International School Manila

ES PARENT BULLETIN
Volume 08 26 November 2010

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER From the ES Administration

NOV Dear Elementary School Parents,
29 National Holiday for Bonifacio Day - No Classes
It is hard to believe that we are approaching the end of
30 - Dec After School Activities Registration for 2nd Se-
15 mester our first semester. It has been a great 5 months with
so much learning going on. When we walk around our
DEC Elementary School recently, you can observe grade
1, 8, 15 Student Late Start @ 8.30am four students learning about systems and how all the
2 ESL Parent Coffee @ 7.30am, ES Faculty Lounge
parts are interconnected. In grade three, students are
discovering why location is an important concept in the
Spotlight on Specials way we make choices of where to live and access re-
6 - 10 An email will be sent next week with all of the
details. sources. Students in grade two have gone back in time
to learn more about the past and how this impacts the
PTA General Meeting & Charity Bazaar@
7 future. Grade one are focusing on growth and have
7.30am, Little Theatre
been engaging in nature walks the past week to ob-
7-8 ES AFAC Recitals @ 3.30pm, AMR Hall serve growth throughout our environment. In ECLC,
10 Last Day of After School Activities the properties of objects has been a focus — ask an
14 1st Semester Report Card Distribution ECLC child what happens when you drop a water-
melon from a high place. Our preschool students have
Early Student Release @ 12pm
15 been exploring their world and making discoveries
End of First Semester
every day through their play, with some classes enjoy-
16 - Jan 7 Semester Break ing swimming lessons.
UPDATING PARENT CONTACT
INFORMATION We will have a focus the week of December 6 – 10
with our spotlight on specials. This will be an opportu-
In order to best serve the ISM Parent Commu- nity for you to come into your child’s P.E., art and mu-
nity, it is essential that information be quickly disseminated sic classes and interact in their lessons. A separate let-
when necessary. For this reason, the accuracy of your contact
details in our database is of the utmost importance. Please ter will be emailed home with specific details next
note that Parent Contact Information must be updated online week.
by the parent. However, submitted information will be
screened for correct format and the parent may be called for We hope everyone has a great long weekend.
clarification. To make any changes or verification in contact
information, please access one of your children’s data file via
the ISM website (www.ismanila.org) and then under Login,
click on Powerschool Public Access and enter your User- Yours in Education,
name and Password.

On the page that opens, click on the Demographic Update Simon Gillespie Michael Rourke
icon for changing or updating demographic informa-
ES Principal ES Assistant Principal
tion. Note that if there are siblings also enrolled in ISM,
changes will automatically be made in the data files of all other
enrolled siblings in the same family at the same time.
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 26 November 2010

From AFAC
LAST DAY of AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES (AFAC) for FIRST SEMESTER

D E C E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 0 ( F R I D AY )
All ES Afterschool Activities will end on the week of December 6‐10. If your child wishes to either CONTINUE with the same
activity or sign up for a NEW activity for the second semester he/she MUST register again.

REGISTRATION of AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES (AFAC) for SECOND SEMESTER

NOVEMBER 30‐DECEMBER 15
AFAC Registration Form for Second Semester will be sent out to the students (through the homeroom teachers) on November
26. Registration period is on November 30 until December 15. To get the complete description of all the activities please
visit htt://es‐afac.ism‐online.org/. You may also download the registration form from this site.

AFAC OFFICE
Tel no: 840‐8485

From the ESL Office

ESL Parent Coffee Morning
Thursday, December 2nd,
7.30am
in the ES Faculty Lounge

Come along to a parent coffee morn-

ing with a focus on assessment and
reporting. We’ll be talking about the
new report card as well as assessment
in ESL across the elementary school.
Please let Pippa know if you are com-
ing so we can have your name tags
ready. =)
Email: beetsonp@ismanila.org

2
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 26 November 2010

From the CMC

CMC – Books in Languages Other Than English
The CMC’s collection of books in languages other than English consists of books that have
been generously donated by various groups within the ISM community. It is important for the
children to be able to read a variety of books in their mother-tongue language, to help main-
tain their mother-tongue and interest in their own culture. The books we have are very popu-
lar and are well-used by the children. We encourage parents to continue donating quality
books to stock these shelves so that the range of reading material is consistent with the types of
books available to children back in their home-countries. We particularly need books from
Thailand and would like to invite the Thai community to consider donating quality books to
supplement our collection. As well, we are always happy to accept donations from any lan-
guage group represented in the school.
You are very welcome to come in at any time to peruse the books we have in languages other
than English, and decide if there are more books you would like to add to the collection, or ask us questions. For
those of you who may be travelling home for the holiday break, it could be a good opportunity to purchase some
books to add to our shelves.
We are open from 7am – 4pm, Monday – Friday.

