funny, entertaining and very well prepared. We are proud to have Ali Azab and Caitlin Duggan representing the grade 5 class at the ceremony.  

While there are still a couple of weeks left in school, many students are feeling the excitement and their energy is coming through in the classes. Please have conversations with your child about the importance of still doing their best and keeping their CORE Values in mind in the up coming weeks. Thanks for your continued support.

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Reminders

• Student Led Conferences: On Monday, May 21st, there will be no regular school.  Instead, students and parents are encouraged to come and participate in student led conferences. This is an excellent experience for both parents and students as your children get to discuss their learning, growth, challenges, strengths, goals and next steps. Students are empowered as they take responsibility for their learning and gain confidence as they take you on their learning journey in Grade 5. Parents have signed up online for one hour appointments in the classroom to explore the core academic subjects, and then students will lead parents around to other locations for viewing of specialist materials. Please note that you can come early and visit the specialist classes BEFORE your classroom time, OR afterwards!! These conferences are a special time for our graduating Grade 5 students, and we hope that you allow them the experience of guiding you through their learning. Let them be in the "driver's seat", yet feel free to sprinkle in questions to probe or clarify. Please find attached the letter that was sent to you via skyward with the instructions on how to sign up for a time.               STUDENT LED CONFERENCE PARENT LETTER
• TIPS FOR PARENTS
• 5th Grade Moving on Ceremony is on Sunday, June 3rd from 7:55-9:30am in the ES Hall. 
• Fasting Students: Parents, please inform your classroom teacher if your child will be fasting so we can make any necessary arrangements to make sure they are comfortable. It is helpful to know if they fast for the whole or part of the day at school, and if it includes both food and water.
• ES Yearbook 2017-2018 Pre-Sales: To our cashier, Mr. Reda in the Welcome Center.
  May 13th till May 31st for L.E. 580 ($33)
  After May 31st, price increases to L.E. 650 ($37)
  Please note that for this week only (May 13 - May 17), the cashier will only be available before 10:00 am and after 2:00 pm.
  

• Library Announcements: End of year dates for the ES library
  May 22 Last day for classes; All books are due
  May 23 Overdrive and ebooks training - 8:15 am and 2 pm
  May 29 Summer check out starts
• MAP Test Results - Spring 2018
  Dear Parents,
  MAP testing is completed for the Spring 2018.  Students in Grades 3 - 9 completed assessments in the areas of Reading, Mathematics, and Language Usage.
  Individual student reports will sent home with students this Wednesday, May 23.  
  Thank you,
  David Chadwell
  Director of Teaching and Learning

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Curriculum Corner

Reading & Writing

Our young journalists are working on their news stories and putting them into their newspapers. They are learning to write concise, focused reports that tell the who, what, where, and when of an important event. Some of our journalists are getting ready to conduct interviews and collect observation notes and questions. We will look at the different styles of questions we can ask in order to better serve our purpose and conduct an efficient interview that can be quoted in a news story. The Visual Tab on the library catalogue is full of resources that your child should be exploring and reading from! In Reading Workshop, Grade 5 reporters will continue to read, summarize, analyze and collect evidence from news stories, both locally and from around the world in order to see more and more inspiring examples of how they should be writing in the their own journalistic news articles.

Math

This week we will work on completing the last lessons in our current Math unit. Students will continue to use tools (set squares, rulers & protractors) to draw and explore the attributes of rectangles, rhombuses, kites and squares. As students explore the attributes of the various shapes, they will categorize them based on definitions in a hierarchy. Next week, students will do some work with the coordinate plane and graphing. 

Social Studies

Special events prep last week have eaten into our Social Studies time. However, this week, students will continue to explore how science and technology are changing the world, past, present and future. The LibGuide found on the library catalogue is a great source of information, now that a personal interest research topic has been chosen. Students have formulated a thesis statement for their topic, along with supporting research questions that will guide their inquiry.  Some of the topics students are working on include: Using 3D printing to make organs for human transplants, the future of self-driving cars, the newest innovations with train travel, the advancements of prosthetics, how the use of apps and personal devices is changing how people spend their time, issues around cloning, how food is being grown on space stations, and many more! 

