Parent Bulletin Issue 25 SY1415

8/9/2019 Parent Bulletin Issue 25 SY1415

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MAP Tesng 2

2-13 MAP Tesng

Admissions & Advancement 3

MIDDLE SCHOOLMIDDLE SCHOOLMIDDLE SCHOOL

ISSUE # 25

SY 2014 –2015

WEEK OF:

MARCH 2 TO 6

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

Friday Bulletin

Athlecs & Acvies 3

Inside this issue:

Events & Acvies:

MARCH

19Student-Led

Conferences

1-10 School Holiday

APRIL

21 Parent Coee

30 Acvity Day

Dear Middle School Parents,

Tonight we have our Middle School pares for grades 5/6 and grades 7/8 this is a

great opportunity for students to build connecons, make new friendships and

interact in a safe environment. It is fun to see students in these contexts and hav-

ing the freedom to hang out and spend me with their friends and classmates.

On the aernoon of March 19 we have a great opportunity for you to share and

experience learning with your child. The ISM MS Student Led Conference is an

opportunity for students to share their learning with their parents and teach-

ers. The goals of a student led conference include the following: to encourage

students to accept responsibility for their learning and progress; help students

recognize and take ownership for the things that interfered with their learning

success; teach students the process of self -evaluaon; to facilitate the develop-

ment of students’ oral communicaon skills and self -condence; enhance commu-

nicaon between student and parents. More informaon will be sent home in an

email with specic informaon on mes and what to expect as you interact with

your child in their dierent classes.

Next week we begin the process of course registraon for the next school

year. You will receive a leer with informaon about the process and courses

oered. We are making some changes for next year in grades 7 and 8. In the past

we have had two required encore classes which students in grade 7 and 8 take for

one semester - IDEAS and Changing Our World. We will no longer oer these two

courses and instead students will have an addional semester elecve course. We

have added to our elecve oerings and this will enable students to have more

choice and experiment with dierent subject areas. Student assemblies will take

place on Wednesday next week and this will be followed up with informaon sent

home for parents and students to discuss and make decisions together.

If both parents are going to be out of the country we ask that you complete a

guardian form in the Middle School oce so we have the most accurate infor-

maon for contacng you and the person who is acng as guardian in your ab-

sence. Informaon can also be found in the student handbook about this require-

ment.

We hope everyone has a great March…

Yours in Educaon,

Simon Gillespie, Middle School Principal

Amanda Pekin, Middle School Assistant Principal

ISM Upcoming Events 5

The Salinlahi Yearbook photo retakes

will be on Tuesday, March 3 inthe FAT changing room.

After School Activities Office:

Season Dates for Season 3 and 4: Third Season: February 16 - March 31, 2015

Fourth Season: April 13 - May 29, 2015

(NO MS AFAC on March 19, 2015)



Dear Parents,

From March 2nd to March 13th 2015, ISM will conduct tests called Measures of Academic ProgressTM (MAP) for Semester 2.

What are MAP tests?

MAP tests are an external assessment from the United States, used to assist in determining students’ instructional level.Currently, there are 370 international schools in 123 countries, including 56% member schools of EARCOS (East AsiaRegional Council of Schools), who conduct MAP testing.

Who does MAP testing at ISM?

Students in Grades 3 to 10 take MAP tests. Students receiving Learning Support and ESL support will be given the oppor-tunity, where appropriate, to participate in the MAP testing. Parents will be contacted individually regarding anymodifications taking place.

What do MAP tests assess and how often do they occur?

These tests will measure academic growth across the school year in the areas of Reading, Language and Mathematics, andare administered twice a year at ISM.

How do MAP tests work?

Your child will take the tests on a computer. MAP tests are unique in that they are adaptive. The test becomes more diffi-cult the more questions the student answers correctly. When a student incorrectly answers a question, the followingtest question is adjusted accordingly and is at an easier level. In this way, your child will take a test specifically cre-ated for his or her learning level.

How are MAP tests reported?

Your child’s MAP results are reported in RIT (Rasch Unit) scores. This is a different type of score than a typical test thatprovides a percentage correct. Parents will receive a report that shows their RIT score, the normative RIT scores forthe grade level at ISM, and the normative scores for students in the United States within the same grade level. These

reports will be available in November.

What does ISM do with the information that MAP provides?

