Middle School Parent Bulletin - Issue No. 26 - March 11 to 15

7/29/2019 Middle School Parent Bulletin - Issue No. 26 - March 11 to 15

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From the Middle School OfficeISSUE # 26

WEEKOF MARCH 11 TO 15, 2013

Friday BulletinMIDDLE SCHOOL

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

Measures of Academic Progress(MAP) Test

From the Office of Admissions andAdvancement

From the School ClinicFrom the Treasury Department

From the ATAC Office

From the PTA

MS Academic Bowl

From the HS Guidance Office

Show Choir

3rd Season Training ScheduleMS Parents BashAdult Language Courses

Carnivale MS Party

Inside this issue:

UPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTS

MARCH

4 to 27 MAP Testing

15 MS Party (Grade 5 to 8

25 to 27 Spirit Week

28 to 29 School Holiday

APRIL

1 to 8 School Holiday

9 National Holiday(Bataan Day)

Dear Parents:

This week was a busy week with MAP testing, course registrationand student-led conferences but all ran smoothly. We were pleasedto see so many parents engaged in meaningful conversations withtheir children and hope that you gained insight into your child as alearner. As you think of the goals that you set with your child,continue to revisit the goals at regular intervals and discuss progress.

The majority of students selected their courses for next school year,

and both students and parents were sent a confirmation emailmessage with an attachment of the courses selected. Please printout the confirmation sheet, sign it and return the form to the MiddleSchool Guidance Office by March 15. If your child was unable toregister for courses, they can see their guidance counselor orregister online during break or lunch times throughout the comingweek.

MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing continues this week.Please see the separate letter included in the bulletin for moredetails. In the event that your child misses a testing session, make-up sessions will be held on Wednesdays starting at 7:30 A.M. If your

child requires a make-up session, the MS Office will notify you and

we ask that you make the necessary arrangements to bring yourchild to school early on Wednesday.

On Friday, March 15 the Student Council has organized a MiddleSchool Party from 5:30 8:00 P.M. Permission slips have beenprovided to students and ticket sales begin on Tuesday. While thestudents are enjoying their party, parents are invited to a MSParents Bash, which will be happening at the same time. Soencourage your child to go to the party, drop them off and then makeyour way to the Little Theater. This will be a perfect opportunity to

meet and catch up with other parents. We hope you can join us!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Yours in Education,

Simon Gillespie Clarissa SaysonMiddle School Principal Middle School Assistant Principal

The Yearbook

Pictures are now

available for pick up

the MS Office.


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FRIDAY BULLETIN PAGE 2

Dear Parents,

From March 4 to 27, ISM will conduct the Measures of Academic ProgressTM (MAP) tests for Semester 2.

What are MAP tests?MAP tests are an external assessment from the United States, used to assist in determining students

instructional level. Currently, there are 370 international schools in 123 countries, including 56%member schools of EARCOS (East Asia Regional Council of Schools), who conduct MAP testing.

Who does MAP testing at ISM?Students in Grades 3 to 10 take MAP tests. Students receiving Learning Support and ESL services will be

given the opportunity, where appropriate, to participate in the MAP testing. Parents will be con-tacted individually regarding any modifications taking place.

What do MAP tests assess and how often do they occur?These tests will measure academic growth across the school year in the areas ofReading, Language

and Mathematics, and are administered twice a year at ISM. The Semester 1 tests were taken inSeptember/October during the first semester.

How do MAP tests work?Your child will take the tests on a computer. MAP tests are unique in that they are adaptive. The test

becomes more difficult the more questions the student answers correctly. When a student incor-rectly answers a question, the following test question is adjusted accordingly and is at an easierlevel. In this way, your child will take a test specifically created for his or her learning level.

How are MAP tests reported?Your childs MAP results are reported in RIT (Rasch Unit) scores. This is a different type of score than a

typical test that provides a percentage correct. Parents will receive a report that shows their RITscore, the normative RIT scores for the grade level at ISM, and the normative scores for students inthe United States within the same grade level. These reports will be available in early May.

What does ISM do with the information that MAP provides?Teachers use the data from MAP testing to inform learning and teaching. It assists in determining

which skills require enhancing, which skills students have already developed, and which skills needto be introduced. MAP tests also provide our school with a reference point for the ongoing devel-opment of the school-wide curriculum. This data allows us to look for trends within certain areasof our curriculum.

How do I prepare my child for MAP testing?Factors such as sleep and how a child is feeling can all affect results of a standardized test. Please talk

to your child to help avoid him/her feeling anxious about MAP testing.

