Es Parent Bulletin # 19 (may 15)

International School Manila

ES PARENT BULLETIN 15 May 2009

Volume 19

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

Dear Elementary School Parents,

MAY 22

All CMC books due. CMC will be closed for inventory after this date,

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Last Day of After School Activities

JUNE 2

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From the ES Administration

Distribution of Report Cards Grade 4 Moving On Ceremony @ 8-9am, Fine Arts Theatre Grade 5 Moving On Ceremony @ 10-11am, Fine Arts Theatre Early Student Release @ 12 noon End of 2nd Semester

One-Page School Calendar for Next School Year (SY 2009-2010) is now available on page 6 and in the ISM Website. Please visit www.ismanila.org and click on News & Calendar to download the file or you may type this url in your web browser: http://www.ismanila.org/_Rainbow/images/ default/FINAL_2009_2010_Calendar_ (12May2009).pdf

Next week will be our final individual class newsletter, followed by one more parent bulletin from me… Where did the school year go? At this time I would like to update you on our faculty changes for next year. We will be saying farewell this year to Cecille Higgins (ECLC), Veronika Mihalj (Art), Anna Pellum (Music) and Lindsay Perry (Physical Education)… We wish these four teachers all the best as they begin new adventures around the world and thank them for their time at ISM. Along with these three departing teachers, we will have some movement within the school… As you know grade 5 will be moving to Middle School, along with Ximena Moreno (MS Spanish), Tara Collins (grade 5), and Clayton Heggie (ESL). Within ES, Michael Rourke will be joining me as Assistant Principal, Rebecca Pierce will be moving to the CMC, Susan Powers will join the grade 2 team, Liz Hines will move up to grade 4 ESL, Joanna McElhinney will be part of grade 4 and Rosie Lenehan will move to grade 4 as program leader. We will be welcoming back to ISM Nat Ayling to PreSchool, Monica Atkinson to grade 2 ESL, and Gina (Manhit) Stavert to grade 4. New to our ISM Elementary School will be Krista Plank in ECLC, Ilana McGrath in grade 3, Marnie Hurst in Music, Matthew O’Farrell in Physical Education, and Rachael Huelskamp to Learning Support. Before the start of the new school year I will be sending out a letter to welcome everyone back. Sectioning cards with your child’s teacher for next year will be available on the last day of school. Report cards will be distributed on June 2. Students in grade 4 and 5 will be receiving an envelope to take home with their individual ERB external writing assessment results. Yours in Education,

Simon Gillespie

Elementary School Principal

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

15 May 2009

From the PE Department With the holidays not too far away this article is worth reading! Tips to Help Families Reduce “Screen Time” and Be More Active! You may be asking “What’s screen time?” Well….the more time you spend in front of the television, computer, and video screen, the less time you spend being physically active….so, turn off the screens and get moving! √ √ √ √

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Keep the TV off during dinner. Meals are a great time for conversation. For special events such as birthdays, buy your children sports equipment or an active game instead of another computer or video game. Never use TV or computer as a reward or punishment Place clear limits on TV watching. Explain your rules in positive, simple terms. Try replacing “Turn off the TV” with “Let’s turn off the TV so we can…..” One hour a day is a good guideline. Remove the TV set from your child’s bedroom. A TV in the bedroom draws children away from the family activities and distracts them from homework, thinking, reading, and sleeping. Replace some of the family TV watching time with more active pursuits. Try a family swim. If you don’t feel like going out, put on some music and dance. Avoid using the TV and computer as a babysitter. Involve children in meal preparation and household chores to encourage physical activity, responsibility and empathy. Listen to a sports event using a radio, as an alternative to watching on TV. Your kids will be surprised how much fun this can be! Don’t worry if children claim “I’m bored” For children, boredom often leads to creativity and active play. Be patient!

Benefits of Reduced Screen Time · More family time · More time, reading, thinking, creating, doing! · Less media influence! · More time for fun and play · And of course, better health. These tips are from a Canadian initiative to encourage activity. Click here for more information. Canada Energyinenergyout (http://ottawa.ca/residents/health/living/eieo/index_en.html)

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin

15 May 2009

From the Admission Office

From the Treasury Office

Dear ISM Parents,

Dear Parents:

Greetings from the Admission Office! The Re-Enrollment Requirements for School Year 2009-10 will be available for pick-up in the Admission Office starting next week. All of the generic re-enrollment forms are ALSO available on the website if you wish to download and print the forms from there. The forms can be found under Admission and then under the ReEnrollment & Withdrawal tab.

Please note a change (in bold below) in the payment of the $1,000 deposit for company sponsored Students under Reenrollment Clearance Form for SY09-10 for STEP2 – Deposit Payment: Step 2: DEPOSIT PAYMENT. To guarantee a place for the coming school year, the Cashier must receive $1,000 or its equivalent payment, on or before May 15, 2009. This deposit will be applied to the tuition for the first semester. Except for US Embassy & ADB (Cashier’s signature still required), parents and other companies with sponsored students are directly responsible for the payment. If the student subsequently withdraws, the enrollment deposit will be refunded via a graduated refund guideline (available at the Cashier’s Office for review). No refund is available within two weeks prior to the opening day of school.

