Middle School

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Friday Bulletin Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

ISSUE # 02 WEEK OF AUGUST 17 TO 21, 2009

From the Middle School Office Dear Parents: The first full week back to school has been fantastic. From our numerous classroom visits, we have observed that the students are quickly settling in and getting down to the business of learning. We are proud of all of the students for putting their best foot forward. As the school year gets underway, please take note of the following points:

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The Middle School Activities Booklet is available on the school website and registration forms were distributed this week. Please take some time to review the selections with your child and help them make responsible choices. After school activities are a great way to strengthen skills, explore new interests and meet new people. We encourage all students to get involved and commit to a particular club. Registration forms are due on August 20, and after school activities begin on Monday, August 24. In the meantime, please make the necessary transportation arrangements so that your child is picked up promptly at dismissal time.

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In addition to academics, we aim to support our students in becoming self-directed individuals who assume responsibility for themselves and their actions. We would like to see all of our students in proper uniform and to be punctual for class. Can you please reinforce this sense of responsibility with your child.

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At dismissal time MS students are instructed to wait for their car/driver at the designated drop-off/pick-up areas. As policy, helpers and drivers are not permitted to wait for students in the halls or by classrooms.

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It is vital that the office has the most current contact information for each family in the event of an emergency or school closure. Please call the office to update your landline and/or cell phone number.

On Thursday, August 20 we will be hosting a New Parent Coffee in the Little Theater starting at 7:45 A.M. This will be an opportunity to meet other families and learn more about life in the Middle School. Please join us if you are available. We look forward to welcoming new families to the ISM Middle School. Friday, August 21 is a national holiday in honor of Ninoy Aquino and school will be closed. Classes resume on Monday, August 24. Enjoy the 3-day weekend! Sincerely, Danielle Fredericks Middle School Principal

Clarissa Sayson Middle School Assistant Principal

Upcoming Events August

PowerSchool Grade Update

17-26

Student Council Representatives’ Campaign

Aug. 20 - Grade Update

17

Gr. 5 Assembly (2:30 P.M., LT)

Sept. 04 - MS Progress Reports

18

Gr. 6 Assembly (2:30 P.M., LT)

19

Gr. 7 Assembly (2:30 P.M., LT)

20

New Parent Coffee (7:45 A.M., LT)

20

Gr. 8 Assembly (2:30 P.M., LT)

27-28

Student Council Representative Voting

September 04

New Student Social Activity

08

Middle School Open House

NEW STUDENT LUNCHEON Grade 5 - Aug. 18, (12:40 P.M., Rm. 1057) Grade 6 - Aug. 19 (11:00 A.M., Rm. 1057) Grade 7 - Aug. 20 (12:40 P.M., Rm. 1057) Grade 8 - Aug. 25 (12:40 P.M., Rm. 1057)

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From the Guidance Office Dear Parents, With the year just getting started, we wanted to offer you a few suggestions to help you and your child get off to a successful school year. Grade 5 & 6 and Families new to ISM – Your children are going through a period of tremendous transition and may require some guidance and support from their parents. Try to make it a point to spend some time at school with your child. Have breakfast or an after-school snack in the canteen with them and hopefully meet some of their friends or teachers. Talk to your child about all the changes going on in their life and get a sense of their emotional well being. If the first few weeks are tough, focus on the positive and be optimistic. Set up an appointment with your child’s homebase teacher or counselor to discuss your child’s concerns. We will be meeting with all the new students in the first few weeks of school as well as organizing social events for them to help in their transition. Get your child involved – First season sports (Volleyball, Cross Country, Soccer) and yearlong sports (Swimming, Gymnastics, Table tennis, Chess) are getting underway. Registration for after school activities and clubs has started so encourage your child to participate in activities they enjoy. There are a wide range of offerings; your child should be able to find at least one area they are interested in. We also have Peer Helpers and Student Council that offer unique ways your child can have an impact at school. We do encourage you to have your child involved in at least one activity during the week to help develop life-long hobbies which promote a balanced life style. Develop a routine - We strongly encourage parents to establish a routine during the weekdays to help your child develop effective habits. Research shows children that have a fairly consistent routine perform better at school and thus are happier overall. Bedtimes, wake-up time, homework time (average about 1- 1 ½ hour a night) and dinner time should be as consistent as possible throughout the week. Make a schedule with your child and come to some common agreements (a great activity for those A-type personalities who like to color code!!). Up-coming Guidance events: New student luncheons will start next week. Since we have a large number of new students, we will do them by grade level. At these lunches we will provide food for your child and will have a few activities designed to help in the transition process. DATES: Grade 5 - Tuesday, August 18

