ISSUE # 09

SY 20152016

MIDDLE SCHOOL
WEEK OF:

Friday Bulletin

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

OCTOBER 5 TO 9

Inside this issue:

Dear Parents,
Thanks to all the MS parents who attended the Parent Coffee with Lance King on Tuesday morning. A focal point of Lances presentation was the concept of failing well and
Lance highlighted how this approach to facing challenges can foster higher levels of resilience in children. The key points relating to the concept of failing well or failing badly are summarized below:
Failing Well:
Acknowledging failure and taking responsibility for your own actions.
Working at what you did wrong.
Making the necessary changes.
Going back and trying again being mindful of what you needed to change.
Failing Badly:
Placing the blame on someone else - Teachers, schools, parents or
schedules fault.
Adding unnecessary drama to the situation and blowing the issue out of
proportion.
Using avoidance techniques and activities.
The task of growing resilient children is a prime concern for most parents. Parents need
to encourage their child/children to take on new challenges and to perceive failure as a
source of feedback. Have you ever had a family conversation where you shared some
of your personal experiences with failure as well as the strategies you used to move
forward in a proactive and reflective manner? If you have not done this, why not give it
a go!
Lance King also spoke to the MS faculty on Wednesday morning where he further explored the concept of resilience and failing well. Later in the day, he gave an engaging
presentation to the MS students where he explained how our brain builds neural pathways.
Overall, Lances visit was a very engaging experience for students, parents and teachers
and we hope that collectively we can continue to foster greater levels of resilience in
our students.

Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs):

Parent Teacher Conferences (PTCs) in the Middle School are scheduled for Wednesday
October 14, Monday October 19, and Tuesday October 20 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00
p.m. We will use an online reservation system for making appointments, and the system will open to parents at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 5. A step-by-step guide on
how to make appointments for Parent Teacher Conferences can be found on the next
page.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Service Learning

After-School Activities

Athletics & Activities

Admissions & Advancement

ISM Upcoming Events

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MS Upcoming Events:
SEPTEMBERNOVEMBER:
NO CLASSES (Learning 2.0 Conference)
Friday, October 2
MAP TESTING
October 5 to 13
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
Wednesday, October 14
Monday & Tuesday, October 19 & 20
FILIPINIANA
Friday, October 23
SCHOOL BREAK
October 26 to November 2
MS YEARBOOK PHOTOSHOOT
November 9 to 12
ACADEMIC BOWL
Tuesday, November 10

In some instances a pre-booked conference time may be visible when you log onto PowerParent to schedule
your conferences for October 14, 19 and October 20. The pre-booking was made upon the request of your child's teacher. If a pre-booking has been made, you may change the given time slot to suit your availability but please do not delete
it as this is a priority request. If you wish to know more about this request, please email your childs teacher.
In order to reserve an appointment, you will need your PowerSchool username and password. If you have misplaced or
forgotten your PowerSchool login details, please call the MS Office at 840-8550 or 840-8575. You may also email Kristine
Fong (fongkr@ismanila.org) or MS office (ms@ismanila.org).
This year, you will notice that we have acted upon parent and teacher feedback from last years PTCs and have added in
an extra afternoon. There is now a sufficient number of time slots to allow parents to meet with the teachers they wish
to talk with. During the three PTC afternoons, all teachers are available and so this makes it easier for parents to meet
with numerous teachers on the same day or over the course of the three days. We respectfully request that parents endeavor to amend their schedules so they can attend the PTCs. This is the only time we can coordinate all of the teachers
schedules and our ability to reschedule conferences will be limited.
PCA Cookbook Fundraiser:
Do you have a favorite recipe that reminds you of home? If so, why not share it with the PCA so it can be considered for
the PCA Cookbook Fundraiser? The PCA are hoping to gather 400 recipes and to date they have received less than 50
submissions. Any additional recipe submissions would be greatly appreciated!
IASAS Soccer:
ISM will be hosting the IASAS soccer tournament on Thursday and Friday of next week. Please know that you are more
than welcome to come to school and help cheer on the ISM Bearcats! The full schedule is available on the ATAC blog and
is posted on the TV screens around school.
We would like to extend our most sincere thanks to
all the MS parents who volunteered to host athletes
during this event - its wonderful to know that we
have such a supportive community!
MS Courtyard Event:
Check out the poster on this page and get ready to
come and show your Bearcat spirit! This event is
open to all MS students and will take place in the MS
Courtyard. Students are welcome to come and join
in the pep rally fun and games before heading off to
support the IASAS soccer game.
No School:
Please remember that there is no school for
students on:
Friday, October 2nd (Learning 2.0 Educators Conference is being hosted at
ISM)
Kind regards,
Rachel Harrington, Middle School Principal
Amanda Pekin, Assistant Middle School Principal
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ATAC office is still seeking some more host families for IASAS Soccer. See below if you can assist.
Hosting letters with guest information and event
details will be distributed via email at the end of
this week. Check out the link at IASAS housing information if you have any questions please contact the
ATAC office. Forms can be printed and turned in to
ATAC office or emailed to pekinm@ismanila.org.
With season one coming to a close soon Season 2 try-

