International School Manila

ES PARENT BULLETIN
Volume 18 24 May 2013

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

MAY
Wednesday Morning Student Late Start @ 8.30am Powerschool Closes/On-line Reenrolment Suspended AFAC Recitals, 330PM 430PM (AMR)

From the ES Administration

Faculty:20132014 Once again, it is me for us to start thinking about our friends and colleagues who will be moving on from ISM at the end of this school year to new roles, new schools or organiza ons, perhaps new countries, and certainly new adventures. For those leaving ISM, the transi oning period began some me ago but for the rest of us who remain, saying farewell seems a bit sudden and not a li le strange! From the ES, we will be waving goodbye to Jacky Cowled, Snow Lopez and Laura Howard from Kindergarten; Mary Sparks and Kerrie Edwards from Grade 1; Faye Nepomuceno, our Grade 2 ESL Teacher Assistant; Ilana McGrath from Grade 3; our Learning Support Program Leader, Angela Reilly; and our Guidance Counselor of the past 10 years, Derek Selander. We would like to par cularly acknowledge Teresa Cooney, who, a er three s nts at ISM star ng back in 1990, and with 18 years of service to our school community, will be re ring this year (from the ES at least!) We wish all our depar ng friends the very best in the next phase of their professional lives. In addi on to those leaving us, these teachers will move to new posi ons in 201314: NatalyaAylingwill rejoin the Kindergarten team next year in her move from Preschool; our wonderfully talented TeacherIntern, IlianaSucre will be a member of faculty next year in Middle School teaching Spanish; and EugeneComer will move to be our ES Guidance Counselor for Preschool Grade 2. We will welcome these new faculty members next year: RandeeDewey as our new Preschool teacher, moving from American Interna onal School in Egypt; KellyBrooks, who

29

27

29 30

31

Last Day of After School Activities

JUNE
5 2nd Semester Report Card Distribution Powerschool Opens/Online Reenrolment resumes Grade 4 Moving-on Ceremony, 8AM 10AM (FAT) Early Student Release @ 12Pm

has been at the American School Founda on in Mexico City for the past ve years, will teach Grade 1; and SophieWad dington, herself once an interna onal school Third Culture Kid and currently teaching at Cornelius Elementary School in Oregon in the US, will join the Grade 4 team. Joining our Learning Support team is LaurenErickson, who is presently

(Continued on page #)

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

From the ES Administration

(Continued from page 1)

From the Childrens Media Center

CMC End-of-Year Schedule For Students and Parents
Dear Parents, Please see below the EndofYear Schedule for the CMC. Please note that from Monday May 27, students and oth er visitors coming to the library a er school will not have access to the books or some sec ons of the library. How ever, there will be 4 computers available for use as well as the magazines and an assortment of games. You will receive an email on May 27 if you or your child has outstanding items. Please dont hesitate in contac ng us if you have any ques ons about the items. Best wishes to you all, safe travels over the holiday period and good luck in your next venture to all of you who are leaving the ISM community.

working at John Adams Elementary School in Virginia, USA; GrahamLaing, teaching at Interna onal School Riga in Latvia will join Kelly as new members of Grade 1, as will Susan Kidder who is at present teaching in Boulder, Colorado at Gold Hill School. From next year, we will have seven sec ons in Grade 3 and joining this team is Amanda Phillips from Canadian Bilingual School in Ku wait, and Chris ne Yamanaka who is currently at Alta Vista Elementary School in Arizona. Kris ana Reinsmoen, from Collegiate American School in Dubai will join the Kindergarten team next year. Last, but certainly not least, Kailie Nagrath, who has just completed her studies at Northeastern University in Boston, will be our Intern in the ES next year. All these new faces have no doubt begun the process of their respec ve transi on, just as our depar ng teachers have, and we wish them well as they prepare for life in the Elementary School, the ISM Community, and the Phil ippines.

