Parent Bulletin Issue 11 SY1314.pdf

7/27/2019 Parent Bulletin Issue 11 SY1314.pdf

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29 MS Party

21 Parent Coee

20-22 ISTA Fesval

1 SCHOOL HOLIDAY

6 Academic Bowl

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Admissions & Advancement 4

MIDDLE SCHOOLMIDDLE SCHOOLMIDDLE SCHOOL

ISSUE # 11

SY 2013 2014

WEEK OF:

OCTOBER 20 toNOVEMBER 1

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

Friday BulletinInside this issue:

Events & Acvies:

Service Learning

ISM Upcoming Events

Sta Service Day 2013 2

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Academic Bowl

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Powerschool Update:

15 Progress Reports

Dear Parents:

Your acve involvement in Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs) on Monday and

Tuesday was greatly appreciated. We hope that the conversaons oered you

insight into your child as a learner and the progress they are making. As the

school year connues, we hope the connecons made during the PTCs connue

and strengthen communicaon between home and school. If a concern or issue

with your child's progress or school life arises, please contact your child's teach-

er, advisor or guidance counselor so that we can oer support. We want your

child to feel condent and successful at school.

Today we celebrated Filipiniana and had a fantasc me enjoying the barrio es-

ta lunch, dance presentaons and musical performances. We also enjoyed an

aernoon of acvies that helped us learn a lile bit more about games (sipa

and tumbang preso), kakanin (rice cakes) and the Tinikling dance in the Philip-

pines. Everyone who had a hand in planning this event has done a commendable

job and is to be applauded.

The school break starts on October 26 and classes resume on Monday, Novem-

ber 4. We wish everyone a relaxing and rejuvenang holiday!

Yours in Educaon,

Simon Gillespie Clarissa Sayson

Middle School Principal Middle School Assistant Principal

NOVEMBER

Athlecs & Acvies

We are looking for student and parent performers for the Internaonal Family Fun Day on Saturday, November 16.

If you are interested to get up on stage and delight the crowd with your musical abilies, please come see Mr. St.

Laurent in MS Guidance for details.

Good News! The Campus Card Kiosk is now accepng the new

Philippine Peso bills.


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On October 5, Middle School sta got together for a

day of community service and fun. Over 50 teachers

and sta, along with their friends and family, spent the

morning working with three local service partners. One

group got busy crushing cans and separang recycla-

bles for the Tzu Chi Foundaon in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

Another visited the SPECS Home for Boys in Pasay City

to lead learning acvies, including a cooking demo, art

project and soccer challenge. A third group hosted the

Papaya Academy on the ISM campus, treang them to

a morning of fun games, delicious food, and a pool par-

ty. The day culminated with a barbeque in the MScourtyard. Grade 7 teacher, Craig Wislang, said of the

event, It was a rewarding and heart-warming experience, and I got to know colleagues that I did-

nt know beforehand.

Here are some unocial stascs from the day:

52 ISMsta, friends and family-member volunteers

726 cans crushed

452 plasc boles stripped

25 happy, chlorinated, well-fed Papaya Academy students

21 SPECS Boys treated Therese Mouas famous Roni alla Puanesca

62 headed soccer balls and 14 works of modern art (aucon details to follow)

62 burgers and 27 hotdogs downed during the BBQ

5,237 total smiles

ISM Staff and Papaya Academy students having some fun in the sun.

Monica San Jose and Monika D'Aquale take a breakfrom stripping plastic bottles at the Tzu Chi Founda-

tion.


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Seven Ways Students Can Get Involved

in Service Learning

All of us have experienced the ethical conict that arises when ahomeless child knocks on our car window at an intersec-

on. Adolescence is a me when many students start to grapple

with their response to poverty, climate change, and other issues

facing our world. The problems seem so big, that somemes

students feel helpless to aect change. Thats one way to look at

it. The other way is to do something about it! As the Dalai Lama

said, If you think you are too small to make a dierence, try

sleeping with a mosquito.