Reflective thinking throughout the process will include such questions as, "How has your thinking changed? What do you find most interesting? How is science and technology changing the world? I used to think... but now I think...Are there parts of your science and technology focus that should be encouraged and/or resisted/monitored? Why?"  They will continue to research around their topic to present a final infographic at the end of the unit. 

Circle Solutions

Students will have an opportunity to practice leadership skills as they work to plan and run their own circle for our circle solution classes in the coming weeks. In pairs, students will use a template to plan out a circle around a theme and lead the class in the activities. 

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Guidance Update - Flipping Your Lid!  - A Tool for Managing Stress

The end of the school year is a busy and exciting time! It’s also a time that invites strong emotions and stress. End of year celebrations, final project deadlines, saying goodbye to those moving on, transitions to new school divisions  or even to new schools, are only some of the events during this time that can lend themselves to complete meltdowns. It’s important to be mindful of this and prepared so we can use these times as opportunities to teach our children how to cope effectively during times of stress.  

During Gudiance we are teaching the students about their brains and how the brain functions when we are experiencing stress. The students were introduced to the following lesson, “Brain in the Palm of Your Hand - Flipping Your Lid and Finding it Again- ”. The concept of “Flipping Your Lid,” is very visual. We use the “flipped lid” signal to help the children acknowledge their feelings and the need to calm down when they are starting to feel stressed or angry.

We are providing you with the lesson (see link above) so you can use  the same signal and the same language at home with your family! The following video is also very helpful for understanding the concept of a “flipped lid”.

Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions?

Message from Drama

Drama Class Performance
Grades 3 - 5 have been hard at work, writing their own scripts. They have asked me to invite you to their final class performances. Please note, Drama class performances are not a typical performance, as it is a part of their classwork. They are very proud of their work, as am I.
Please find the schedule below:

5K - 8:15 - 9 on May 27th
3W - 9:15 - 10 on May 27th
5O - 8:15 - 9 on May 28th
3D - 9:15 -10 on May 28th
4F - 2:15 - 3 on May 28th
3H - 8:15 - 9 on May 30th
5J - 10 - 10:40 on May 30th
4M - 2:15 - 3 on May 30th
5G - 10 - 10:40 on May 31st
4D - 11:15 - 12 on May 31st
3C - 1 - 1:45 on May 31st


Thank you for your continued support,
Ms. Dolly

Your partners in education,

LeeAnn Kasal   lkasal@cacegypt.org

Bonnie Greene barmstronggreene@cacegypt.org

Jonathan O'Sullivan josullivan@cacegypt.org

Caitlin Johnson cjohnson@cacegypt.org

Sunday, May 13

Week 36

TWiG5: This Week in Grade 5...  

Congratulations to all students who completed the MAP testing. Make up's with be this week. 

We look forward to another week of learning ahead.

NOTICES:

-Party RSVP: Final arrangements are being made for the Gr5 party. Please make sure you RSVP and pick your lunch option in the next day or so. 

- Grade 4 and 5 Music Concert: The Grade 4 and 5 Music Concert will be this week. The performances will be on Tuesday, 8:35 am and 5:20. You are all most welcome to attend at the time that suits you best.

-5J assembly, Tuesday May 15, parents welcome

- A reminder that STUDENT LED CONFERENCES will be on the May 21st. Please schedule a time on skyward.
Also, students brought home an orange sheet with questions about SLC for you to answer. Please fill that out and turn in this week. These questions will help students with part of the conference preparation.

Emergency Drills - Hardened Shelter Drill

Throughout the year, we do talk to students about what to do in case of fire, or intruder, with the subject matter and terminology adjusted for the grade level. The safety and security of our students is our highest priority, and through preparations in advance, we can ensure that students and staff know what to do in the case of an emergency. Today we had our first hardened shelter drill Sunday 13, 11am.