May 23 Absolute last borrowing date for everyone

LastDay,June6. Next Thursday, June 6 is the last day of the school year for students. Dismissal will be at 12pm, with Kindergar ten and Grade 1 students able to be picked up a li le earlier at 11:45am. On this day, we will say goodbye to 89 students from the Elementary School and we wish all these families leaving us, the warmest of wishes for their next adventure. For those of us returning for SY1314, we look forward to seeing you again on August 12. For eve ryone, leaving or returning, thank you for your support.
May 24 All items due back from all patrons students, parents Shelves are closed and auditing begins May 27 CMC closes its doors for general use Overdue notices sent out to parents, students May 31 Final overdue notices sent to parents

Pat Hallinan Adam Campbell

Elementary Principal CMC Administrator

Michael Rourke
Elementary Assistant Principal

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

Message from the Superintendent

Dear ES Parents, I have a ached below the sta s cs from the recent parent surveys with compara ve data from the previous three years. You will see that the gures have remained broadly the same since 2010. Of course the data would be more useful s ll if a greater propor on of parents had completed the survey: the 148 families who completed the survey out of a possible 550 families represents a return of approximately 27%. One of the things that always strikes me about these surveys is the discrepancy in the responses. Take, for example, Ques on 2: My childs teachers are commi ed and enthusias c in their approach to teaching. 99 responses are in the 6 range or excellent; 33 responses are 5 or very good; 10 responses are 4 or good. There is one 3 or mediocre; one 2 or poor and three ones or very poor. Then there is one 0 or neutral/no response. In other words, there are 142 favorable responses and ve nega ve ones. Invariably, those who have given a nega ve reply all write comments, and some of these can be pre y excoria ng. Compara vely few of those wri ng favorable responses bother to add a comment, all of which means that if one were to read the comments on ly, one would get a very distorted picture of how parents view the school. That doesnt of course invalidate the views of the few who have a nega ve impression, but it does place those views in perspec ve. What I would say is that, if you are unhappy with any element of your childs educa on here at ISM, I urge you to come in to talk to us about this. We want our school to be a place where every child succeeds, and in order for that to happen we need your input!

Best Wishes,

David Toze
ISM Superintendent

PARENT SURVEY 2013 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DEPARTMENT TOTAL 148

148 6 out of 5 550 4 3 2 1 S Y 12 - 13 0 AVE AVE 1 5.30 + + 141 6 AVE 5.33 AVE 5.42 AVE 5.38 SY11-12 SY10-11 SY09-10

1. Teachers at the school motivate my child to want to learn. 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 76 50 15 2 3 1

2. My child's teachers are committed and enthusiastic in their approach to teaching 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 AVE + 142 5 99 33 10 1 1 3 1 5.49 3. Teachers demonstrate a clear expectation that students will achieve. 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 AVE 61 48 27 4 2 2 4 5.08 + 136 8

AVE 5.54 AVE 5.17

AVE 5.54 AVE 5.17

AVE 5.40 AVE 5.25

4. My child receives high quality teaching. 6 5 4 3 2 70 46 21 4 4

1 3

0 0

AVE 5.11

+ 137

11

AVE 5.22

AVE 5.22

AVE 5.32

(Continued on page #)

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

(Continued from page 3)

5. Teachers use a variety of assessment methods. 6 5 4 3 2 1 62 59 13 2 1 2

0 9

AVE 5.24

+ 134

AVE 5.16

AVE 5.16

AVE 5.30

6. Teachers at this school provide a stimulating and challenging environment for my child. 6 66 5 49 4 24 3 4 2 2 1 3 0 AVE 5.11 + 139 9 AVE 5.28 AVE 5.28 AVE 5.26

