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ISSUE # 17

MIDDLE SCHOOL
WEEK OF:
DECEMBER 16 to 20

SY 2013 2014

Friday Bulletin
Inside this issue:
Madame Josts French Class Fine Arts Office HS Guidance Office Operations & Security Office Athletics and Activities Admissions & Advancement ISM Upcoming Events

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

Dear Parents: On Tuesday, December 17 the PE Department has organized a Sports Day. Each student has been assigned to a house and will have opportunities to participate in events throughout the day. All parents are invited to attend and cheer on their child. During Sports Day the PTA will be hosting a barbecue and drinks and food items will be on sale during the day. Please note that your child will need cash to make a purchase; it will not be possible for them to use their ID card to buy food. Wednesday, December 18 is the last day of the semester and students will be dismissed at 12:00 noon. Please make the necessary arrangements to ensure that your child is picked up on time. Next school year we are implementing a Bring Your Own Device initiative for grades 7 and 8 and we would like to see all students bring a personal laptop to school. We have discussed this initiative on a few occasions in Parent Coffee meetings since the start of the year and information is also available through the Middle School blog. Please review the information on the ISM Connect pages which can be accessed through the link https://sites.google.com/a/ismanila.org/ byod/home. If you have additional questions or need clarification, please feel free to contact the Middle School IT Program Leader, Matthew Chadwick at chadwickm@ismanila.org. As the semester draws to a close and grades are finalized, please be informed that PowerSchool will be closed starting 6 January 2014 and will reopen on 20 January 2014. During this time teachers will be finalizing narrative reports on each student. Classes resume on Monday, January 6, 2014. Students should report to Advisory for the first 15 minutes of the day. During this festive time of year we'd like to wish all the families of the ISM community a warm and happy holiday season. We hope you all have an opportunity to relax, reflect on and celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of this past year. The students have earned a well-deserved break. When we return in January, we look forward to seeing their smiling faces and listening to their stories. Enjoy the holidays and best wishes for a prosperous 2014! Yours in Education, Simon Gillespie Middle School Principal

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Events & Activities:


DECEMBER

17 19 - 31
JANUARY

Sports Day School Holiday

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School Holiday

Clarissa Sayson Middle School Assistant Principal

This week, French B students (Gr 7 & 8) in Madame Josts classes have been enjoying preparing and sharing some classic French dishes. Following traditional recipes in French, we cooked up a storm, including a Salade Nioise, Ratatouille and Quiche Lorraine. For dessert, we enjoyed Mousse au Chocolat, Crpes and Clafoutis aux Fruits. Miam miam! Presentation was modeled on TV cooking shows. Our show was called Oui Chef! and students were able to choose whether to enter individually or as a pair. Our dishes were presented to the world-famous guest food critics, Mme Fiona Matthew and Mme Myra Lepp, who raved about all the entrants. It was a tight contest, and the champions will be announced in class, later this week. Id like to thank parents and helpers who supported the students in providing and preparing their food. It was all delicious!

The hype for discerning film critics.The film is based on the Mariah Mundi series of books by G.P. Taylor, which critics have compared favorably to the writings of J.K. Rowling.The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box is the first film of what is to be a series with similar appeal to that of the Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and The Golden Compass films. Be the first in the Philippines! Captive Cinema Distributors is allowing this special private screening five days before the film actually opens in Philippine cinemas as a way to contribute to the ISM disaster relief fund. (They are also foregoing any profitThanks Captive!) Need to feel even more exclusive? January 10th is the US release date so, because of time difference, we will even see it before the world preview! So come be some of the first people in the world to enjoy this film and also contribute to a good cause while youre at it PLOT: The Adventurer centers around 17 year old Mariah Mundi whose family has been kidnapped by an unknown enemy. In order to unravel the mystery of their whereabouts he must embark on a journey to a remote island with the enigmatic Will Charity. Click here to see the trailer. DATE & TIME: Friday, January 10th, 2014. We will open the doors to the ISM Fine Arts Theater at 5.15pm so people have the chance to take pictures on the red carpet and then select a seat before the film starts at 6.00pm FILM RATING: The US MPAA rating board classified the film as PG (Parental Guidance suggested for younger children) because there is some action and violence, some peril and brief incidences of smoking. The film will be rated in the Philippines later this month and expects to get an equivalent rating. Essentially, this means it is left to the discretion of parents to decide whether they wish to approve of their childs solo attendance or buy tickets and accompany them. (As a general guide to help with this decision, the film is fairly similar in terms of levels of violence and action to the later Harry Potter films) TICKETS: Tickets cost 250PHP and are available from the ISM cashiers office or via the new electronic top up machines on campus (make sure to print and keep the receipt as proof of purchase). The Fine Arts Council will also be promoting ticket sales at lunchtime outside the canteen in the last week of school before semester break and also during the week of the event. CANT ATTEND? WHY NOT LET SOMEONE ELSE GO IN YOUR PLACE! If January 10th is not a great date for you, you can still buy a ticket and donate it to children from our service learning partner groups. For every sponsored ticket sold, we can let more students from these groups attend! In this way, the event not only addresses our immediate concerns about victims of Typhoon Haiyan but also continues to support our long term partnerships with our service partners. If you have any further questions, email the Fine Arts Office atHillmanM@ismanila.org or phone 8408400 ex 630/631