Lastly It is important to remember that MAP results provide one piece of assessment data in the process of

acquiring information and making judgments about student progress toward intended learning. At

ISM, we believe sound assessment involves creating a multitude of ways to measure and communi-cate student learning over time a photo album versus a single snapshot.

For more information on MAP testing, please consult the NWEA (North West Evaluation Association) web-site at www.nwea.org. In addition, parents can access the MAP Parent Toolkit at http://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkit.

Sincerely,Simon Gillespie Clarissa Sayson

Middle School Principal Middle School Assistant Principal

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Tests
http://www.nwea.org/http://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkithttp://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkithttp://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkithttp://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkithttp://www.nwea.org/support/article/930/parent-toolkithttp://www.nwea.org/


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From the Office of Admissions and Advancement

Dear Parents,

Please be reminded that keeping your contact informaon updated is vital to facilitang communicaon with theschool. If you would like to view/change any of the details on your current record, simply follow the steps below.


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Withdrawal Procedure for Students Leaving ISM

For those students who will be withdrawing from Internaonal School Manila this year, the following procedure applies:

Parents are obliged to inform the School ocially through a WITHDRAWAL NOTIFICATION FORM, before the second Friday ofMay, if their children will not be returning to ISM.

Failure to do so will lead to a deducon of US$1,000 from the Facilies Upgrade Deposit (FUD), in compensaon for having held a

space for the child and thus prevenng the School from oering that space to another child prior to the summer holiday break.

The Withdrawal Nocaon 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 Withdrawal Nocaon Form to the Admissions Oce or scanned and e-mailed as an aachment to

[email protected] .

Upon receipt of the Withdrawal Nocaon Form by the Admissions Oce, a copy will be forwarded to the appropriate

School Oce and the Finance Oce for their acon.

The School Oce, upon receipt of the Withdrawal Nocaon Form, will iniate 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 parcular school oce approximately een working

days aer the childs last day of aendance at ISM. Please coordinate directly with the parcular School Oce if you

require other arrangements.

STEP 2: If required, and when completed, the Student Clearance Slip must be taken to the Cashiers Oce. Only aer 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, addional copies cost P100

each, payable at the Cashiers Oce before release. Please coordinate directly with the parcular School Oce if you require

more than one copy of school records.

STEP 3: In order to receive your Facilies Upgrade Deposit or FUD (formerly the Special Project Deposit) refund, the following must

be submied to the Cashiers Oce:

1) Signed Student Clearance Slip

2) Signed Facilies Upgrade Deposit Cercate

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 Cercate may claim the refund at the Cashiers Oce.

Please call the Cashier at 840-8506 if you have quesons regarding your FUD Cercate.

Please allow the withdrawal process to go smoothly by starng 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 appropri-ate form to the School Oce. The forms are available through the web site: Admission > Re-Enrollment & Withdraw-

al>Withdrawal

Elementary School Yearbook: ALAALA

Middle School Yearbook: SALINLAHI

High School Yearbook: KAWAYAN

Sincerely,

Stephanie H. Hagedorn

Director of Admissions & Advancement

http://www.ismanila.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ismanila.org/


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TIME TO SIGN UP FOR THE 2013

INFLUENZA VACCINATIONSVaccinaon Day: March 13

thWednesday

Last day to sign up/pay: March 6th Wednesday

Price: Php 480.00

Vaccine: GSK Inuenza vaccine

Inuenza or commonly known as u trangkaso is caused by the inuenza virus. The inuen-

za virus is easily transmied through things you touch or in the air we breathe. Flu vaccine is

recommended for everyone above 6 months old.

Geng the u shot should be done annually because the circulang strains of the u virus

change each year, hence the composion of the vaccine is updated annually. For tropical

counes the u is present year round with peaks during the months of July September.

Everyone with a valid ISM ID may parcipate in this vaccinaon session. Order forms are avail-

able at the Cashier oce or by vising the Clinic. Please complete the form and make your

payment to the Cashier. Payment for these vaccinaons must be made to the cashier depart-

ment by no later than Wednesday 6th

of March .The vaccines will then be ordered and no fur-

ther registraons will be accepted.If you would like to discuss the vaccine or have any quesons please contact Jowell Custodio

or Claudee Bekedam at the Clinic.

Clinic direct number: 840 8581/82

Email: [email protected]


From the School Clinic

From the Treasury Department

Dear ISM Parents:

This is a reminder to please view and check the ISM Web Online at hp://community.ismanila.org/d/2/

for the latest update on your billing statement and sele any remaining balance of account(s).

