Dear CAC Community,

As the calendar year draws to a close and we embark upon a well-deserved winter break, I am excited to highlight some of CAC's 2024 achievements and updates from the Board that have brought our mission to life and reaffirmed our commitment to exceptional education. 

We have officially launched a new strategic planning cycle, recognizing the CAC Board’s critical role in shaping the school’s future. Strategic planning is essential not only for aligning the school’s vision with its long-term goals but also for ensuring that resources, curriculum, and community engagement are effectively utilized to provide the best educational experience for students. As custodians of the school’s mission, the Board understands that this process is essential for informed decision-making, addressing challenges, and prioritizing initiatives that support growth and success. 

CAC stakeholders: faculty, staff, parents, students, administrators and Board met with a strategic planning consultant in November 2024 and will meet with him for the second time in January.  Our strategic planning consultant is Dr. Alexander Wiseman, Deep Dive LLC, who will facilitate and guide this process in its entirety. Dr. Wiseman has experience at all levels of public and private educational systems, working in highly diverse communities worldwide. Through comprehensive and expert guidance, the Board in collaboration with all CAC stakeholders, seeks to ensure that the school remains agile, dynamic, forward-thinking, and well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of its students, faculty, and community. Thank you for your engagement in the process as your contribution is essential for the vision of CAC.

As we work to utilize the space created through the demolition of the old middle school building (a long and arduous process), educational priorities as well as community input through our school facilities and activities survey guided this process. The results indicate the need for (in order of importance) tennis courts, followed by a multipurpose space, padel courts, and finally pickleball. We have incorporated these spaces into the Phase IV renovation aligning our vision and educational priorities with community needs. The work includes renovation of the pool, track, and the inclusion of two new tennis courts, a padel court, and multipurpose space. We will share more on this as we progress. Please find below a rendering of the Phase IV design. 

Earlier this year, community members were asked to complete the the Council for International Schools (CIS) community survey to help identify CAC’s strengths and areas of improvement. Thank you to those who took the time to participate and give us your feedback. Across all stakeholders, we are proud to report perceptions of CAC are overwhelmingly positive. In particular, results were positive in the areas of Governance, Leadership, Purpose and Direction. Students consistently perceive that their classes challenge them to learn & improve! An area of concern identified through several surveys, including CIS, is the quality of food served on campus. As a school, we are committed to the health and wellbeing of our students and community. In the coming year, the Board will enhance our healthy food strategy, an initiative necessary to support the overall well-being of our students. 

As a school, we pride ourselves in providing a holistic range of experiences. CAC students have taken part in enriching overnight experiential learning trips across all divisions. From our 4th graders exploring whale fossils in Fayoum to our high schoolers building homes in Vietnam, these immersive experiences have led our students on inspiring journeys, building independence, connecting with peers and their environment, and empowering confidence to be resilient change makers. 

Complementing these exceptional learning experiences, our athletic program has been hard at work providing a variety of new opportunities like the Teranga Cup in Dakar, Senegal to the CAC International Invitational Basketball tournament. These tournaments not only support our strategic plan’s emphasis on well-being and international mindedness but also encourage cross-cultural exchanges with peers from other countries. CAC’s athletic program ended season 1 at the ISAA championships with 5 Golds and one third place from our JV and Varsity sports teams. The Board extends its gratitude to the faculty and staff who make these opportunities possible for our students.

The involvement of our community is our greatest asset and integral to our success ensuring that we continue CAC’s tradition of excellence. To honor our community’s involvement, the CAC Board of Trustees every year seeks to recognize members of our community through the CAC Community Core Values Award. This award is presented to members of our community who exhibit the CAC core values by making exceptional and varied contributions to the CAC community through volunteering their time, expertise and love for CAC. The CAC Core Values are: Compassion, Creativity, Courage, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect, and Responsibility. 

If you know of someone who has made a difference in the lives of our CAC community while exhibiting these core values, please nominate this person for the Core Values Award. The nomination form is available here.  Forms can also be obtained from the Board Executive Assistant, Nawal Gamal, via email board@cacegypt.org. Nominations are due no later than 3:00 pm on February 2, 2025.  All members of the community are eligible to be considered for this award. Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of our CAC community.

With my warmest wishes for a restful holiday season and a peaceful 2025,

Maha ElShinnawy
Board Chair, Cairo American College