MIDDLE SCHOOL

Friday Bulletin
Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents ISSUE # 19
WEEK OF JANUARY 21 TO 25, 2013

From the Middle School Office

Dear Parents:

Inside this issue:

MS & HS ESL Parent Coffee ISM Community Art Auction From the Operations & Security Office 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10

PowerSchool is now open, allowing you access to your child's semester 1 report. If you do not have or have forgotten your password, please contact the MS Guidance Office at 840-8555. Report Card distribution will begin on Tuesday, January 22.

From the ATAC Office IASAS Tennis MS 3rd Season Try Out Schedule 3rd Season Training Schedule HS 3rd Season Try Out Schedule Language Learning Parent Workshop Adult Language Courses at ISM

On Thursday, January 24 we are hosting a Middle School New Parent Coffee in the Little Theater starting at 7:45 A.M. If you have recently arrived and joined the ISM community or would like to extend a hand of welcome and friendship, please join us.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
JANUARY
Third Culture Kids: The Lived Experience (K-12 Counseling Workshop AMIS Orchestra/Mixed Choir Festival (Beijing) MS New Parent Coffee (7:45 A.M., LT) AMIS Band (AMIS)

23 to 27 24 30 to Feb. 3 FEBRUARY

Have a fabulous weekend!

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Grade 4 to 5 Parents Transition Meeting (5:00 P.M., LT) MS Party (Grade 5 to 8) rescheduled to March 15 Classroom Without Walls (CWW) MS Parent Coffee (7:45 A.M., Little Theater) No Classes (EDSA Revolution Holiday) No Classes: Faculty InService

Yours in Education,

11 to 15 21 25

Simon Gillespie Middle School Principal

Clarissa Sayson Middle School Assistant Principal

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27 to Mar. 01 Grade 8 Course Registration

POWERSCHOOL GRADE UPDATE

The Yearbook Pictures are now available for pick up in the MS Office

January 18

PowerSchool opens at 8:00 A.M. (via courier) Grade Update

January 25

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MS & HS ESL Parent Coffee

ISM Community Art Auction

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From the Operations & Security Office

Operations and Security Access and parking within the campus are important security and safety issues. For the well-being of all members of the ISM community, those entering the school campus are requested to follow the procedures outlined below. Vehicular Access During drop-off and pick-up times, vehicles may enter through Gates 2 and 3. Those entering through Gate 2 should proceed to the drop off area and, once the student has alighted or boarded, they should exit via Gate 1. Those vehicles entering through Gate 3 must turn into the covered parking area and use the designated drop-off areas. All vehicles must exit through Gate 1. Alternatively, vehicles entering through Gate 3 may park in the covered car park. The spaces reserved for parent-driven cars should only be used by those vehicles which are driven by parents themselves. Vehicles in which parents are traveling, but which are driven by a driver, should not use these spaces. Rather, they should park elsewhere in the covered park or make use of the outside spaces next to the power center. Please note that Gate 2 may only be used by members of the ISM community in possession of a valid ISM ID and vehicles displaying a valid ISM vehicle sticker. Family/company drivers should not remain within school once they have delivered a student. They should exit the school and return no sooner than 1:45 in the afternoon for pick up. Visitors to ISM may only enter through Gate 3. There is an area for short stay visitors parking near Gate 1. The Pedestrian Gate Location The pedestrian gate is located in the perimeter fence mid-way between Gate 1 and Gate 2. There is a paved area between the road and the perimeter fence, allowing easy access to the gate. The pedestrian gate is solely for the entry of members of the ISM Community at the beginning of the school day. It will only be open between 7:00 and 7:45 (8:00 to 8:45 on Wednesdays). 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. Drop-off Procedure Drivers should stop adjacent to the paved area and students should alight from the right side of their vehicle. The driver should then move off, clearing the space for other vehicles dropping off students. Under no circumstances should a student be dropped off from the outside lane. This is dangerous as the student would need to walk across the front of another vehicle. Drivers are reminded that traffic regulations forbid parking on the roads around ISM. Therefore, vehicles should only be stopping for the brief tine it takes for a student to alight. Drivers must not wait for anybody to return to the vehicle. Car Stickers The car stickers for the school year 2012/13 are available from the security office. Each ISM family will be issued one vehicle sticker free of charge. Any additional stickers will be issued following payment of Php100.00 to the cashiers office. In order to facilitate the easy recognition of authorized cars at the gates, the stickers should be affixed to the top right corner of the windshield. Further to this, old ISM stickers issued in previous years should be removed.