Pat Hallinan
CMC Librarian

From the PTA

3
Elementary School Parent Bulletin
From the Middle School
One-Page School Calendar
for School Year 2011-
2012
is now available on page
10 and in the ISM Website.
Go to www.ismanila.org
and click on News & Calen-
dar to download the file.
4
26 November 2010
From the Admission Office
Dear Parents,
If you will be withdrawing your child(ren) before the start
of the second semester or at some other time before the
close of this school year, please read the following informa-
tion carefully.
Withdrawing from International School Manila
First of all, we are sorry that you will be withdrawing, or
not re-enrolling, your child in International School Manila.
We hope, however, that their stay, whether for one semester
or for many years, was enriching and rewarding academi-
cally, socially and emotionally.
In order to make the withdrawal process go as smoothly as
possible, we would like to remind you of the following:
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 26 November 2010

STEP 1: Please come by the Admission Office to fill out, sign and return a Withdrawal Notification Form. The form is
also available on the ISM website to download and print and it can also be faxed back to the Admission Office at 840-8489.

STEP 2: If the student will be withdrawing BEFORE the last day of this school year, parents or students need to pick up the
following forms from the Admission Office (or download and print the appropriate form):
• The Withdrawal Clearance Slip should be taken to the indicated teachers and offices for signatures.
1. High School Student Withdrawal Clearance Slip (Grades 9-12)
2. Middle School Student Withdrawal Clearance Slip (Grades 6-8)

• For elementary students, the elementary office will handle the withdrawal clearance form for them.
• To receive the child’s YEARBOOK, if withdrawing before the end of the school year, complete and return the correct
form to the child’s school office for follow-up.
1. Elementary School Yearbook: ALAALA
2. Middle School Yearbook: SALINLAHI
3. High School Yearbook: KAWAYAN

• Note that school transcripts and records will be available from the particular school office approximately 5-working
days after the child’s last day of attendance at ISM. Please coordinate directly with the particular school office if
you require other arrangements.

STEP 3: When completed, the Withdrawal Clearance Slip must be taken to the Accounting Office Cashier. Only after
the Accounting Office Cashier has received and signed the completed Withdrawal Clearance Slip will the child’s transcript or school
records be released from the Elementary, Middle or High School Office. Please note that one copy of the transcript is provided free
of charge, additional copies cost P100 each, payable at the Cashier’s Office before release. Please coordinate directly with the
particular school office if you require more than one copy of school records.

STEP 4: The refund of the Facilities Upgrade Deposit (FUD) will be available approximately 15-working days after the
signed Withdrawal Notification Form, by the parent, is given into the Admission Office. However, in any event, it cannot be re-
leased before the child’s last day of attendance at ISM and the completed Withdrawal Clearance Slip is signed by the Cashier. The
refund check can be picked up from the Accounting Office Cashier only upon return of the original signed FUD certificate. Note
that the refund of the deposit shall only be made to the person or authorized company representative whose name appears as the cer-
tificate holder on the certificate. Please call the Cashier if you have any question about this.

Please allow the withdrawal process to go smoothly by starting the process early. Thank you for your help and understanding.

If you need help searching for a school at your next location, please try one of the following websites:
• http://www.ecis.org/
• http://www.nais.org/index.cfm
• http://www.internationalschools.net/
• http://www.eteach.com/hosted/schoolList.asp?list=international
• or use a search engine and query ‘independent school search’ or ‘international school search’ or ‘private school search’
for example

Again, we hope that your child has had a successful and enriching stay at International School Manila and we wish you and your
family the very best in the future. If you have any suggestions or comments about Admission, School Life, and/or Withdrawal,
please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Gary W. Jerome Margie Endelman

Director of Admission Deputy Director of Admission
admission@ismanila.org admission@ismanila.org

5
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 26 November 2010

From the ATAC Office

ISTA DRAMA HOST FAMILIES/TENNIS HOST ATAC HIGHLIGHTS/UPDATES - NOV/DEC: (for
FAMILIES; ALL match/schedule details check game schedule page
as above)
Dear Parents, on behalf of the MS/Fine Arts/ATAC De-
partments I would like to express my gratitude to all the Varsity Basketball Tournament at ISM Nov 26/27
host families that assisted last weekend by hous-
Varsity.JV rugby/Touch v Faith at ISM Nov 26
ing visiting ISTA students and HS Tennis players from
JIS/SAS. It was a very busy weekend for the Fine Arts/ MS Tennis Nov 27 at ISM
ATAC Departments and we could not have hosted
such successful events without the parents support in Rugby and Touch Dec 4 at ISM
hosting the visiting students.
Wall climbing Invitational Dec 11
PRFU Juniors MS/JV Rugby at ISM 8am-Noon
IASAS BASKETBALL HOUSING: Last Day of School for 2010 DEC 15th Noon dismissal
IASAS Basketball will be taking place at ISM Jan 27-
29, 2011 and housing placements are now being ac-
cepted. As of this week we have 30 students housed ISM Basketball Invitational
but we require 100 housing slots in total.
November 26, 2010
All 1st season athletes who were housed this is your MS Gym ‐ Girls
time to fulfill your responsibility and offer housing for
Basketball. All varsity and jv basketball teams should Time Home Away
also have returned housing forms by now as well. 4:00PM ISM v UP‐B
Please support the ATAC Department by getting these 5:30PM UA&P v Poveda
forms in ASAP. It would be great to have the housing
completed before we go on Christmas break! Go Bear-
HS Gym ‐ Boys
cats show your pride and support of the program and 4:00PM ISM v Don Bosco
get behind our teams by hosting a pair of visiting play- 5:30PM DLSZ v Claret
ers from our IASAS sister schools. Housing forms are
available from ATAC office or on the ATAC Blog at
http://atac.ism-online.org/iasas-basketball-jan-26-31-
November 27, 2010
2011/
MS Gym ‐ Girls
Time Home Away
ATAC ANNOUNCEMENTS: 8:00AM UA&P v UP‐B
9:30AM Poveda v ISM
GAME SCHEDULE INFORMATION:
11:30AM ISM v UA&P
Information about all mid week/weekend fixtures for 1:00PM UP‐B v Poveda
ISM teams can be found by going to the GAME
SCHEDULE tab on the ATAC page of the ISM website. 3:30PM FINALS Game Top 2
You can also access this information via the ES/MS/HS
divisional web pages. Please note the game schedule HS Gym ‐ Boys
does change often due to involvement with many local
Time Home Away
schools so please check the page regularly to find out
the latest information of where and when the Bearcats 8:00AM ISM v Claret
teams are playing. Access to the game schedule page 9:30AM Don Bosco v DLSZ
is also available via the ATAC blog. Click on the Bear- 11:30AM DLSZ v ISM
cat logo to be directed to the game schedule
page. http://atac.ism-online.org 1:00PM Claret v Don Bosco
3:30PM FINALS Game Top 2

