Thank you to all parents who have attended our Information Evenings. They are a valuable means of opening a dialogue between school and parents. If any parents were unable to attend their evenings please will you ensure that your son / daughter has brought home an information pack, containing a Parent’s Handbook and a set of sheets outlining the curriculum in each subject during this year.

The final Parents Information Evening, for S4 and S5 parents, will take place on Tuesday 28^th September.

The logbooks are not only used by the students to record their homework but also provide a means of communication between parents and teachers. The students also record their achievements, in and out of the classroom, in this book. Please will you therefore ask to see the logbook on a regular basis and do use the comment box to write a message to the tutor and teachers.

The Geography Field Trip to Devon went very well. The students worked very hard but also enjoyed themselves. Our thanks go to Ms Phaup for organising the trip.

This weekend our Chamber Musicians have joined with Cairo American College for a joint retreat at Ain Sukhna. I look forward to listening to the joint concert later in the term, which will be one result of this trip.

Next weekend there are two trips away. The Silver International Award students will be visiting the St Catherines area of Sinai for a practice expedition. Also the Environmental Systems students will be carrying out fieldwork at Ras Mohamed National Park.

The FS 2 Information Evening will be held on Monday 27^th September followed by FS 1 on Wednesday 29^th September. The dates of all the Information Evenings are to be found in the Autumn Term calendar.

There was a huge response to the basketball activity for all year groups. Regrettably, there was also a mix up in the allocation of days and some children had their days changed. Mariam has been working very hard to try and untangle a problem, which was not of her making. As I said to those of you who have spoken to me on the cathedral steps I am sorry for the mix ups but making angry telephone calls to school will not help the situation. We are attempting to resolve the difficulties that have arisen.

May I remind you that children should not be buying snacks from Cilantros at any time. If they are staying for an activity then they must be provided with a suitable snack. We do not allow fizzy drinks and cakes in school and the same applies to children after school. This is set out clearly on page 6 of the Parents Handbook

The new style handbook was given out this week. My apologies for the delay in distributing them but we experienced a delay with the printers. Please keep them in a safe place as they contain much useful information.

You may well think that I have a fixation with school uniform, I don’t I just want the children to wear the correct clothes as stipulated by the school and outlined in the Information to Parents handbook.

Thank you for your support in helping to ensure your children are coming to school wearing the correct uniform.

My thanks too for your support in improving the behaviour of the children at the end of the day. I was very pleased to hear a mum tell her son “Don’t run around, Mr. Williams doesn’t like you doing that.”

Key stage 1 will be able to buy pizza next week LE 5 for two slices or LE3 for one slice.

On behalf of the Primary School I’d like to express my thanks to the outgoing PTA committee for all their support over the past year. In particular thanks to Soha for her chairmanship over the past year. Their generosity has been wonderful and their latest contribution, the installation of fans on the 5^th floor walk way has been much appreciated. We all look forward to working closely with the new committee

Boston University will be visiting BISC on September 28^th at 9:30 a.m. in Cathedral Hall. Parents are welcome to attend.

There will be an American College Fair at the Nile Hilton, Gawharet el Nil Ballroom, on Wednesday, October 13^th from 5-9 p.m. Representatives from the following universities will attend:

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Georgetown University

Savannah College of Art & Design

Tufts University

Wellesley College

The Chamber Musicians will be in Ein el Sukhna this weekend at a joint BISC/CAC retreat. They are preparing repertoire for the joint concert, which is to be held at AUC Ewart Hall on October 26^th at 7:30 p.m.

There will be a Session 9 on September 29^th at 7:00 p.m. in Green Hall. This event is open to Senior School students and their parents.

The PTA Cook Book is on sale for 50LE from Ms Mybel in reception

The post-holders for the PTA 2004-2005 will be elected in Cathedral Hall on Sunday 26th September.

Communication

Please check that your child brings home the copy of the Bulletin every Thursday. It is also on the school website and additional copies are available from Reception every Thursday. The school website is updated regularly.

The Senior School and Primary School Handbooks produced annually give very clear directions about lines of communication and who parents should contact if they wish to make appointment to see either a teacher or the Head of the Primary or Head of the Senior School.

• For appointments with Mr Williams, please call Ms Mariam the Primary School Secretary.

• For appointments with Mr Parker, please call Ms Haana the Senior School Secretary.

• The school recommends the handbook as a ready guide. If parents have not been able to attend the parent information evening and have not received their copy, we would strongly recommend that they collect it as soon as possible.

Mrs Williams is the person to contact should parents wish to see Dr McLaughlin and for all admissions enquiries and details of Open Mornings’.

Dates for your diaries

Details for the ‘Open Mornings’ for the Autumn Term are also on the website and in the school calendar.

Please encourage your friends who are looking at schools that they can visit the school at 9.30 am on Sunday 3rd October and Sunday 5th December. Prospective parents will see the school at work. Should prospective parents be unable to attend, individual appointments with the Principal can be made throughout the academic year.

Events in the Community

We are always happy to receive posters/flyers of concerts plays and other events of interests in the community, that are appropriate. We would strongly recommend that in order for events to be publicised as much as possible, that all literature is handed in to Ms Mybel in Reception, WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE EVENT. The details can then also be appear in this section in the bulletin.

CSA hosts Abdel– Raouf Art Exhibition Exhibition on Sunday 5th—Thursday 30th September 2004

5th Great American Food Fest at the Cairo Marriot Hotel from 23-28th September 2004

Sunday 26th September at 8 pm: Guatemalean Reportoire for Marimba at AUC.

23rd September-14th October: Nile Cairo Hilton hosts an exhibition by Pascale Favre and Mamhoud Khaled.

30th September: Ian St John Ex– Scotland and Liverpool football player will be guest speaker at the Casablanca Ballroom at the Cairo Sheraton Hotel.