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ID cards should be worn at all times while on campus. If you have not been issued an ID card, or you have lost it, you should obtain one by visiting the security office and completing the appropriate application form. Vehicle checks The practice of inspecting vehicles will continue. During off-peak hours all vehicles will be checked before they are allowed to enter the campus. During peak hours (drop off and pick-up times), all vehicles without valid stickers and randomly selected vehicles with stickers will be asked to undergo an examination. Whether an examination is conducted or not, it is important that the security staff at the gates are able to identify the occupants of vehicles entering the campus; therefore IDs must be clearly displayed. Vehicles with tinted windows must roll down windows to allow a clear view of the interior of the vehicle. Drivers, Helpers and Bodyguards Drivers, helpers and bodyguards should not be waiting on campus for students throughout the school day. After dropping off students they should exit the school grounds and not return more than 30 minutes before dismissal time. Those who repeatedly fail to comply with the regulation will have their access privilege suspended. Only those vehicles carrying parents or other people with business within the school will be allowed to return to the campus before 1:45 p.m. There are designated areas for unaccompanied drivers, yayas, helpers and security escorts to wait for parents and students. Unless specifically authorized, they may not enter any other area. In the interest of security, and to prevent congestion at the pedestrian entrances to the covered parking area, parents are requested to emphasize to their employees the importance of cooperating with the security staff and remaining in the appropriate areas. Termination of Employment 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 tat the Security Office is still informed of the change of circumstances. Finally, I would like to thank all members of the ISM community for their cooperation in helping us maintain ISM as a safe and secure environment for our children. 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. 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 as that everybody cooperate with us in this important task. In particular, all those entering our campus are requested to comply with any direction given to them by members of our guard force. In the event that anyone is unclear as to the purpose of such instructions they can seek clarifications from the security office. Please note that it is the parents responsibility to advise their staff accordingly. Thank you for your cooperation. We are looking forward to another successful semester at International School Manila. Regards, MICHAEL FLYNN Director Operations & Security

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From the Athletics & Activities Office

3rd Season sports are fast approaching (Badminton, Softball and Track & Field). Please see attached flyers for tryouts and practice schedule. You can also access this information via the ATAC blog schedules pages. http://atac.ism-online.org/schedules/hs/ http://atac.ism-online.org/schedules/tryouts/ ISM will host IASAS Tennis on January 30 to February 3. A big THANK YOU to ISM families that agreed to host an IASAS Tennis athletes. I am pleased to say that all slots are now confirmed. You will receive your information letter with all details the week prior to the tournament with guest names/pick up times etc. For more general information about housing at IASAS tournaments, please see the housing and hosting page (http://atac.ismonline.org/iasas/iasas-housing/). IASAS Tennis matches start on Thursday, January 31. The schedule is very busy with 204 matches to be played over the 3 days. To help you understand the schedule a match consists of 3 singles games S1, S2, S3 and 2 doubles games D1 and D2.There is also an 8th or alternate player for each team who play matches as a part of the tournament. The alternate player can be used in case of injury/illness in singles or doubles if needed. To win the match you need to win 3 out of the 5 games. It is a round robin format with all teams playing each other by Saturday lunch time and then Saturday afternoon the finals are played based on the round robin results. All 8 courts on our new roof facility plus our 2 courts at the covered court will be utilized for the tournament so there will be plenty of great tennis matches to watch during the 3 days. For those of you that are unaware or are new to ISM both our ISM boys and girls teams are defending IASAS champions and our girls team is going for a 3rd win in a row this year. The event will be live streamed via www.iasas.asia and IASAS tournaments are wonderful events to host and we look forward to putting on a great event for the visiting teams in our new facility. We hope for great support from our ISM community during the event to cheer on our teams as they do battle against the IASAS schools. Whilst we are hosting tennis, our other 2nd season teams will be battling it out at the following venues for their season ending IASAS Championships and we wish them the best of luck. You can follow their progress via live score sites at www.iasas.asia. A big thanks to our swim coaches, sailfish parents and student volunteers who hosted a great varsity meet this past Saturday. British School and American School in Japan competed against our team in preparation for IASAS. Some new school records were broken with new Grade 6 girl Olivia Morris breaking three school records at her first swim for the school. Congratulations, Olivia! Kaizer Soh also broke school records, he is on fire at the moment and took an amazing 9 seconds off the 800m freestyle record! Meet results and details can be found on the sailfish blog. HS Student registration for ATAC activities: (new for school year 12-13) A Google doc registration 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 registration for activities that you plan on joining this school year. Please access the form via the HS Student Registration tab found under the Helpful Shortcuts bar on the ATAC blog home page. Please note this is for HS students only and you must use your school email address to access the link. Personal 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 members during den opening hours. We have found our new volunteer coordinator. Thanks so much to Carolyn for stepping forward to take on this role. If youre interested in joining the Den volunteers after the break, please contact Carolyn Ching for details carolynqching@yahoo.com. We are always looking for new volunteers and encourage parents from ES/MS to join our group. Regular Opening Hours for the Bearcat Den: Wednesday & Friday, 11:30 A.M. 1:00 P.M. & 2:30 P.M. 4:00 P.M. Tuesday & Thursday afternoons, 2:30 - 4:00 P.M. Regards, Mark Pekin Director of Athletics/Activities

Rugby/Touch at Kuala Lumpur Basketball at Singapore Swimming at Taipei

Please come along and check out the action when we host our IASAS friends from Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Bangkok!

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Update your contact information!

Please get in touch with the Admissions Office (840-8488) or Middle School Office (840-8550/840-8553) if there has been any change in your home address, email address, and contact numbers. We want to keep you updated with what is happening in school.

Were on the web! www.ismanila.org

IF YOU HAVENT LOGGED ON TO POWERSCHOOL

please call the Guidance Office at 840-8555 or email msguidance@ismanila.org to obtain your username and password.

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Language Learning Parent Workshop

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Adult Language Courses at ISM