Teachers use the data from MAP testing to inform learning and teaching. It assists in determining which skills require en-hancing, which skills students have already developed, and which skills need to be introduced. MAP tests also provideour school with a reference point for the ongoing development of the school-wide curriculum. This data allows us tolook for trends within certain areas of our curriculum.

How do I prepare my child for MAP testing?Factors such as sleep and how a child is feeling can affect the results of a standardized test. Your class teacher will let

you know which three days in the coming weeks your child will sit the tests. Please talk to your child to help avoidhim/her feeling anxious about MAP testing.

Lastly …It is important to remember that MAP results provide one piece of assessment data in the process of acquiring information

and making judgments about student progress toward intended learning. At ISM, we believe sound assessment in-volves creating a multitude of ways to measure and communicate student learning over time – a photo album versus asingle snapshot.

For more information on MAP testing, please consult the NWEA (North West Evaluation Association) website at www.nwea.org. In addition, parents can access the MAP Parent Toolkit at http://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkit.

Sincerely,

Simon Gillespie Amanda Pekin

Middle School Principal Middle School Assistant Principal

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http://www.nwea.org/

http://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkit

http://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkit

http://www.nwea.org/



Leaving ISM?

Please be reminded that parents are obliged to ocially inform the School in wring through a WITHDRAWALNOTIFICATION FORM if their children will not be returning in August for School Year 2015-16. Families are en-

couraged to submit the Withdrawal Nocaon Form, stang the student's nal date of aendance, immedi-

ately. Forms must be submied on or before May 8. Failure to submit the form by that date may lead to a de-

ducon of US$1,000 from the Facilies Upgrade Deposit (FUD), in compensaon for having held a space for

your child, prevenng the School from oering that space to another candidate.

The Withdrawal Nocaon Form can be obtained from the Admissions Oce or directly from the ISM web-

site under Admission > Re-Enrollment & Withdrawal > Withdrawals

Please feel free to contact the Admissions Oce at 840.8601 for quesons or claricaons.

The pracce schedule for season 3 is posted on noce

boards and on the ATAC blog. Season 3 will run from Feb

9th to March 31st. Well done to the VGirls soball team

who defeated Brent last Friday 17-4.

Upcoming dates:

Feb 27 V/JV soball vs Brent from 4:15pm

Feb 28 MS Track training

8-11am/HS Track training

2-5pm

Feb 28 Badminton MS&HS teams at Brent

Feb 28 Golf team at Southlinks

Feb 28 VGirls and JV Boys ASSL League at Ateneo

Mar 1 ASSL Varisty Division playos at ISM

Mar 6 Twilight track meet at ISM

Saturday Community Tennis for semester 2 has now com-

menced again. See link for informaon on dates and how

to book. Use of the courts is only available to ISM com-

munity members. Outside guests are not allowed hp://

atac.ism-online.org/atac/saturday-community-tennis/

Please note the pracce mes for the following ATAC

programs: ATAC all year round teams- 3:15-4:30. Sailsh/

Gymnascs and all HS seasonal teams now conclude

pracce at 4:50pm each day. MS seasonal teams 3:10-

4:45pm. The last bus is now 4:55pm and all aer school

programs will conclude by 4:50pm in order to try and

clear the campus prior to 5pm due to the ever increasing

trac concerns in our area.

Parents and students please take some me to peruse

the ATAC blog it has a wide variety of informaon and

links to our sports and acvies program. If you have any

quesons regarding the compeve program of sports at

ISM aer reading the informaon on the blog please send

an email to [email protected] and I will endeavor to

assist you as best I can.

Bearcat Den- drop by our fantasc spirit store. There is a

range of new products and items to purchase including

items from our service partners. Bearcat Den hours of

operaon- 7am-4pm Mon-Fri.

The ATAC game schedule pdf which is updated regularly

by Triz Gonzalez (ATAC Athlecs Coordinator) gives the

most up to date informaon on where/when and who

our Bearcat teams will be playing throughout the school

year. Access to the game schedule is via the ISM parent

portal. Use this link to access the parent portal, log in

with your user name/password and look for the ATACGame Schedule tab. Remember to refresh the page when

the pdf schedule appears so you view the most current

schedule.

GO BEARCATS!

Mark Pekin

Director of Athlecs and Acvies

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http://atac.ism-online.org/atac/saturday-community-tennis/














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http://bit.ly/ISMFirstAid

http://goo.gl/tBqVVB



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Documents

Parent Bulletin Issue 25 SY1415