7. Teachers are approachable (by parents). 6 5 4 3 2 102 33 7 3 1 6 42 5 63 4 24 3 5 2 3

1 0 1 6

0 2 0 5

AVE 5.59 AVE 4.83

+ 142 + 129

4 14

AVE 5.57 AVE 4.97

AVE 5.57 AVE 4.97

AVE 5.51 AVE 5.11

8. A comprehensive curriculum is provided to meet the needs of all students.

9. Faculty and administration maintain regular, sensitive contact with parents or guardians. 6 69 6 83 5 49 5 50 4 11 4 19 3 2 3 3 2 0 2 3 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 4 AVE 5.24 AVE 5.44 + 138 + 143 3 6 AVE 5.06 AVE 5.09 AVE 5.06 AVE 5.09 AVE 5.16 AVE 5.33

10. Faculty, support staff and other adults on campus relate to students in a cooperative and supportive manner.

11. The Principals effectively guide the work of my childs school. 6 53 6 69 5 51 5 51 4 18 4 20 3 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 0 6 0 18 AVE 5.11 AVE 5.28 + 124 + 138 4 6 AVE 5.07 AVE 5.35 AVE 5.07 AVE 5.35 AVE 5.11 AVE 5.32

12. The school has a clearly stated mission, philosophy and set of goals.

13. The school keeps me informed about matters concerning me and my child. 6 75 5 51 4 11 3 4 2 4 1 1 0 2 AVE 5.27 AVE 24 5.23 + 137 9 AVE 5.28 AVE 4 5.05 AVE 5.28 AVE 5.05 AVE 5.33 AVE 5.21

14. Senior Administrators are accessible. 6 59 5 44 4 17 3 1 2 1 1 2 0 + 120 -

15. I believe that IS Manila is making good progress on the way to becoming a better school. 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 AVE + AVE 63 49 17 2 4 1 12 5.19 129 7 5.19 16. The schools physical environment is safe, secure and welcoming. 6 86 5 40 4 15 3 3 2 2 1 2 0 0 AVE 5.34 + 141 7 AVE 5.52

AVE 5.19

AVE 5.31

AVE 5.52

AVE 5.51

(Continued on page 5)

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

(Continued from page 4)

17. Parents have the opportunity to become actively involved in school improvement initiatives through participating on Board and PTA committees and by attending parent coffees. 6 80 6 36 5 46 5 44 4 32 4 15 3 8 3 3 2 5 2 1 1 7 1 2 0 14 0 3 AVE 5.33 AVE 4.59 + 139 + 114 20 6 AVE 5.41 AVE 4.55 AVE 5.41 AVE 4.55 AVE 5.36 AVE 4.95

18. I understand how members of the Board of Trustees are selected/elected.

19. I find the student handbook useful. 6 35 5 54 4 31 3 10 2 4 1 2 0 12 AVE 4.74 + 120 16 AVE 4.67 AVE 4.67 AVE 4.76

20. Quality support services are provided and utilized by students. 20.a. Guidance Counseling 6 42 5 43 4 28 3 5 2 5 1 2 0 23 AVE 4.85 + 113 12 AVE 4.91 AVE 4.91 AVE 5.16

20.b. Cafeteria/Concessionaires 6 45 5 54 4 21 3 8 2 5 1 5 0 10 AVE 4.80 + 120 18 AVE 4.80 AVE 4.80 AVE 5.06

20.c. Athletics and Activities 6 73 5 39 4 19 3 5 2 2 1 2 0 8 AVE 5.21 + 131 9 AVE 5.12 AVE 5.12 AVE 5.16

From the Treasury Office

Dear ISM Parents:
IMPORTANT(PleaseRead): Please be informed that for next school years incoming PreSchool 4 to Grade 4 old students, sec oncards will be released by the Accoun ng Oce on June6,2013 only if current school year (20122013) fees are fully se led. Parents and guardians are advised to se le the remaining fees at this me to avoid long line of students who clear their accounts towards the end of School Year. Please be informed that for the purpose of clearing the accounts of students for SY1213, peso checks will no longer be accepted a er the second Friday of May (May10) while US$ checks will no longer be accepted a er the second Friday of April (April12). This is to allow enough me for the check to get cleared by the bank in me for the student clearance in June. Please also note that US dollar coins are not accepted by the cashier, however, the same can be converted to its peso equivalent to se le the re maining fees. For any inquiry please call 8408522/8408506 and look for RHODA VILLA (Accountant) or MARISSA DULAY(Treasury Supervisor). You can also email us at villar@ismanila.org or dulaym@ismanila.org. For payment/remi ance inquiry please call 8408512 and look for ELMER ESGUERRA (Cashier). You can also email him at esguer rae@ismanila.org