6
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 26 November 2010

SAILFISH in SINGAPORE this weekend! –

Good luck to our sailfish swimmers and families who will travel to Singapore this weekend for the annual thanksgiving
weekend Santa Claus meet. Coach Andy and Coach Zaldy will be attending the meet with the team and we wish par-
ticipants best of luck and hope they can swim personal best times in Singapore. Have fun Sailfish swimmers!
A big thanks to our sailfish coaches for their efforts last Saturday at the ISM Fall Relay meet. It was great day with
superb weather and some school records were broken. I would also like to thank the parents who worked at the bake
sale stall for their efforts and to Coach Noli and his team of officials who ran the meet. Well done to everyone con-
cerned.

BEARCAT DEN:
Regular Opening Hours for the Bearcat Den:
Mon, Wed and Fridays from 11:30am – 1:00pm and 2:30pm – 4:00pm.
Tues and Thurs afternoons from 2:30-4pm. Thanks to all our great volunteers. The Bearcat Den will go into Christmas
hibernation from Tuesday Dec 14 and will reopen on Wednesday Jan 12th 2011.

Mark Pekin
Athletics & Activities Director

From the Security & Operations Office

7
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 26 November 2010

From the School Clinic

Dengue prevention
We aim to keep the mosquito population in school to an absolute minimum with regular fogging of the
premises and spot checks of areas where water may gather. There are inevitably, however, some mosqui-
toes in the surrounding areas so it is important that everyone takes their own personal measures to protect
themselves from mosquito bites. Please see the following advice based on Department of Health recom-
mendations.

DENGUE
Dengue is a concern for everyone living in the Philippines and we should all be vigilant. We hope that the
following information will help you to avoid this illness.

What is dengue fever? What is dengue hemorrhagic fever?

Dengue fever is a flu-like illness spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a severe, sometimes fatal, complication of dengue fever.

Protect yourself against Dengue with the following system:

Search and destroy the breeding places of dengue-causing mosquitoes which may be
found in old tires, coconut husks, gutters, discarded bottles, flower vases and other vessels
that can hold stagnant water. These containers are good breeding places of female
AEDES AEGYPTI mosquitoes, day biting female mosquitoes which are responsible for trans-
mitting the dengue virus to human beings. These mosquitoes like to rest in dark corners of
your home so keep mosquito nets closed to avoid letting them in.

Self protection measures include wearing long sleeves or long pants, or using mosquito repellant to protect
yourself from mosquito bites. Children, especially the small ones who are at home, should wear long pants
or pyjamas and long sleeved tops, whenever possible, so that they will not be bitten by mosquitoes. Keep
mosquito screens and nets closed as much as possible.

Seek early consultation; visit the doctor when a person exhibits the early signs of dengue.

Dengue fever usually starts suddenly with:

a high fever muscle and joint pain loss of appetite rash
nausea and vomiting and severe headache pain behind the eyes

The severity of the joint pain has given dengue the name "breakbone fever." Nausea, vomiting, and loss of
appetite are common. A rash usually appears 3 to 4 days after the start of the fever. The illness can last up
to 10 days, but complete recovery can take as long as a month.

Most dengue infections result in relatively mild illness, but some can progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Signs and symptoms of dengue hemorrhagic fever include:
Bleeding from the nose, mouth, and gums Bruising

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is fatal in about 5 percent of cases, mostly among children and young
adults. Prompt medical treatment is necessary in all cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Please note that fogging kills only the adult infected mosquito but not the larvae which can also carry the
virus.

School Clinic
8