Please note that the 2nd

semester Tuion fee for SY2012-2013 was due last December 07,2012 while

other school fees on your billing statements are already due as billed. For those who havent seled yet,

we appreciate your immediate selement of the accounts.

For related billing and payment quesons including any username and password concerns, please call

840-85-22/ 840-85-06/840-85-12 and look for RHODA VILLA (Accountant) or MARISSA DULAY (Treasury

Supervisor) and Elmer Esguerra ( Cashier). You can also email us at [email protected] or

[email protected]. and [email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://community.ismanila.org/d/2/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://community.ismanila.org/d/2/http://www.google.com.ph/imgres?q=flu&um=1&hl=tl&biw=894&bih=495&tbm=isch&tbnid=ZWJq2SWaI9QI9M:&imgrefurl=http://www.canequity.com/blog/2010-12-many-canadians-think-flu-shot-unneccesary/&docid=j3eDwC9Y2-r5BM&imgurl=http://aws.canequity.com/assets/images/flu-smailto:[email protected]


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Congratulations to all our IASAS Music, Art/Dance/Drama and Debate/Forensics delegatesfor their efforts last weekend at the IASAS Cultural Convention. A big congratulations to Akshar Bo-nu and Kerri Tinga who won Gold and Bronze at Jakarta in their respective forensic events of Im-

promptu Speaking and Oral Interpretation.

MS/HS 3rd

Season sports practice schedules for Badminton, Softball, Track & Field and MSMixed Touch: please see practice schedule via the ATAC blog schedules pages or school notice

boards( http://atac.ism-online.org/schedules/hs/ )

IASAS Track and Field April 10-14: Housing letters for the IASAS Track and Field event are nowavailable via the ATAC blog. Please sign up early to house a visiting track athlete in April. We needto house 150 athletes in total and still require 60 athletes to be housed. Teams arrive the day wereturn from spring break so deadline for return of letters is March 15th in order for us to confirm allhousing assignments prior to the holiday starting. For general information about housing at IASAS

tournaments see the housing and hosting page ( http://atac.ism-

online.org/iasas/iasas-

housing/ )

ISM Summer Sports Camps: Information will be coming out later this month. Announcements willbe placed in the parent bulletins and all information will be available on the summer camps page onthe ATAC blog. Stay tuned for more information!

March 5, MS Academic Bowl: Congratulations to the ISM Academic Bowl team who won thisevent on Tuesday. Scores ISM 433, Faith 325, Brent 248. Well done to Mr and Mrs Birchenall fortheir splendid coordination of this event for our MS students.

March 6, HS Academic Bowl: Well done to our HS Academic Bowl

team who placed 2

nd

on Wednesday in the competition at Brent.

March 8, MS/HS ISM Twilight Track meet with Brent and Faith:Warm-up starts at 3:15pm Meet starts at 3:45pm and runs till about 7:30pm. We need some parents to volunteer for timekeeping/marshallingduties if you can assist please contact [email protected]

March 9, ISM Wall climbing tournament: This will be held at the MSGym from 12:30pm. Results from the Brent Mar 2 track meet are nowposted via the track results page.

A great way to stay in touch with the ISM ATAC program is to subscribevia RSS feed to the ATAC blog and also to follow via twitter (see twitterfeed on the blog home page). Each Monday I will post the weeks hap-penings and highlight important events for students and parents infor-mation 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 scheduledoes change often due to involvement with many local schools so please check the pageregularly to find out the latest information of where and when the Bearcats teams are play-

ing.

From the Athletics & Activities Office
http://atac.ism-online.org/schedules/hs/http://atac.ism-online.org/schedules/hs/http://atac.ism-online.org/schedules/hs/http://atac.ism-online.org/schedules/hs/http://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/http://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/http://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/http://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/http://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/http://atac.ism-online.org/schedules/hs/


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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 passwordto access the game schedule pdf.

HS Student registration for ATAC activities (new for school year 12-

13):A Google doc regis-tration is now available for all HS students who will take part in any ATAC seasonal sports teams,MUN and Cultural Convention programs. Please take the time to complete this online registrationfor activities that you plan on joining this school year. Please access the form via the HS StudentRegistration tab found under the helpful shortcuts bar on the ATAC blog home page. Please notethis is for HS students only and you must use your school email address to access the link. Person-al gmail or hotmail addresses will not allow you to access the page.

BEARCAT DEN: http://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/

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 fantastic group, please contact any of our den membersduring den opening hours. If youre interested in joining the Den volunteers, please contact CarolynChing for details( [email protected]). We are always looking for new volunteers and en-courage parents from ES/MS to join our group.