The complete Re-Enrollment Packet will include the… 1. Re-Enrollment Clearance Form for SY2009-10 (2-pages) for each child in the family. 2. Health Clinic Clearance Procedure (1-page) letter 3. Health Clinic Updating Form (2-pages) for each child in the family 4. Tuberculosis Screening Form (2-pages) for students entering Grades 1, 5, or 9 5. Parent and School Shared Agreements (4-pages) form for each child in the family 6. OPTIONAL Board Proxy Form (1-page) for each family 7. OPTIONAL PTA Directory Form (1-page) for each family

URGENT…if you know that your child(ren) will not be returning to ISM for the 2009-10 school year, please inform the Admission Office as soon as possible if you have not already done so. We currently have very few families indicating that they will not be returning and consequently there are an ever growing number of applicants in a WAITPOOL for possible openings. This is causing great distress and anxiety in those families (and in the Admission Office). If you are sure that your child will be leaving ISM, please submit a Withdrawal Notification Form or contact and verify with the Admission Office (840-8488) that he/she is listed as not returning for SY2009-10. The Withdrawal Notification Form can be obtained from the Admission Office or from the ISM website under the Admission tab and then click on Re-Enrollment & Withdrawal. This will be a great help for our planning and to the many families waiting to be admitted to the school. Thank you.

From the Uniform Shop Hate to wait and be in a long line?!? Purchase your uniforms in advance for School Year 2009-2010… Just visit the ISM Uniform Shop at Room P069 (beside the Security Office) every Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. See you there!!!

VAT EXEMPTION FOR DIPLOMATS To our valued clients, All diplomats who would like to avail of VAT exemption in the Uniform Shop should submit the following requirements in order for us to process the exemptions: 1. Certified true copy of the VAT Exemption Certificate (VEC) signed by the authorized officer and/or 2. VAT Exemption Identification Card (VEIC) signed by the authorized officer Due dates for submission are June 4th for first semester (July 2009 to December 2009) and December 1st for second semester (January 2010 to June 2010). Please take note that the Uniform Shop may not be able to extend any VAT discounts without the requirements listed above. Thank you very much. Uniform Shop Management 3

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

15 May 2009

From the School Clinic Dear Parents, Whilst recent indications are that the predicted pandemic of H1N1 influenza virus may not have such severe consequences as originally feared, we still have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions to prevent it entering the school community. For this reason, we would like to remind all parents not to send their children to school if they are ill and to advise the school doctor if anyone in the family has become ill with flu-like symptoms. Children will be sent home if they become ill at school. As usual, if a child has an unexplained fever (either flu related or not), the child should remain at home. If the child develops a fever at school, the parent will be requested to collect their child and take them home or to their own doctor. These ‘common sense’ precautions apply to everyone. If parents are unsure as to whether or not to send a child to school they should contact the School Clinic. The direct number for Dr Mary Ann Bagos, the school doctor, is 840 8580. Thank you for assisting us in maintaining the good health of the ISM community.

ISM Clinic Staff IMMUNIZATIONS It is coming up to the time of year when many of you will pay a return visit to the countries you call home. One of the jobs which is often on the list of things to complete when you are at home is updating your child’s immunizations. For your reference, I have included links to US immunization schedules for 0-6 years and 7-18 years of age. Whilst not everyone has used the US system, it is very similar to most comprehensive immunization schedules in developed countries world wide. In addition, we recommend people living in the Philippines have the typhoid vaccination. The hope is that this will prompt everyone, no matter where they are this summer, to ensure that their children are up-to-date with their immunizations. If in doubt, please check with your doctor. We love our children, let’s keep them safe! Best wishes for a happy, healthy summer, from the Clinic. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/2009/09_0-6yrs_schedule_pr.pdf http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/2009/09_7-18yrs_schedule_pr.pdf

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin

15 May 2009

From the Operations & Security Department A MESSAGE FROM THE OPERATIONS AND SECURITY DEPARTMENT I. IDs for the New School Year Parent IDs

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Current parent IDs will continue to be valid for the new school year 2009-2010. Parents who require replacement school IDs due to loss or damage can acquire these from the Security Office upon payment of Php100.00 to the Cashier. Student IDs All students will be issued with new ID cards at the beginning of the new school year. To facilitate this they should visit the security office before the end of the current school year for the taking of their photograph. School Passes

LOST AND FOUND VIEWING EVERYDAY

Monday to Friday May 18 18--22, 2009 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. FAT changing room 1118 Items uncollected after this time will be disposed of in support of our Service Learning Program.

School passes issued to parent’s employees and representatives need to be replaced for next school year. As of August 31, 2009 the blue bordered passes will be invalid. The security office is now accepting applications for new school passes, however the cards will not be available for collection before July 1, 2009. Each family will be given two free school passes. Additional school passes may be obtained after paying a processing fee of Php100.00 each to the Cashier’s Office. 2, Car Stickers for the New School Year The car stickers for school year 2009/2010 will be available from the security office beginning July 1, 2009. For vehicles already displaying an existing sticker, parents should submit a completed renewal form with a copy of a current LTO official receipt. For new vehicles, parents are reminded that a copy of the vehicle’s certificate of registration and a current official receipt need to be submitted with the application. Applications for vehicles registered with companies or other institutions should be supported by a letter of assignment. Each ISM family will be issued one vehicle sticker free of charge. Any additional stickers will be issued following payment of P100 to the cashier’s office. I would like to thank all members of the ISM community for their cooperation across this school year in helping us maintain ISM as a safe and secure environment for our children. M I KE FLYNN Director of Operations and Security

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin

15 May 2009

From the Superintendent’s Office

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