Parent Bulletin #10 December 05

International School Manila

ES PARENT BULLETIN December 05, 2008

Volume 10

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER DEC 2-17

Registration for AFAC for 2nd semester activities Forms are available in the AFAC Office.

10,17

Wednesday Morning Late Start @ 8:30am ES Holiday Concert @ Fine Arts Theater 8:30AM for ECLC, Grade 2, Grade 4 10:30AM for Grade 1, Grade 3, Grade 5

12

Last Day of After School Activities for 1st Semester Grade 3 “Power Hour” @ 1:00pm, Little Theater

17

Early Release @ 12:00PM, Report Cards Go Home, Start of Winter Holiday

JAN 7

Students Return to School

7,14,21,28 Wednesday Morning Late Start @ 8:30am

From the ES Administration Dear Elementary School Parents, Today you are expecting a grade level newsletter as it is the first Friday of the month! However, on the calendar that was made at the end of last year and in the past we have not had grade level newsletters in December partly because of report writing and the short month. I did not communicate this properly with the team, and therefore we are having an ES parent bulletin this week… As I mentioned last week report cards will be distributed on December 17, the last day of the semester. The report provides a narrative on how the teachers have observed and assessed your child’s progress in terms of their social, academic, creative and physical achievements. When you receive the report, your child will probably be excited and interested in reading the report with you. Set aside some time when you can do

this together and discuss the teachers’ comments. Please celebrate the progress your child has made this year as well as encourage them in the areas that may need improvement. If you have any questions regarding the report please make a time to discuss these with the teacher/s. We have been having some problems on the playground with children bringing in toys from home, specifically Bakugan which have led to some arguments over trading etc. We would encourage students to leave these items at home and to play with them with friends outside of school time. We appreciate your support. We had an enjoyable AFAC concert on Tuesday for students in choir, strings and band. It was wonderful to see all of the students hard work on display in a great performance of their talents. Congratulations to our students and our AFAC instructors and coaches. Second semester AFAC registration is ongoing now, and we have added in a program for ECLC children to take part in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Have a good weekend, and I look forward to seeing you next week at our music concerts on Friday! Yours in Education,

Simon Gillespie

Elementary School Principal

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

December 05, 2008

From the Grade 3 Department

From the ES PE Department

Grade 3 Moms and Dads

Consider buying “ACTIVE” presents this holiday season.

You are encouraged to join us all on December 12th at 12:45 -2:00pm in the Little Theater as we flip the switch for our 1st Annual POWER HOUR.

Though most stores still stock an overabundance of video games, TV action figures and other toys that encourage kids to sit around the house, there are alternatives to consider when you’re doing your holiday shopping for your children. Elementary children love to play with Koosh balls in PE class; ask your child if they would like their own Koosh ball. How about a basketball hoop or table tennis table as a family present? Many stores carry basketball hoop and pole sets that allow height adjustments so younger students can enjoy success in making baskets. Also consider gifts like bicycles, bicycle helmets, Frisbees, hula hoops, jump ropes, S-Boards, in-line skates and all kinds of balls, bats, and rackets. These items all promote healthy, active lifestyles for your children.

We have been working hard on our electricity projects and want to show off these “shocking” creations.

You can also benefit from indoor games such as juggling balls or scarves which focus on hand/eye coordination, concentration, visual tracking, and manual dexterity. Even just a bag of balloons to blow up and play balloon volleyball will help your child with visual tracking and coordination.

All the Grade 3 students will be displaying their electrifying works and would blow a fuse if you could come and help us to amplify the energy in the air!

Recommended activity guidelines for elementary aged children is a minimum of one hour per day. Merry Fitness and Happy New You!

Grade 3 Teachers

Amanda Pekin ES Physical Education Department [email protected]

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin

December 05, 2008

Dear ES Parents, Are you ready for the morning newstalk show Good Morning Manila!? ☺ It’s coming to you LIVE from the Fine Arts Theater Friday, December 12. The dress code for performers is a yellow, white, black or green ISM school uniform polo shirt with khaki or black bottoms. (No P.E. uniforms please.) Grade 4 and 5 Narrators should bring their “professional” costumes to school on Wednesday, December 10. Have a great week!

Anna Pellum ES Music Program Leader

From the AFAC Office

From the ES ESL Department

Important Information on After School Activities Registration for 2nd Semester, SY 2008-09

We’d like all ESL students to bring a bilingual dictionary to school for use in class. These can be electronic, print, picture, large or pocketsized.

All after school activities for the First Semester, SY 2008-09 will end on the week of December 8-12.

A bilingual dictionary is a wonderful resource for your child to use and will help improve English vocabulary needed for academic success.