Host Families still required for AMIS MS Orchestra Festival


ISM is pleased to host the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) Orchestra Festival between January 22nd and 26th, 2014. AMIS is a by-audition orchestra of 80 students and the 2014 participants come from a mix of 12 different international schools in East and South East Asia. ISM is pleased to have secured 9 slots in the orchestra but this means we still need to find hosts for our 71 visiting students. Although January may still seem far away, we really would like to secure homes for these students before Christmas. More details of hosting responsibilities and forms can be downloaded from the Fine Arts blog at http://arts.ism-online.org/2013/12/05/host-families-needed-for-ms-orchestra-festival-pleasehelp/ or by contacting the Fine Arts Office on 8404000 ex 630/631/ email HillmanM @ismanila.org .

Hello Bearcat Parents, I hope all is well. As you may or may not know, every JANUARY we have a career-focused week at International School Manila called Bearcat Career Exploration Week. It is a week dedicated to helping our high school students learn more about themselves and the vast array of careers that exist and continue to be created in our world. (Click here if you would like more information on the week: http://bearcat-careers.ism-online.org/ career-explore/) This year the Bearcat Career Exploration week is January 20-24, 2014. There are a number of special activities going on this week, but some of the more popular ones are the Career Talks that are given by various professionals from the ISM community. I was hoping some of you Bearcat parents might be interested in giving a short (20 minutes to 30 minutes) talk about your career area to some of our high school students during that week. If you are interested in giving a career-focused talk during that week, please click the link below and fill out the Google form. I will then be in touch shortly to confirm your participation. https://docs.google.com/a/ismanila.org/forms/d/13nLVKq50zS8gXqGTGyq_eODA33-Ul4-jFYoB41XKesU/ viewform In the meantime, if you have questions about the week, please feel free to email me anytime at mcqueend@ismanila.org. Best regards, Doug McQueen HS Grade 9/10 Guidance Counselor
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Parent IDs: We are now issuing new parent IDs for the school year 2013/14. To reduce the inconvenience to parents of this replacement program, the old parent ID cards will be valid for school access until the end of the first semester on December 18th, 2013. The standard new parent cards will be issued free of charge. Parents may, however, elect to apply for a smartcard ID which will be usable with the new cashless payment system being introduced into the school for SY 2013 14. There will be a fee of P250.00 for a smartcard which covers in part the registration fee the school is required to pay for each card issued. The security office is now processing applications for the new parent IDs. As we require new photographs for the cards, parents are asked to visit the security office for the taking of their picture. Thank you. Michael Flynn Director of Operations and Security

Have a great break Bearcats and thanks for all your hard work in 2013. We look forward to a fantastic 2014. Stay safe and stay fit over the break. See you ready for action in January. Training starts week beginning Monday, January 6 with local league matches resuming on January 11th. PLEASE HELP! ISM proudly hosts IASAS swimming from February 5 to 9, 2014 and host families are required to house the visiting IASAS swimmers. The housing letter is available via the ATAC blog and via the Sailfish blog. Please assist us to make this a wonderful event for our community by housing a pair of swimmers for IASAS. Currently we only have 30 swimmers housed, we need to house 120 swimmers total from the IASAS Schools. http://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/ iasas-swim-meet-housing-letter/ Please print, complete and return the slip to the ATAC office. ISM hosted a great speed climbing invitational last Saturday Dec 7th. Well done to our ISM Wall Climbing team and the coaches for a great tournament with over 50 competitors entered from around Manila. Congratulations also to our ISM Gymnastics team who competed at the Philippine Cup meet at Rizal Stadium last Sunday. From all reports it was a great meet and our gymnasts did very well. Full results from the organizers have not yet been received, we will post these to the Gymnastic page on the ATAC blog as soon as we get them.

appreciated. New families please take some time to peruse the ATAC blog as this will help orientate you with the wide variety of co-curricular programs ISM offers. 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 twitter (see twitter feed on the blog home page). Each Monday, I will post the weeks happenings and highlight important events for students and parents information on the ATAC blog and in the regular Friday parent bulletins. GAME SCHEDULE PDF: (access to game schedule information): Information about all mid-week/ weekend fixtures for ISM teams can be found via the ATAC blog. Please note the game schedule does change often due to involvement with many local schools so please check the page regularly to find out the latest information of where and when the Bearcats teams are playing. Click on schedules tab or the Bearcat logo to be directed to the power school secure site (http://powerschool.ismanila.org/public/) You will need your power school user name and password to access the game schedule pdf.