Grade 6 – Wednesday, August 19

Grade 7 - Thursday, August 20

Grade 8 – Tuesday, August 25

Your Guidance counselors will gladly assist any parent or student needing assistance with this transition phase of the school year or any other concerns that affect your child’s overall well-being. Please stop by, contact MS Guidance office at 840-8555, or e-mail [email protected] to set up an appointment.

Michelle Katz Ms Guidance Counselor , Surname A-K

Marc St. Laurent MS Guidance Counselor, Surname L-Z

[email protected]

[email protected]

We’re on the web! www.ismanila.org

CONTACT INFORMATION CHANGES? Please inform the Middle School Office if you recently changed your contact information (i.e. Home Address, Home/Office Telephone Numbers, Mobile Numbers and Email Addresses). You may contact us through 840-8550 or 840-8553

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From the Security Office Car stickers The car stickers for school year 2009/10 are available from the security office. 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 Php100.00 to the cashier’s office. In order to facilitate the easy recognition of authorized cars at the gates, the stickers should be affixed to the top right corner of the windshield. Further to this, old ISM stickers issued in previous years should be removed. Vehicles not displaying this year’s car sticker will not be allowed access from August 30. ID Cards Parent IDs Parent IDs issued for the school year 2008-2009 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. School Passes School passes issued to parents’ employees and representatives need to be replaced for this school year. As of August 31, 2009, the blue bordered passes issued for the school year 2008/2009 will be invalid. 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. Visitor’s Passes All visitors must secure a pass from the guardhouse at Gate 3. Before entry will be allowed, a telephone check will be made with the relevant office to confirm the visitor’s business within the school. Drivers, Helpers and Bodyguards Drivers, helpers and bodyguards should not wait on campus for students throughout the school day. After dropping off students, they should exit the school grounds and not return more than 30 minutes before dismissal time. Those who repeatedly fail to comply with this regulation may have their access privilege suspended. Only those vehicles carrying parents or other people with business within the school will be allowed to return to the campus before 1:45 p.m. There are designated areas for drivers, yayas, helpers and security escorts to wait for parents and students. Unless specifically authorized, they may not enter any other area. In the interests of security, and to prevent congestion at the pedestrian entrances to the covered parking area, parents are requested to emphasize to their employees the importance of cooperating with the security staff and remaining in the appropriate areas.

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Firearms All members of the ISM community are reminded that it is strictly forbidden for firearms to be brought onto the campus. This includes concealed weapons carried by bodyguards for close protection. Any person arriving at the school with a firearm should inform the gate guard and arrangements will be made for the weapon to be safely and securely stored during the visitor’s stay. Security Staff directions Our security team is endeavoring to make the school as safe and secure an environment as possible for all members of our community. We ask that everybody cooperates with us in this important task. In particular, all those entering our campus are requested to comply with any directions given to them by members of our guard force. In the event that anyone is unclear as to the purpose of such instructions they can seek clarification from the security office. Please note that it is the parents’ responsibility to advise their staff accordingly. Thank you for your cooperation. We are looking forward to another successful year at International School Manila. Regards, Mike Flynn Director Operations & Security

From the Service Learning “This year marks the 15th year since Chosen Children Village was started in Silang, Cavite. In celebration of that, SUNNY SIDE UP, A CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH TO GIVE OUR CHOSEN CHILDREN A BRIGHT FUTURE will feature 6 of Manilas top chefs, contributing their culinary skills, for a champagne brunch to be held in the NBC tent in Fort Bonifacio. The event will be held on October 11th and tickets cost P3000. All proceeds go to the CCV trust fund. For tickets and further information, please contact the office in Las Pinas on 872-4936 or 872-5022 and look for Ms. Xenia Cruz.”

