ISSUE # 18

SY 20152016

MIDDLE SCHOOL
WEEK OF:

Friday Bulletin

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

JANUARY 18 TO 22

Inside this issue:

Dear Parents,
The highlight of this past week was definitely the
PCA sponsored visiting author Alex London! Alex is
a dynamic and engaging individual and he has
shared his passion for writing with the whole
MS. The G5 and G6 students learned about how he
generated his ideas for his series The Wild Ones and
the G7 and G8 students gained deeper insights into
how he structured the plot for Proxy. In his presentation to the G6 students, Alex London shared a
letter that he wrote to his older self when he was
in G6. He used this to illustrate how some of his
dreams had come into fruition and how some of his
hopes for the future had not gone according to
plan! He shared authors that inspired him to write
as well as how he gathers ideas for his books from
his day-to-day experiences and observations.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Tuesday, January 19th = Parent Coffee - How
to Make the Most of Your Childs Report Card.
Wednesday, Jan 20th = Semester reports open
up for parent access (PowerSchool).
MS Play - A Midsummer Nights Dream - HS
Courtyard
Thursday, Jan 28th @ 6pm
Friday, Jan 29th @ 6pm
Saturday, Jan 30th @2:30pm and 6pm

NEED TO KNOW:

Parent Coffee: How to Make the Most of Your Childs Report Card:
On Tuesday, January 19th from 08:00 - 09:00, we will be hosting a last-minute MS Parent
Coffee. This will take place in the Little Theater. This week, several parents have stopped by the
office requesting additional information and guidance about how to interpret the upcoming report cards and would like guidance on how they can provide meaningful feedback to their child/
children. In response to this request, we have scheduled a session where we hope to answer
these important parent questions. While we appreciate it is short notice, we hope you can come
along if this topic is of interest to you. New parents to ISM this academic year, may find this Parent Coffee particularly helpful.
Report Cards:
Semester one report cards will be available for parents on January 20th, 2016 - you will be able to
access a pdf copy of the report card through the online parent portal and Power School, in advance of this we will send out a guide with screen shots that clearly explain how to access your
child's report cards. Please note that in the interest of being environmentally conscious, we will
not be sending out hard copies of the report card. Please contact the Middle School Office if you
have any questions.

MS Play

Guidance Office

After-School Activities

Athletics and Activities

Parent Community
Association

Operations & Security

ISM Upcoming Events

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MS Upcoming Events:
JANUARY - FEBRUARY:
MS PARENT COFFEE
Tuesday, January 19
ONLINE REPORT CARD ACCESS
Wednesday, January 20
MS PLAY
January 28 - 30
G4-5 PARENT TRANSITION MEETING
Wednesday, February 3
NATIONAL HOLIDAY
Monday, February 8
CLASSROOM WITHOUT WALLS
February 15 - 19
PARENT COFFEE - LITERACY
Tuesday, February 23

Classroom Without Walls (CWW):

The February CWW events are scheduled for the week of
February 15th - 19th. Student excitement about this event is
mounting and teachers are carefully finalizing logistical details. While we are sure your child has shared their excitement with you, we wanted to provide additional information
regarding these events.

Academy, Cottolengo, and Love2Learn. One site selection is

based on the ISM campus and the other site is off campus. Please note that the G7 students return to school each
day and do not sleep over during this CWW experience.
Grade 8:
The G8 students CWW experience focuses on the concept of
being a change agent. Students can choose from a range of
local sites (Makabata Foundation, Performance with Passion
and SPECs Home for Boys) or provincial sites (Batangas Reef
Project, Stairway Foundation, Subic Adventure, Pawikan Center Turtle Sanctuary, GK Enchanted Farm and Chosen Childrens Village). Site selection will determine whether the
students return to school at the end of each day or stay overnight.

The CWW experience is multifaceted with learning taking place in

four key areas:
Personal Growth - To provide physical, intellectual, emotional
and social challenges through a variety of activities.
Community Building - To provide a unique opportunity and
setting for students and teachers to learn about one another
and build a sense of community.
Curriculum Connections - To provide opportunities for students
to apply what they learn in class to real-life situations.
School Photographs:
Awareness of the Philippines - To provide an opportunity for
Tino Ley, the school photographer, has informed the MS
students to interact and develop a relationship with the enviOffice that he expects to deliver the MS photos on Monday,
ronment, traditions, and culture of the Philippines