The Bearcat Den (http://atac.ism-online.org/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 fantastic group please contact any Well done also to our MS tennis teams who won all of our den members during den opening hours or their matches last Saturday in the local league tennis please contact Carolyn Ching for decompetition. This year we have 6 ISM MS teams (4 tails carolynqching@yahoo.com. We are always lookboys and 3 girls) teams with some very talented play- ing for new volunteers and encourage parents from ers. ES/MS to join our group. The Bearcat Den will be open on Wednesday, December 18 from 9:30 -12:00 noon for you to buy some last minute Bearcat goodies for friends/family. Thanks so much to all our wonderful Den volunteers for their continued hard work to keep the den open and operating so well. Your time and effort are much Have a great year at the Home of the Bearcats! Regards, Mark Pekin Director of Athletics/Activities
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Philippine Cup Meet Results Dec 8 2013:


CONGRATULATIONS TO ISM GYMNASTICS TEAM for participating the Philippine Cup 2013- Rizal Memorial Stadium
ELEMENTARY: Jessica Kim Kate Juteau Hannah Feren Brianne Roberts Holly Robertson Mikayla Warguez Reika Isomata Lauren Drysdale- Rumrill Natsuko Ishiyama Isabelle Huang Linnea Karlsson Takezo Kimura Alexander Kendrick Tyler Kendrick Akhil Thomas Middle School Girls: Saiya Zulberti Johanna Olafsson Ishani Sharma Avery Kluck Lea Chiarada Clara Matton Katya Zobel Rocio Tambunting Silvana De Dios Awe McCallum HIGH SCHOOL: Mariel Olejniczak Marie Capuano 4 Bronze, 1 Ribbon 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze 3 Gold, 1 Bronze 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 2 Ribbons 2 Bronze, 1 Ribbon 1 Bronze, 3 Ribbons 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze 3 Silver, 2 Bronze 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 1 Ribbons 2 Gold 1 Silver, AA Trophy 1 Gold, 3 Silver 2 Gold, 2 Silver 2 Gold, 2 Bronze

1 Gold, 1 ribbon 3 Ribbons 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 1 Ribbon 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze 1 Gold, 1 Ribbon 1 Ribbon 2 Gold, 2 Silver 2 Ribbons 3 Gold, 1 Silver (Injured)

1 Bronze, 2 Ribbons 2 Silver, 2 Bronze

MAG MIDDLE SCHOOL: Hiroyuki Tabe 3 Gold & AA Trophy Max Campbell 2 Silver, 2 Bronze MAG 1st Runner up Team Champion

UPDATE YOUR CONTACT DETAILS THROUGH THE ISM PARENT PORTAL


Dear 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 information on school events, useful links, as well as child-specific academic blogs and student portfolios. Should you need to make any changes to your contact information, visit the Parent Portal and follow the steps below:

Leaving ISM?
For those students that will be withdrawing from International School Manila this school year (SY 13 -14), the following procedure applies: Parents are obliged to officially inform the Admissions Office in writing through a Withdrawal Notification Form at least fifteen (15) days prior to your childs last day of school.

For those leaving at the end of the school year, you MUST submit a Withdrawal Notification Form on or before May 09, 2014.
Failure to do so will lead to a deduction of US$1,000 from the Facilities Upgrade Deposit (FUD) in compensation for having held a space for the child and thus preventing the School from offering that space to another child prior to the summer holiday break. The Withdrawal Notification Form can be obtained from the Admissions Office or downloaded from the ISM website here. We hope that your child has had an enriching stay at ISM and wish you and your family the very best in the future.
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The Giving Tree - December 2013


The Giving Tree was established to collect donated items from the ISM Community and distribute them to our Service Partners. People have been extremely generous before, so we will run the project again from the 2nd December until the 17th December. Your donations will support partners such as the SPECS Foundation, Stairway Foundation, PCF and our ISM Livelihood Partners. Where? The Giving Tree will be outside the MS/ HS canteen to receive your donations. What can be donated? childrens books clothing toys puzzles & games toiletries school stationary shoes sports equipment food (rice, pasta, milk, canned goods, sugar, honey) When? From Monday, 2nd December until Monday, 17th December

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