Skyward online payment for food services open

Elementary Parents,

We are pleased to announce our Skyward online hot lunch payment system will be open for Kindergarten-Grade 5 students from Sunday, May 13. Parents can pay into your family account for the hot lunch commencing via the CAC cashier’s office in our welcome center. For this week only (May 13 - May 17), the cashier's hours will be before 10:00 am and after 2:00 pm. Minimum payment of 500 LE per student is required.

This new system will give parents and students a more convenient way for their elementary child’s hot lunch. Making payment is straightforward and offers you the freedom to pay CAC’s cashier in our welcome centre whenever you are on campus or send the money via your child and the class/grade aide will pay on your behalf and send the receipt to you. Your Skyward secure online food service tab is part of your Skyward account and the link can be found on your parent dashboard. This system will support if you have more than one child in our division as each child has a personalized bracelet which will register who, when and cost of each hot lunch purchased.


Parents can view this on their Skyward account. Please see this link for a quick tutorial.

If a student orders hot lunch and the family account does not have funds, the meal will be given to the student and the parent will receive an automated email informing them. Also, when the amount drops to 300 LE the email will request the replenishment of the student’s account balance. At the end of the year, if the family account is overdrawn and you have a debit balance, the report card will be held until cleared. If there is a surplus it will be rolled over the following year for returning students, grade five and departing students will be notified by elementary school office and the refund can be collected from the cashier’s office.


From the student side their class/grade aide will hand out the bracelets to students having hot lunch and collect them after lunch. The food vendor will scan the bracelet and return to the student.




38 LE meal card & 45 LE Combo meal/ juice cards are acceptable in lieu of cash for your child’s meal until May 31 which is our last day for hot lunches. Please hand them to the cashier and receive a payment receipt.


Who do I see if I have a problem?

If you have feedback, questions regarding the Skyward online payment system please contact our technology office, Mr. Fadi Duweni, email: felduweini@cacegypt.org, Ph: 2755-5495


If you have feedback, questions regarding the payment please contact CAC’s cashier Reda Ibrahim,
email: ribrahim@cacegypt.org, Ph: 2755-551

If you have feedback, questions regarding the use of the bracelet or general please contact Mrs. Jackson-Jin,   email: jjackson@cacegypt.org, elementary office: 2755-5222


Parent questions so far? 

What if my child uses their bracelet to buy a friend’s lunch? Your child will only be permitted to scan for their own lunch and the bracelet.

What if I don’t want my child to buy juice with lunch? We can add it as an alert for the vendor on the system, but please understand that it comes by practice and vendor may miss this sometimes initially.

I would like to thank our lunch committee chair, Sandrine Kachour and development chair Jackie Goodall Riley, for their support in trialling the system and giving us feedback. As we know with any new systems their may be glitches, so we would appreciate your feedback.

Best regards,
Julie Jackson-Jin
Elementary Principal

ES Yearbook 2017-2018 Pre-Sale

To our cashier, Mr. Reda in the Welcome Center. 

May 13th till May 31st for L.E. 580 ($33)
After May 31st, price increases to L.E. 650 ($37)
Please note that for this week only (May 13 - May 17), the cashier will only be available before 10:00 am and after 2:00 pm. 

21st Century Libraries for Parents: CAC Overdrive and ebook collections

Join us on May 23 at the MHS to access the CAC ebook collections. We have lots of options, and of all of them, Overdrive is our prize collection. Overdrive is an app that allows you to read ebooks and listen to audiobooks offline, and choose from hundreds of titles in our digital collection.

We will offer this session twice, at 8:15 am and at 2 pm. Both times will be at the MHS library.

Please download the Overdrive app before the workshop. It is available for free at all the app stores.

You will need your CAC single sign on to access the CAC digital collection.

End of year dates for the ES library
May 15 Last day for check out
May 22 Last day for classes; All books are due
May 23 Overdrive and ebooks training - 8:15 am and 2 pm
May 29 Summer check out starts

CURRICULUM CORNER

READING WORKSHOP & WRITING WORKSHOP:

This week in our journalism unit students will be writing in depth descriptions of a single event. they will look at how to use short sentences to create drama, hooking their audience with a lead and how to prepare their work for publishing.