January 18th. Providing the photos are delivered on time,

Parents can expect the CWW permission slips to come home the MS Office will distribute the photos on Wednesday, Janulate next week. These letters will provide a detailed overview ary 20th during Advisory. If you ordered a school photo, look
of the CWW experience your child will participate in. Please out for them on Wednesday!
note that CWW is organized differently at each grade level,
with students at some grades being given a choice in the sites
NICE TO KNOW:
they visit. A brief overview of the CWW sites are summarized
below:
Grade 5:
The G5 students kick off their CWW experience at ISM on
Monday and Tuesday where they will participate in team
building activities and receive an introduction to the concept
of service learning. Papaya Academy will visit ISM and the
students will support and facilitate a wide array of activities. From Wednesday to Friday, the students will be off
campus at Camayan Beach Resort (Subic Bay) where they will
explore wildlife in need, participate in scientific sampling activities and experience a dolphin encounter.
Grade 6:
Students in G6 will gain deeper insights into our host country
of the Philippines and they will also examine sustainable
communities. Students will conduct day trips to some of the
following sites - La Mesa Watershed, Las Pinas Conservation
project, Tzu Chi Recycling Center, International Rice Research
Institute and GK Enchanted Farm. Students will step outside
of the Fort Bonifacio Bubble in order to develop deeper
understandings of life in the Philippines.
Grade 7:
Leadership development and community outreach is the
overarching focus of the G7 CWW experience. Students will
have the opportunity to select two sites from our established
service partners - rED, GK Build, Kids International, Papaya

Transitioning Out of ISM:

If your family is exiting/withdrawing from ISM, please contact
the MS guidance secretary, Grace Gabay
(gabayg@ismanila.org) Grace can facilitate the organization
of transcripts, recommendations and any other documentation you may need for the move. We would like to respectfully request that departing parents do not email teachers directly. Grace has an intimate understanding of this process and is able to coordinate all aspects of the withdrawal
process. Grace can also answer any questions departing parents may have.
Middle School Play:
Have you bought your ticket yet? If not - do so soon as these
tickets are selling out fast! We have a wonderful view of the
rehearsals for the MS play from our offices and we can assure
you that it is going to be a wonderful event! Tickets cost 300
pesos for adults and 150 pesos for students.
Kind Regards,
Rachel Harrington, Middle School Principal
Amanda Pekin, Middle School Assistant Principal

The S2 practice schedule which runs until the

peruse the ATAC blog it has a wide variety of inend of January is posted on notice boards around formation and links to our sports and activities
school and on the ATAC blog schedules page.
program. If you have any questions regarding the
competitive program of sports at ISM after readSeason 3 (S3) tryouts will begin first week of Feb, ing the information on the blog please send an
announcements will be posted on notice boards email to pekinm@ismanila.org and I will endeavand on ATAC blog schedules page Fri Jan 15th.
or to assist you as best I can.
ATAC S3 sports for MS are Badminton,
Track&Field, Mixed Touch and Co-ed Softball. For The ATAC game schedule pdf which is updated
HS S3 sports are Golf, Track&Field, Softball and
regularly by Triz Gonzalez (ATAC Athletics CoorBadminton.
dinator) gives the most up to date information
on where/when and who our Bearcat teams will
Upcoming events:
be playing throughout the school year. Access to
Jan 15 HS Basketball- teams at Brent
the game schedule is now via the ISM parent
Jan 16 Puma Touch League Finals at Brent (all portal not via power school as in the past. A naviteams)
gation guide is available here. ATAC Game Sched Jan 16 ISM HS swim invitational
ule Users Guide. Access the parent portal via
Jan 20 IASAS Send off assembly/send off
this link, log in with your user name/password
lunch.
and then look for the ATAC Game Schedule tab
Jan 27-31 IASAS Rugby/Touch at JIS, Tennis at under the left side quick links. Don't forget to
ISB, Swimming at SAS, Basketball at ISKL
refresh the pdf page each time it opens so you
Feb 1-5 S3 tryouts week for MS/HS teams
access the most current schedule. Please note
Feb 11 S2 HS sports awards night
this schedule does change often and at short notice due to involvement with many local schools
For our Sailfish swim team program please check and organizations. Check it regularly for the most
the Sailfish blog for information. http://
up to date information. For security purpossailfish.ism-online.org/
es....access to the ATAC game schedule pdf must
be linked via the secure parent portal and details
Please note the practice times for ATAC proshould not be shared with non ISM community
grams for SY 15-16 are as follows: ATAC all year members.
round teams- 3:15-4:30. See schedule for our All
year round teams program here
Bearcat Den- drop by our fantastic spirit
store. Bearcat Den hours of operation- 7amAll HS seasonal teams practice from 3:054pm Mon-Fri.
4:50pm each day. MS seasonal teams practice 3:15-4:45pm. In order to clear the campus
Best Regards,
prior to 5pm all after school programs will conMark Pekin
clude by 4:50pm or earlier. The last bus
Director of Athletics and Activities
is4:55pm this is due to the ever increasing traffic
concerns in our area.
Parents and students please take some time to
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This years PCA INTERNATIONAL NIGHT will

be held on Friday, March 18th at 6pm. The
evening will begin with a 60-minute SHOWCASE of music and dance from our diverse
ISM community. Following the show, guests
will be invited to our INTERNATIONAL BUFFET to sample cuisine from all around the
world. Tickets prices are P500.00 per person
(inclusive of buffet).
PCA would like to invite representatives
from our communitys diverse cultural
groups to attend our first planning meeting
scheduled for Tuesday, January 26th at
8:00am in Lofthouse B.
All countries are invited to participate in our
PCA International Night - whether you are a
group or a single representative.To confirm
your participation or for further information,
please email PCA@ismanila.org
See you on January 26th for our first
meeting!