The Middle School Service Learning Program oers students a

diversity of opportunies to give to others and help safeguard

our environment. Here are seven ways that your child can get

involved in service and environmental projects:

1. Saturday Service

Beginning on October 19, eight dierent service opportunies

will be oered on Saturdays. Some events involve a trip to visit a

service partner, such as La Mesa Watershed and Chosen Chil-

drens Village (CCV) near Tagaytay. Other events involve hosng

a local educaon program, such as Love 2 Learn, on the ISM cam-

pus. Along with the joy of giving, students benet by interacng

with children from dierent backgrounds and geng to know

the Philippines beyond Maka and Taguig. See the inset Satur-

day Service Calendar and discuss which trips interest them

most. To parcipate, students simply pick up a Permission Slip

from the MS Oce on the Monday before the trip. Once its

been signed and returned to the oce, a student can sign up on

the roster. Some trips ll up quickly so encourage them to sign

up early. And yes, parents are welcome to aend!

2. Classroom Without Walls

For two days in late September and a week in February, students

take part in our Classroom Without Walls (CWW) pro-

gram. Acvies range from teambuilding acvies to hands-on

service projects. Some trips are run from campus on a daily ba-

sis, while others involve an overnight trip. All of them oer rich

opportunies for experienal learning, bonding with classmates,

and helping others. In some cases, students run fundraisers and

supply drives to support CWW service partners running up to

their trips. For details about specic CWW plans, contact your

childs Grade Level Coordinator.

3. ECO Council

ECO stands for Environmental and Community Outreach. This

club is open to all MS students and meets regularly to plan and

promote Saturday Service projects, special events ,such as, No

Impact Week, and assist with community building acvies

around our campus. There are also smaller service clubs associ-

ated with service partners, such as CCV. Students can see Mr.

Willey or Mr. Cook to get involved.

4. M.Y.O. Service Trip

Students can make their own service trip. All they need is a

teacher chaperone and a plan. Some Advisories create service

projects together. Sports teams can get involved through events

such as the Homeless World Cup. Of course, there are also a lot

of opportunies for students to get involved in service acvies

through a parents employer, religious group, and out-of-school

clubs.

5. Start a Family Tradion

Many ISM families have forged their own es with service part-

ners. Some students even celebrate their birthdays by vising

their favorite service partner site. Its easy to arrange family

visits. If youd like assistance organizing a family visit, contact me

at the email address provided below.

6. Random Acts of Kindness

Service is more than one-o events. There are lots of ways stu-

dents can help others, and our planet, through their daily ac-

ons. Encourage students to pracce Random Acts of Kind-

ness such as wring a leer to a grandparent, conserving re-

sources at home, inving a new student to a sleepover, or reach-ing out to students who need a friend. Studies have shown that

such acvies oen benet the giver even more than the receiv-

er.

7. Walk the Walk

This is perhaps the greatest challenge of working with adoles-

cents, whether you are a parent or an educator. Its also one of

the most important. Share your own struggles with issues such

as poverty, the environment, and inequality. Model empathy

and compassion. Get involved in service projects that suit your

own interests and concerns. Research shows that a respected

adult role model is one of the most powerful instruconal tools.

Internaonal School Manila holds Service as one of its core val-

ues. Those of you who have been here for a while, know howintegral service learning is to our commitment to educang the

whole child. There are lots of ways for students (and parents) to

get involved. Encourage your child to pick acvies they are

interested in and try new things. If you have any quesons, dont

hesitate to email me at [email protected].

All the best,

Cory Willey

Student Advisory Coordinator

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SEMESTER 1

SATURDAY SERVICE DATES11/9 Habitat for Humanity11/16 CRIBS / Papaya Academy11/23 Chosen Childrens Village11/30 La Mesa Watershed12/7 Love 2 Learn

12/14 Tzu Chi Foundation


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UPDATE YOUR CONTACT DETAILS THROUGH

THE ISM PARENT PORTALDear Parents,

We are pleased to inform you that your childs PowerSchool account may be accessed through the ISM Parent Portal.