From the Sailfish Swim Club News Sailfish Swim Club is an all year round swimming club for Grades 1 to 12. We accept new swimmers at any time of the year, please contact Coach Andy Astfalck [email protected] to arrange an assessment. The assessment involves the swimmer demonstrating his/her Freestyle, Backstroke, and Breaststroke. Swimmers are placed into a squad based on their school/grade level and skill level. Sailfish Parent Information Session For new and existing Sailfish Parents, Wednesday, August 19, 3:00 to 4:00 P.M., Room 1057. Sailfish Website and Calendar Stay up to date on Sailfish news and events. Visit our website www.ismanila.org/atac/sailfish.htm

From the After School Activities Office The MS Activities Booklet and Registration form are now available in the ISM website. Please follow this link to download these files: http://www.ismanila.org/portal/alias__/lang__en/tabID__743/DesktopDefault.aspx For any inquiries, you may call the AFAC office at 840-84-85 or you may e-mail Dave Allen, MS Activities Coordinator at [email protected].

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From the Athletics & Activities Office Please check notice boards carefully for tryouts schedule information. Tryouts for MS students begin this week for Volleyball, Soccer and Cross Country teams. Look at the schedule carefully for the time and venue for your tryouts. *** Welcome back to another exciting year of sports and activities at ISM. We have been fortunate to have a number of projects completed over the summer months that will improve our already outstanding sports facilities. New projects completed were:

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Redevelopment of the ES Gym and MS Gym Climbing walls

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Dividing curtain in the Covered Court

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PA system and floodlights for the pool

Outdoor storage shed at the pool Improved ventilation and exhaust fans in pool locker rooms

ISM will host the soccer tournament this year and we are really looking forward to our school community getting behind this event. 160 housing placements are required for the visiting athletes. If you can house a pair of athletes please contact the ATAC office. Housing forms will be coming home with all HS 1st season athletes as it is a requirement for participation in the ATAC program for athletes to house when we host an IASAS event. The other BIG IASAS event we are hosting this year is the IASAS Art/Music Festival in early March. This is an outstanding event full of wonderful student artwork along with incredible music from IASAS school participants. More information about how the school community can assist with this event will be forthcoming. Please see in this bulletin the practice schedule for ATAC Seasonal sports and All Year round sports for season one. As always please check ATAC notice board, general school notice boards, ATAC website and school bulletins/circulars for important and ongoing ATAC announcements.

Floodlights and new fencing for the MS field PA system for HS field and MS/HS Gyms School records boards for track and swimming

All these projects along with our new gymnastics floor installed last February will ensure our sporting facilities continue to be the best in Manila. We have a number of new faculty who will be coaching this year and I would like to welcome our new coaches and indeed all our coaches involved in the ATAC program for 09-10. It is sure to be a great year for the ISM Bearcats. New coaches for 09-10: Jenna Child –Volleyball Jason Juteau –Soccer and Basketball Steve Ayling –Soccer Kristy Semkin –Soccer Pam Makunja –Volleyball Carey Nourse –Basketball Laura Gerken –Swimming Mattie O’Farrell – MS and HS Rugby Mike Quinlan – MS Rugby Martin Richardson – Rugby Shellie Banks – Track and Field Boston Coppedge- Softball Curt Nicholls – Softball Andrew Gelman – MS Softball Tom Nazereno – IASAS Band Sonali Hutchinson – IASAS Original Oratory IASAS DATES: First Season IASAS is Oct 14-18 2009: Volleyball/Cross Country @ Taipei and Soccer @ ISM

Game schedules for teams can be accessed by logging on to the school website and following this path At ISM>ATAC>Game Schedule. This schedule is updated frequently with new fixtures added and changes to games times updated. It is the best way to keep track of weekend and mid-week games against other schools. PARENT BEARCAT DEN VOLUNTEERS: If you have some spare time on your hands and you would like to contribute to a school program that directly supports students why not consider becoming a BEARCAT DEN VOLUNTEER? This group of volunteers work in the Bearcat Den selling school endorsed merchandise and the money raised goes directly to support ISM students in the many and varied athletic/cultural activities and trips that our students are involved in. In past years there has been a perception from some sections of the community that this group is made up of all the HS sports moms. This is certainly not the case and the group welcomes parent volunteers from any section of the school ES, MS, HS and whether your son/daughter is an athlete/musician/dancer or MUN/debating participant. If you are interested and willing to join this fun group of important volunteers who contribute greatly to our school program please contact the ATAC office for more details. We hope you will consider getting involved. Go Bearcats! Mark Pekin ATAC Director

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