Students should continue reading a variety of current events - news articles - we have great sites available to us on the library tab that are aimed at elementary students.

MATH WORKSHOP:

This week we look closely at different geometrical figures and their Attributes. We will define trapezoids, parallelograms, rectangles, rhombuses, kites and squares based on these attributes.


SOCIAL STUDIES:

This week in social studies, as students start to put together their research, they will look at synthesizing and evaluating their research. Students are using a variety of technology to explore and present their topic.

Circles:

This week in circles some class are talking about differences while in other classes the students are planning their own circle for the class. 

Your partners in education,

LeeAnn Kasal lkasal@cacegypt.org
Caitlin Johnson cjohnson@cacegypt.org
Bonnie Greene barmstronggreene@cacegypt.org

Jonathan O'Sullivan josullivan@cacegypt.org

Week 35

TWiG5: This Week in Grade 5...  

 This week is a busy, yet exciting week for us in grade 5. In fact, it is an exciting upcoming few weeks for everyone in grade 5. Today we had our final Egyptian Culture field trip. hat a wonderful experience to learn about olden day Cairo. 

This week the students will sit the grade five MAP assessments. This will be the perfect time for the students to show their growth over the year. 

Notices:

- Grade 4 and 5 Music Concert: The Grade 4 and 5 Music Concert will be next week. The performances will be on Tuesday, 8:35 am and 5:20. You are all most welcome to attend at the time that suits you best.

- From the Library:

End of year dates for students from the library

May 8-10 Used book sale, starting at 2 pm on May 8

May 15 Last day for check out

May 22 Last day for classes; All books are due

May 29 Summer check out starts

Used Book Sale, May 8 to 10

We are getting ready for our annual used book sale, this year from May 8 to 10. We welcome donations of used books for all ages in saleable condition. This is a good time for departing families to dispose of books before packing. There is a donation box at the front gate. We’ll accept books until May 7. Clean out your bookcases to refresh your home book collections!

- A reminder that STUDENT LED CONFERENCES will be on the May 21st

- MS Transition Event on Thursday, May 10th: Students will meet MS Core subject teachers, have an opportunity to see some of those classes and will have lunch at the MS. Students are asked to bring money to buy lunch (50-75LE) if they want to try out the MS vendors or they can bring their lunch.

CURRICULUM CORNER

READING WORKSHOP & WRITING WORKSHOP: 

There are a few interruptions to regular class time over the next two weeks with MAP testing, on demands, a field trip, and practices for upcoming concerts and events. The good news for us is that gives our young journalists lots of things to report on and write about! Our classrooms will be transformed into newsrooms and students will be busy reporting on stories and creating a mini newspaper. We have press passes for journalists who need to follow up on stories as well as access to survey software where they can gather the opinions of the masses!

Students will also be reading a variety of current event news articles-- we have great sites available to us on the library tab that are aimed at elementary students.

MATH WORKSHOP:  
This week, The students will sit their end of module assessment. After the assessment the learning does not stop however. The students extend their understanding of area as they use rulers and right angle templates to construct and measure rectangles with fractional side lengths and find their areas. They apply their extensive knowledge of fraction multiplication to interpret areas of rectangles and solve real world problems involving these figures. Visual models and equations are used to represent the problems through the read-draw-write strategy. 

SOCIAL STUDIES:  

Students will continue to use their blogs to record their learning in this unit. The students have narrowed their research focus to a single topic, or, issue. They will then think about the pros and cons of their technology issue.

 It is a great time to share with your children 'stories from the olden days' to help them understand the impact of technology in such a short time!! :) 

Your partners in education,

LeeAnn Kasal lkasal@cacegypt.org

Caitlin Johnson cjohnson@cacegypt.org

Bonnie Greene barmstronggreene@cacegypt.org

Jonathan O'Sullivan josullivan@cacegypt.org