If your child wishes to either continue with the same activity or take a different activity for the Second Semester he/she MUST register again. Registration of activities for Second Semester is on December 2 until December 17. Forms are now available at the AFAC Office.

The dictionaries can be kept in the classroom or taken home each day.

We will also be adding some activities for ECLC students for 2nd semester. More information will follow on this.

Thank you for your support!

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call AFAC Office at 840 8485.

Pippa Beetson

Bill Blankenship

ESL Program Leader [email protected]

Athletics and Activities Director 3

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

December 05, 2008

From the ATAC Office

~Sailfish~ SAILFISH ISM SWIM MEET—2008

Good luck to ISM’s varsity boys and girls’ basketball teams who will be playing in the UBS Taipei Basketball Invitational this weekend at Taipei American School.

Results are available on the Sailfish Swim club website (http://www.ismanila.org/portal/alias__/lang__en/ tabID__1207/DesktopDefault.aspx)

This weekend our rugby teams will be involved in an intense weekend of rugby workshops and matches with visiting rugby specialist Mr. Tony Dickinson from Jakarta. Tony will be flying in Friday and will spend all day Saturday and Sunday morning with our rugby coaches and players providing them with a series of workshops to help improve their understanding and skills in preparation for the IASAS tournament in February. Tony is an expert in his field and has been a long time IASAS Rugby coach at JIS. I am sure our players and faculty will give him a warm ISM welcome and our teams will benefit from the knowledge he will pass on this weekend.

SWIMATHON 2008-SAILFISH SWIM CLUB Saturday, December 6th MEAL TIME

REGISTRATION TIME

SWIM START

SWIM FINISH

Grades 1-4

3:30pm

2:45pm

3:00pm

3:30pm

Grades 5-7

4:30pm

3:15pm

3:30pm

4:30pm

Adult ISM Community

5:30pm

4:15pm

4:30pm

5:30pm

Grades 8-12

4:30pm

5:15pm

5:30pm

7:30pm

GRADES

Thanks to Coach Andy and Coach Hazel who attended the Santa Claus Swim meet at Singapore last weekend with our ISM Sailfish swimmers. From all reports it was a great meet with a high percentage of our swimmers beating their personal best times. We also have the Swimathon on Saturday afternoon, see Sailfish website for details.

All Sailfish swimmers have been e-mailed an Information Sheet and Pledge Form, did you get yours? If not, either download the forms from the Sailfish website or collect one from Coach Andy.

Our MS Girls and Boys Basketball teams will be playing ISSA matches this Saturday in the MS Gym. MS Girls Green v Brent 8am MS Boys Grade 8 v Faith 11am MS Boys Grade 6 v CSA 12:30pm MS Boys Grade 7 v SISC 2:00pm MS Boys Grade 6 v Faith 3:30pm

Please bring a plate of food to share after your swim.

SWIMATHON 2008-ISM ADULT COMMUNITY Saturday, December 6th, 4:30PM-5:30PM

Our Akido club will be hosting a tournament in the ISM Martial Arts Area (above covered court) this Saturday.

Open invitation to ISM Adult Community (Parents, Teachers, Staff) to participate in the Swimathon to be held on Saturday 6th 4:30-5:30pm. Take part in a fundraising event for school charities and for the Sailfish Swimming Club. Further information and a pledge/sponsorship form are available on the Sailfish Swim Club website or contact Head Coach Andy ([email protected])

This Sunday is the Bea Lucero Cup Gymnastics Competition and we wish our ISM Gymnastic team the very best for a busy day of floor, vault, beam and bars routines at the 10th annual event to be held at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. Go Bearcat Gymnasts.

Mark Pekin

Andy Astfalck

Athletics and Activities Director [email protected]

Head Coach, Sailfish 4

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

December 05, 2008

From the Admissions Office STEP 4: The refund of the Special Project Deposit (SPD) will be available approximately 10-working days after the signed Withdrawal Notification Form, by the parent, is given into the Admission Office. However, in any event, it cannot be released before the child’s last day of attendance at ISM and the completed Withdrawal Clearance Slip is signed by the Cashier. The refund check can be picked up from the Accounting Office Cashier only upon return of the original signed SPD certificate. Note that the refund of the deposit shall only be made to the person or authorized company representative whose name appears as the certificate holder on the certificate. Some students may be withdrawing from ISM soon due to their family moving on to other opportunities. In order to make the withdrawal process go as smoothly as possible, we would like to remind you of the following:

Please allow the withdrawal process to go smoothly by starting the process early. Thank you for your help and understanding.