outs will be starting after IASAS. See this link for tryouts and practice schedules. Season 2 sports are Basketball/Rugby/Touch/Tennis and HS varsity swimming. MS/HS tryouts and practice schedules
IASAS is next week Oct 8-10, 2015 - ISM is hosting the
IASAS Soccer Championships and whilst we are hosting
soccer our Volleyball and Cross Country teams will be
striving for success in Bangkok at their season ending
championships in two weeks time. Live stream action/
results from Manila and Bangkok
will be available
via www.iasas.asia. Hosting an
IASAS event has a whole school
focus to bring our community together across all divisions (ES/MS/
HS) to support our Bearcats soccer
teams.
Find here the schedule of matches
for your forward planning. We
hope to have big crowds out to all
games but especially when our ISM
girls and boys teams are playing.
RIFA ES/MS soccer festival finals for
teams that have qualified are on
Oct 17th. Finals venues are now
posted on notice boards and via
the ES/MS Festival ATAC blog pages. Please check carefully and If
you are in doubt about whether
the event will go ahead due to
heavy rain or extreme weather
please follow the procedure at this
link. http://atac.ism-online.org/
manila-weather-forecast/atacevent-cancelation-extremeweather/
ES RIFA festivals information and MS Rifa festivals information

This coming October break ISM will be hosting a Fall Basketball Camp run by Filipino Basketball Academy FBA. See FBA
flyer for details. Flyer is also posted on notice boards around
school. Sign up quick as places will go fast.
Well done to our MS/HS XC teams who raced at Faith last
Saturday. Full results are available here.. http://atac.ismonline.org/atac/1st-season/cross-country-race-results/
Upcoming events:
Oct 2 Mid A1/Asp/VBoys vs Claret 3:30/5pm/3:30
Oct 3 Mid A1/Asp vs Hedcen 9am/10:30am
Oct 3 Rifa HS girls Div 1/Div 2 soccer finals.
Oct 3 ISSA Volleyball semis and finals
Oct 8-10 IASAS VBall/XC at Bangkok/IASAS Soccer at
ISM
Oct 10 Wall Climbing team at PowerUP Tandang Sora

All HS seasonal teams practice from 3:05- 4:50pm each day.

MS seasonal teams practice 3:10-4:40pm. In order to clear
the campus prior to 5pm all after school programs will conclude by 4:50pm or earlier. The last bus is4:55pm this is due
to the ever increasing traffic concerns in our area.
Parents and students please take some time to peruse the
ATAC blog it has a wide variety of information and links to
our sports and activities program. If you have any questions
regarding the competitive program of sports at ISM after
reading the information on the blog please send an email
to pekinm@ismanila.org and I will endeavor to assist you as
best I can.

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

new school year sale on at the moment and a range of new
products and items to purchase including items from our
service partners. Bearcat Den hours of operation-7amFor our Sailfish swim team program please check the Sailfish 4pm Mon-Fri.
GO BEARCATS!
blog for information. http://sailfish.ism-online.org/
Please note the practice times for ATAC programs for SY 15- Best Regards,
16 are as follows: ATAC all year round teams- 3:15-4:30. See Mark Pekin
Director of Athletics and Activities
schedule for our All year round teams program here

Leaving ISM?
Please be reminded that parents are obliged to officially inform the School in writing through
a WITHDRAWAL NOTIFICATION FORM if their child will not be returning for the 2nd Semester
(January 2016 term). Families are encouraged to submit the Withdrawal Notification Form,
stating the student's final date of attendance, immediately. Failure to submit the form may lead
to a delay in the forwarding of your child's transcript to his/her new school.
The Withdrawal Notification Form can be obtained from the Admissions Office, by clicking the
link above, or directly from the ISM website under Admission > Re-Enrollment
& Withdrawal > Withdrawals
Please feel free to contact the Admissions Office at 840.8601 for questions or clarifications.
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SAVE THE DATE!

Join us in support of the
Vicky SyCip Philippine Scholarship
Program on November 13th,
2015 in the Little Theater. Rock
through the ages with live music
provided by our very own Faculty
Band, The MamSirs. Early Bird tickets will go on sale soon!
All proceeds of the event support
the Philippine Scholarship for a
truly deserving Filipino student to
attend ISM. For more information
on the Philippine Scholarship
please visit this LINK.

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