Regular Opening Hours for the Bearcat Den: Wed and Fridays from 11:30am 1:00pm and eachafternoon from 2:30-4pm.

Regards,Mark PekinDirector of Athletics/Activities

PTA CULTURAL SHOW 2013

After all the fun, excitement, and food from the various countries that represented the ISM communityduring the International Family Fun Day, it is now time to showcase the folkdances and folksongs from our mul-ticultural society.

The Cultural Show will take place on the 19th

of March, 2013 in the Little Theater from 7:30 until 9:30am. All ISM parents are welcome.

Criteria in the performances are as follows:Members of the ISM community especially parents are encouraged to participate.Maximum two performances; either a dance and/or song from each country.Performances must not exceed 4minutes for each item i.e., a total of 8minutes for two performances.All participants must register and confirm on the 6

th of March at the very latest to be able to join this event;andIf you wish to invite an outsider guest who is not an ISM parent please contact the numbers below.

For further inquiries please contact:Marsha Ronald, DMD on 0921- 693- 7676 or

Maria Handa on 0917- 817- 9988

Yours truly,Marsha Ronald, DMDPTA Head of Hospitality

From the Parent-Teacher Association
http://powerschool.ismanila.org/public/http://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/http://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/http://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/http://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/http://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/http://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/http://powerschool.ismanila.org/public/


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Middle School Academic Bowl

Congratulations to the Middle School Academic Bowl team for

WINNING at the semester two Academic Bowl competition held

here at ISM on Tuesday 5th

March 2013.

The ISM team members were:

Caroline Strang: grade 8Bianca Catoto : grade 8

Hyun JIn (Emmy) Nam grade 8

Jessica Mae Cuadro: grade 8Ilham Thomson : grade 7

Kaiwen (Calvin) Zhang : grade 7David Yuanwei Zhang : grade 6

Ibrahim Ahmed: grade 6Johann Singh : grade 6

Ratul Mangal: grade 5

Olivia Heugh : grade 5

Go Bearcats!!!

Coach Valerie Birchenall


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Dear HS Parents,

We are very pleased to introduce/reintroduce you to an excing iniave developed back in 2010 by

the HS Guidance Department in cooperaon with the HS Administraon:

Bearcat Career Experience

As we all know well, high school for students is (among many things) a me of self-discovery. It is ame where our students begin to beer acknowledge their aptudes/likes, where they hone their strengthsand where they begin to sort through that rather complicated map known as their educaonal and future ca-reer path. Unfortunately, it is oen a map with gaps between what they learn in their academic classroomsand the real world their teachers are working to prepare them for.

In short, we hope to help bridge that gap for some of our high school students through a ve-daysummer internship (June 10th 14th, 2013) with various companies in the Metro Manila area.

Last year we were very fortunate to place over 120 ISM highschool students (sophomores and juniors) with 30 companies(including Alaska Milk, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and MakaMedical Center to name a few) in the Metro Manila area. This year, wedenitely feel those numbers could increase. However, in order tomake this a reality, we need reputable companies from a variety ofindustries to form partnerships with us and take part.

As parents of our dedicated and movated HS students, youmay own, be employed by, or know of a company interested in sup-porng this very worthwhile endeavor. We ask for your support in

helping us develop potenal Career Experience placements and sub-sequently, lasng posive relaonships with companies in the MetroManila area.

We ask that you take me to reect on this important iniave (currently in its 3rd

year) and its valuefor our ISM community.

Please take a look at our website here hp://bearcat-careers.ism-online.org/what-is-a-bearcat-career-experience/ . This page should give you an idea of what the program is all about.

You might also want to check out this video too. hp://bearcat-careers.ism-online.org/media/

If you are in a posion to take one or more of our students at your company or know of an interest-ed company, please let me know.

Please also contact me at [email protected] if you have any quesons or need further claricaon.

Informaon about how your son or daughter (current sophomores and juniors only) could apply for aCareer Experience posion will be communicated to all of you at a later date.

You can also get more informed and up to date posts about the Bearcat Career Experience by liking ourfacebook page at hps://www.facebook.com/BearcatCareerExperience

Thank you very much for your support and I look forward to hearing back from some of you. J

Sincerely,

Doug McQueenHigh School Counselor


From the High School Guidance Office
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Middle School Parent Bulletin - Issue No. 26 - March 11 to 15

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Transcript of Middle School Parent Bulletin - Issue No. 26 - March 11 to 15