Regards,

Business Office Administration

5

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

From the Admissions & Advancement Office

WithdrawalProcedureforStudentsLeavingISM
For those students who will be withdrawing from Interna onal School Manila this year, the following procedure applies: Parents are obliged to inform the school ocially through a WITHDRAWAL NOTIFICATION FORM, on or before May 10, 2013, if their children will not be returningtoISM.

Oce. Only a er the Cashier has received and signed the completed clearance form will the childs transcript or school records be released from the Elementary, Middle or High School Oce. Please note that one copy of the transcript is provided free of charge, addi onal copies cost P100 each, payable at the Cashiers Oce before release. Please coordinate directlywiththepar cularSchoolOceifyourequire morethanonecopyofschoolrecords. STEP 3: In order to receive your Facili es Upgrade Deposit or FUD (formerly the Special Project Deposit) refund, the following must be submi ed to the CashiersOce: 1) Signed Student Clearance Slip 2) Signed Facili es Upgrade Deposit Cer cate Please note that the FUD refund will not be released before your childs last day of school and may take up to thirty (30) days. Only the person whose name appears on the FUD Cer cate may claim the refund at the Cashiers Oce. For any ques ons related to FUD cer cate, please call 8408522 and look for Ms. Rhodora Villa or MarissaS.Dulayat8408506. Please allow the withdrawal process to go smoothly by star ng the process early. Thank you for your help and understanding. If you will be withdrawing before the end of the school year and wish to receive your childs YEARBOOK please submit the appropriate form to the School Oce. The forms are available through the web site: Admission > ReEnrollment & Withdrawal>Withdrawal 1. Elementary School Yearbook: ALAALA 2. Middle School Yearbook: SALINLAHI 3. High School Yearbook: KAWAYAN

Failure to do so will lead to a deduc on of US$1,000 from the Facili es Upgrade Deposit (FUD), in compensa on for having held a space for the child and thus preven ng the School from oering that space to another child prior to the summer holiday break. The Withdrawal No ca on Form can be obtained from the Admissions Oce or directly from the ISM website www.ismanila.org under Admissions > Re Enrollment & Withdrawal > Withdrawal STEP 1: Return the WithdrawalNo ca onForm to the Admissions Oce or scanned and emailed as an a achment to admissions@ismanila.org .

Upon receipt of the Withdrawal No ca on Form by the Admissions Oce, a copy will be forwarded to the appropriate School Oce and the Finance Oce for their ac on. The School Oce, upon receipt of the Withdrawal No ca on Form, will ini ate the student clearance procedure which requires a Middle or High School student to have the Student Clearance Slip signed by the indicated teachers and oces for clearance. For Elementary students, the Elementary Oce will handle the withdrawal clearance. Note that school transcripts and records will be available from the par cular school oce approximately een working days a er the childs last day of a endance at ISM. Please coordinate directly with the par cular School Oce if you requireotherarrangements. STEP 2: If required, and when completed, the Student Clearance Slip must be taken to the Cashiers
6

Many thanks,

Stephanie H. Hagedorn
Director of Admissions & Advancement HagedornS@ismanila.org

IMPORTANT: Online Re-enrollment will be unavailable from May 27June 5 as PowerSchool will be closed at this time. However, parents may continue to settle accounts through Online Billing and submit required forms to ISM Offices during this period.

Access to online re-enrollment will resume on June 6, 4pm.