A few reminders from Operations and Security

Access and parking within the campus are important security and safety issues. For the wellbeing of all members of the ISM community, those
entering the school campus are requested to take
note of the information and procedures outlined
below.

Due to parking restrictions, and in the interests of

security, it will not be open in the afternoon for
pick-ups. During the time it is open, it will be under the supervision of members of the ISM Guard
Force.

Drivers should stop adjacent to the paved area and

students should alight from the right side of their
Vehicular Access
vehicle. The driver should then move off, clearing
During drop-off and pick-up times, vehicles may
the space for other vehicles dropping off students.
enter the campus through Gates 2 and 3. Those
Under no circumstances should a student be
entering through Gate 2 should proceed to the
dropped off from the middle lane. This is dangerdrop off area and, once the student has alighted or
ous as the student would need to walk in front of
boarded, they should exit via Gate 1. Those vehianother vehicle. Drivers are reminded that traffic
cles entering through Gate 3 must turn into the
regulations forbid parking on the roads around
covered parking area and use the designated dropISM. Therefore, vehicles should only be stopping
off areas. All vehicles must exit through Gate 1.
for the brief time it takes for a student to alight.
Please note that Gate 2 may only be used by those Drivers must not wait for anybody to return to the
drivers and passengers who have an ISM ID card
vehicle.
and who are in a vehicle displaying a valid ISM vehicle sticker.
ID Cards
ID cards should be worn at all times while on camAlternatively, vehicles entering through Gate 3 may
pus. If you have not been issued an ID card, or you
park in the covered car park. The spaces reserved
have lost it, you should obtain one by visiting the
for parent-driven cars should only be used by those
security office and completing the appropriate apvehicles which are driven by parents themselves.
plication form.
Vehicles in which parents are traveling, but which
are driven by a driver, should not use these spaces.
Vehicle Checks
Rather, they should park elsewhere in the covered
The practice of inspecting vehicles will continue.
car park or make use of the outside spaces next to
During off-peak hours, all vehicles will be checked
the power center.
before they are allowed to enter the campus.
Visitors to ISM must enter through Gate 3. There is
During peak hours (drop off and pick-up times), all
an area for short-stay visitor parking near Gate 1.
vehicles without valid stickers and randomly selected vehicles with stickers will be asked to undergo
The Pedestrian Gate
an examination.
The pedestrian gate is located in the perimeter
fence mid-way between Gate 1 and Gate 2. There Whether an examination is conducted or not, it is
is a paved area between the road and the perime- important that the security staff at the gates are
ter fence, allowing easy access to the gate. The
able to identify the occupants of vehicles entering
pedestrian gate is solely for the entry of members the campus; therefore IDs must be clearly disof the ISM Community at the beginning of the
played. Vehicles with tinted windows must roll
school day. It will only be open between 7:00 am down windows to allow a clear view of the interior
and 7:45 am (8:00 am to 8:45 am on Wednesdays). of the vehicle.
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Drivers, Helpers and Bodyguards

Drivers, helpers and bodyguards should not wait
on campus for students throughout the school day.
After dropping off students they should exit the
school grounds and not return earlier than 30
minutes before dismissal time. Those who repeatedly fail to comply with the regulation will have
their access privilege suspended.

Security Staff Directions

Our security team is endeavoring to make the
school as safe and secure an environment as possible for all members of our community.
We ask that everybody cooperate with us in this
important task. In particular, all those entering our
campus are requested to comply with any directions given to them by members of our guard
force.

Only those vehicles carrying parents or other people with business within the school will be allowed
to return to the campus before the scheduled pickup time.
If you are confused or unclear as to the purpose of
such instructions, please seek clarification from the
There are designated areas for unaccompanied
security office. Please note that it is the parents
drivers, yayas, helpers and security escorts to wait responsibility to advise their staff accordingly.
for parents and students. Unless specifically authorized, they may not enter any other area. In the Thank you for your cooperation. We are looking
interest of security, and to prevent congestion at
forward to another great year at International
the pedestrian entrances to the covered parking
School Manila.
area, parents are requested to emphasize to their
employees the importance of cooperating with the
security staff and remaining in the appropriate are- Best wishes,
as.
MIKE FLYNN
Director
Termination of Employment
Operations & Security
In the event of the termination of service of a family employee, parents are asked to secure the former employees ISM ID card and return it to the
Security office. If this is not possible, it is important that the Security Office is still informed of
the change of circumstances.
Firearms
All members of the ISM community are reminded
that it is strictly forbidden for firearms to be
brought onto the campus. This includes concealed
weapons carried by bodyguards for close protection. Any person arriving at the school with a firearm should inform the gate guard, and arrangements will be made for the weapon to be safely
and securely stored during the visitors stay.

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