Aside from being a gateway to PowerSchool, the Parent Portal also provides informaon on school events, useful links,

as well as child-specic academic blogs and student porolios. Should you need to make any changes to your contact

informaon, visit the Parent Portal and follow the steps below:


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The RIFA soccer fesval nals concluded last Saturday October

19th at ISM/BSM. Congratulaons to all our players and coach-

es for your eorts during the season and at the nals on Satur-

day.

Fesval Finals Results:

Mig G Coach Mikes team 1st place Div1 Champions! CON-

GRATULATIONS

Mid G Coach Issas team 4th place Div 2

Mid E Coach Franciss team 3rd Div 2 (9-16 qualiers)

Mid E Coach Popoys team 3rd Div 2 (1-8 qualiers)

MS Girls Coach Klengs team 2nd Div 1 born 00

MS Girls Coach Rudys team 4th Div 2 born00

MS Girls Coach Issas team 3rd Div 1 born 02

The HS Soccer program also concluded last weekend with nals

matches for our teams. Well done to all teams and coaches,

results below

CONGRATULATIONS Varsity boys for winning the Rifa League

Cup this year with a 2-1 away win over FEU. What a great re-

sult!

CONGRATULATIONS to the JV girls soccer team for defeang La

Salle Anpolo 2-0 in the bale for 3rd nal to take 3rd place in

the Div 2 League this year.

Aspirants boys lost a heart breaker semi nal last Friday night

vs LaSalle on penales

Mid A lost their semi nal to Xavier and Mid B lost in the semi

nal to CSA .

The 2nd season tryouts will conclude today for MS teams and

the season pracce schedule which runs from Oct 23 to Feb 7 is

posted on noce boards around school, and is also now availa-

ble on the ATAC blog. 2nd season sports are Basketball, Tennis,

Varsity swim team, Rugby and Touch hp://atac.ism-

online.org/schedules/hs/

ISM will host the Pre-IASAS Basketball exchange on November

22-24. We need host families for 72 (36 boy/36 girl) players

from ISB/JIS/ISKL. Please assist us with this important prepara-

on for our basketball teams. Go to this link hp://atac.ism-

online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/basketball-exchange-housing-

leer/ print and complete the sign up and return to ATAC oce

by the deadline. Many thanks!

For families new and old please take some me to peruse the

ATAC blog as this will help orientate you with the wide variety

of co-curricular programs ISM oers.

A great way to stay in touch with the ISM ATAC program is to

subscribe via RSS feed to the ATAC blog and also to follow via

twier (see twier feed on the blog home page)

A great way to stay in touch with the ISM ATAC program is to

subscribe via RSS feed to the ATAC blog and also to follow via

twier (see twier feed on the blog home page).

Each Monday, I will post the weeks happenings and highlight

important events for students and parents informaon on the

ATAC blog and in the regular Friday parent bullens.

GAME SCHEDULE PDF (access to game schedule informaon):

Informaon about all mid-week/weekend xtures for ISM

teams can be found via the ATAC blog. Please note the game

schedule does change oen due to involvement with many

local schools so please check the page regularly to nd out the

latest informaon of where and when the Bearcats teams are

playing. Click on schedules tab or the Bearcat logo to be di-

rected to the power school secure site: hp://

powerschool.ismanila.org/public/

You will need your power school user name and password to

access the game schedule pdf.

The Bearcat Den is open for business. Please drop by to check

out the range of Bearcat products. We have a great team of

volunteers who run the den and are always looking for more

people to help out. If you are interested in joining a fantasc

group please contact any of our den members during den

opening hours or please contact Carolyn Ching for details at:

[email protected]. We are always looking for new

volunteers and encourage parents from ES/MS to join our

group.

BEARCAT DEN: hp://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/

Have a great year at the Home of the Bearcats!

Regards,

Mark Pekin

Director of Athlecs/Acvies

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Documents

Parent Bulletin Issue 11 SY1314.pdf