All returning students must complete the re-enrollment process in order to start school on 12th August 2013. This year re-enrollment may be completed via PowerSchool. For your guide to the online system, please click on the links below: Students Re-enrolling SY 13-14 Re-enrollment Incoming Grade 1 SY 13-14 Re-enrollment Incoming Grade 5 SY 13-14 Re-enrollment Incoming Grade 7 SY 13-14 Re-enrollment Incoming Grade 9 SY 13-14 Please note that to complete re-enrollment you must settle your accounts for SY 12-13 and pay the first quota of tuition fees for SY 13-14. Beginning 5th June, 2013 you may view your account details through Online Billing. SY 13-14 tuition is due on 12th July 2013. For questions/concerns, please contact the School Offices or the Admissions Office.

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

From Operations and Security Office

Drivers,HelpersandBodyguards Drivers, helpers and bodyguards should not be wai ng on campus for students throughout the school day. A er dropping o students they should exit the school grounds and not return more than 30 minutes before dismissal me. Those who repeatedly fail to comply with the regula on will 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 unaccompanied drivers, yayas, helpers and security escorts to wait for parents and students. Unless specically authorized, they may not enter any other area. In the interest of security, and to prevent conges on at the pedestrian entrances to the covered parking area, parents are requested to emphasize to their employees the importance of coopera ng with the security sta and remaining in the appropriate areas. Termina onofEmployment In the event of the termina on of service of a family employee, parents are asked to secure the former employees ISM ID card and return it to the Security oce. If this is not possible, it is important tat the Security Oce is s ll informed of the change of circumstances. Finally, I would like to thank all members of the ISM community for their coopera on in helping us maintain ISM as a safe and secure environment for our children. Firearms All members of the ISM community are reminded that it is strictly forbidden for rearms to be brought onto the campus. This includes concealed weapons carried by bodyguards for close protec on. Any person arriving at the school with a rearm should inform the gate guard and arrangements will be made for the weapon to be safely and securely stored during the visitors stay. SecurityStaDirec ons Our security team is endeavoring to make the school as safe and secure an environment as possible for all members of our community. We as that everybody cooperate with us in this important task. In par cular, all those entering our campus are requested to comply with any direc on given to them by members of our guard force. In the event that anyone is unclear as to the purpose of such instruc ons they can seek clarica ons from the security oce. Please note that it is the parents responsibility to advise their sta accordingly. Thank you for your coopera on. We are looking forward to another successful semester at Interna onal School Manila.

Regards,

Michael Flynn
Director, Opera ons & Security

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

From the Human Resources Office

Dear Parents and Students, The end of the school year is fast approaching, and we wanted you to know that, star ng in August, we shall be intro ducing a Campus Card payment scheme. This system has been in the research stage for some me now, and we have been consul ng carefully with our colleague schools in IASAS, all of whom make use of a card for payments on their campuses. The system works through an individual iden ty chip that is implanted into student ID cards. One of the main purposes for making this move to is to provide a debit system in the canteen. Some of the benets are:

Limit the amount of money that studentsare obliged to bring to school. Speed up canteen lines during breaks since cash exchange will not be needed. Give online access to parents so they may see what their children are ea ng at lunch.

The inten on is to run parallel cash / debit system ini ally, but in me we intend to move towards a complete debit system during school hours. Parents and students will have several op ons with regards to topping up their card. They can do this online by credit card or paypal or through an accredited bank (all for a minimal fee), at kiosks (similar to ATMs) located in two dier ent areas on campus, or at the cashiers oce. In addi on to purchasing food at the canteen, the Smart Card may be used for paying other ac vi es that take place on campus: school plays, Family Fun day, concerts, Tshirts, etc. We also hope that the Uniform Shop will be able to accept payments in this way. Parents and helpers may also apply for an ID card complete with chip should they wish to use a debit system on cam pus rather than cash payments. In conjunc on with the debit system, the Smart Cards issued in Middle School will allow students to access the new lockers we are purchasing. We shall be sending out more instruc ons on how this system will work later in the school year and again in August. Like any new system, we suspect that there will be some teething problems, but we are condent that we shall over come these and that the card system will be benecial for the en re school.