STEP 1: Please come by the Admission Office or download from the website, a Withdrawal Notification Form. This form can be filled out and dropped off; faxed back to the Admission Office at 840-8489; or scanned and e-mailed to [email protected].

Again, we hope that your child has had a successful and enriching stay at International School Manila and we wish you and your family the very best in the future. If you have any suggestions or comments about Admission, School Life, and/or Withdrawal, please do not hesitate to contact me.

STEP 2: Parents or students will also need to pick up the following forms from the Admission Office or from the website:

Best wishes and Happy Holidays to you and your family from all of us in the Admission Office.

The Withdrawal Clearance Slip should be taken to the indicated teachers and offices for signatures. • High School Student Withdrawal Clearance Slip (Grades 9-12) • Middle School Student Withdrawal Clearance Slip (Grades 6-8) • NOTE: For elementary students, the elementary office will handle the withdrawal clearance form for them.

Gary Jerome

Admissions Director [email protected]

To receive the child’s YEARBOOK, if withdrawing before the end of the school year, complete and return the correct form to the child’s school office for followup. • Elementary School Yearbook: ALAALA • Middle School Yearbook: SALINLAHI • High School Yearbook: KAYAWAN

One-Page School Calendar for Next School Year

Note that school transcripts and records will be available from the particular school office approximately 5-working days after the child’s last day of attendance at ISM. Please coordinate directly with the particular school office if you require other arrangements.

(SY 2009-2010) is now available 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:

STEP 3: When completed, the Withdrawal Clearance Slip must be taken to the Accounting Office Cashier. Only after the Accounting Office Cashier has received and signed the completed Withdrawal Clearance Slip will the child’s transcripts or school records be released from the Elementary, Middle or High School Office.

http://www.ismanila.org/_Rainbow/images/ default/Calendar_SY09_10_FINAL.pdf

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin

December 05, 2008

From the Environmental Council ♦

The INVISIBLE Project is a recycling and livelihood effort started by one of our parents, artist/environmentalist Ann Wizer. The project uses only waste - plastic bags and factory waste. Ann and the women are currently exhibiting a big piece made from their initial efforts at Galleria Duemila. Further details of this exhibition can be found at www.galleriaduemila.com. Ann is hoping that the group will grow and become a creative, self-managed cooperative making interesting things from waste, while creating new income possibilities for themselves. INVISIBLE intentionally focuses on older women – mothers and grandmothers, because they have many dependents and cannot leave the home to work, and they know the quickly disappearing traditional hand skills like weaving, basketry and crochet - valuable intangible culture.

Produce high quality, re-useable, multi purpose bags to creating income for the INVISIBLE Cooperative – a group of women who need income possibilities

What can you do to help? Please donate any surplus plastic bags that you have at home so that they can be used for this

project.

There is a collection basket in the ES office. For more info, please see: http://www.ism-online.org/gogreen/ Many thanks for your continuing support.

Let’s Go Green.

INVISIBLE has several overlapping goals:

♦

Reduce plastic trash and unseen factory waste

♦

Raise awareness and involve schools and communities in plastic bag collection to use as raw materials

Done with the school tour? Not quite, if you haven't been to the Bearcat Den! The Den is a school store that sells items to raise money for the enhancement of the Student Activities and Athletics program at ISM. It is operated by parent volunteers and is located in the High School/Middle School Cafeteria. Come visit to see our new merchandise! • Tarp Bags made from our very own ISM recycled "Events Tarpaulin Banners" • To order tarp bags please contact Jan Harris at 0919-346-6046, GO BEARCATS!!! • Customized 1-gig USBs with the “Bearcat” logo, • Jogging pants made from quality fabric, BEARCAT DEN BUSINESS HOURS • Sleeveless Polo Shirts, and Spandex shorts. Of course, there are the all-time favorites: • ISM white, grey and black hoodies (very practical this monsoon!) • Bearcat sports bags • "Doodle-friendly" teddy bears (cute and cuddly! ) • Dri-fit athletic shirts (need we explain why?) • Polo shirts in hunter green and black (way cool!) • Customized ISM Crocs (beat that!) • and many other mementos and give-aways

Monday Wednesday Friday

11:15AM-1:15 PM 2:30PM-4:00PM 11:00AM-1:00PM 2:30PM-4:00PM 11:15AM-1:15PM 2:30PM-4:00PM

We're also selling healthier snacks and munchies this year, and working on making pre-paid phone cards and emergency school supplies such as pens, pencils, notebooks and papers available year round. So DO pop by on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. By the way if you are interested in being a part of the Bearcat Den, we are looking for volunteers to work at the Den to fill two key positions: Inventory and Secretary. For information, please contact Jan Harris at 0919-346-6046. 6