Sincerely,

Michelle Mapua
Director of Human Resource

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

From the ATAC Office

4thseasonprac cesarenowtakingplaceforsomeofnext yearsHSteamstostarttraining.Thisisopenforcurrentgr.8s whowillbefreshmen9thgradenextyeartojointhese prac ces.Ifyouhaveques onstalkwiththecoaches. PLEASENOTE:*lastdayforallATACteamtrainingisFriday May30th.Therewillbenoteamtrainingthelastweekof schoolJune35! Congratula onstoourMSTouchteamswhotraveledto Jakartalastweekendfortheirseasonendingtournament.the ISMTouchBearcatswereonrewiththegirlsteamwinning theirdivisionandtheboththeboysgr.7andgr.8teams playingointhenalagainsteachother.Thegr.7boysteam cameupwithagreatwintotakeoutthegoldmedalforthis annualeventhostedbyJakartaInterna onalSchool.Fantas c jobBearcatsandahugethankstoCoachVanDeMerwe,Coach ConteandCoachHighlandwhohavedonesuchagreatjob duringtheseasonandlastweekend. alsobeintheparentbulle ns.Signupsareonarstcome rstservedbasis! 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 twi er (see twi er feed on the blog home page). Each Monday I will post the weeks happenings and highlight important events for students and parents informa on on the ATAC blog and in the regular Friday parent bulle ns. GAME SCHEDULE PDF: (access to game schedule informa on) Informa on about all midweek/weekend xtures for ISM teams can be found via the ATAC blog. Pleasenotethegamescheduledoeschangeo endueto involvementwithmanylocalschoolssopleasecheckthe pageregularlytondoutthelatestinforma onofwhere andwhentheBearcatsteamsareplaying.Click on schedules tab or the Bearcat logo to be directed to the power school secure site h p://powerschool.ismanila.org/ public/ You will need your power school user name and password to access the game schedule pdf. BEARCAT DEN: h p://atac.ismonline.org/bearcatden/ Our 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 fantas c group please contact any of our den members during den opening hours. If youre interested in joining the Den volunteers please contact Carolyn Ching for details carolynqching@yahoo.com. We are always looking for new volunteers and encourage parents from ES/MS to join our group. PleasenoteendofyearlunchforDenvolunteersis May30thfrom11:30am(venuetobeannounced)Final sellingdayfortheDenwillbeJune4th,Denwillbeclosed forinventoryandsummerpackupJune5.Thedenwillre openforbusinessinthenewschoolyearonMonday August12th2013

May29thAllyearroundteamsendofyearsawardingLi le Theatre3:15pm4pm May29thISMGymnas csteamendofyearpartyatES Cafeteriaa erschool. May29thHomelessWorldCupSoccerTournamentatISM: fundraisertosendPhilippinesteamtotheannualWorldCup Tournament.SeeMsVogtfordetailsandteamregistra on. BearcatCouncilapplica onsforschoolyear201314arenow closed. Please remember the ISM swimming facility is now closed for renova on works. The planned reopening of the pool is set for September 1st. We are building a new 2 level grandstand, new locker rooms, new storage area, new coaches locker rooms, addi onal restrooms for the public and resurfacing the pool surrounds. ISMSummerSportsCampsinforma onisnowavailableonthe ATACsummercampsblogpage.Theinforma onalyerwill 10

Regards,

Mark Pekin
Athletic Director

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

TO REGISTER
If you are interested in joining one or more of the camps, please drop by ES Office/ Cashiers office and fill up the permission slip, or print out the next page. Fees are to be paid directly at the ISM Cashiers Office. Deadline of payments are on May 25. Please take note that payments are non-refundable.

11

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

12

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

24 May 2013

From the Uniform Shop

International School Manila ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES (ES-AFAC)

Important Dates to Remember

May 29, 2013 (Wednesday, 3:30, AMR) Wind Instruments & Choir May 30, 2013 (Thursday, 3:30, AMR) String Beginner, Intermediate and Advance May 31, 2013 (Friday) Last day of second semester AFAC

13