International School Manila

Es parent bulletin
Volume 2

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

SEPT
2

Wednesday Morning Student Late Start

8:30AM

ES Open House, 5:00-7:00PM

Parent Coffee: Inquiry-based Learning with

Kath Murdoch, 7:45am

22

MAP Information Parent Coffee, 7:45-9am

(Rm 2123)

OCT
7

Wednesday Morning Student Late Start

8:30AM

14-15

Parent Teacher Student ConferenceEarly Student Release 12pm

26-30

School Holiday

28 August 2015

From the ES Administration

Day #15 and Elementary Assembly
We are now officially on day #15 of the 2015/16
school year and our classrooms learning journeys
are well underway. We continue to develop our
class communities with the on-going focus on how
students learn together and as individuals. Classes
are also turning their attention to their first
Mathematics units and developing their reading and
writing identities.
Today we held our first Elementary School assembly
for the year. We sang, we read, we shared some
ideas on how to welcome new students and also
how to enjoy our wonderful facilities while being
safe, respectful and responsible. We also met six
people from within our community - Coach Ramon
(PE Teaching Assistant), Ms. Aba (Preschool
teacher), Ms. Mayu (Grade 1 ESL Teaching
Assistant), Mr. Vinter (Grade 2 class teacher), Ms.
Perez (Elementary Guidance Department) and Ms.
Chie (Art Teaching Assistant). They revealed some
interesting facts about themselves:
playing basketball
playing the violin
doing a cartwheel with one hand and being
fluent in Japanese
being on the front page of a national newspaper
in Malawi
riding on the worlds fastest roller coaster
being an avid circuit trainer
Any ideas on who is who?

We also discovered that...

We have 732 students in our Elementary community...
We have 216 new students...
We have 438 students who speak more than one language
And if you read for twenty minutes every day, you will have read 7300 minutes in a year!
Much to the disappointment of all 732 our students (who were not afraid to voice their
displeasure!), the Bearcat did not make an appearance. At this point in time, he is still in
hibernation.

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

22 May 2015
28 August

AFAC / ATAC
A sincere thank you for ensuring a smooth start to our Elementary After School Activities program
as well as our ATAC competitive teams program. Your on-going support in making sure we are
notified if your child will not be attending their activity on a particular day is
appreciated. Equally, thank you for supporting our after school protocols and ensuring that our
campus is a safe place for all our students. These protocols are located here for your reference.
From the Clinic - Head Lice Checks
This week we have started our first of four regular head lice checks. We know that anyone is
susceptible to head lice, but children in an Elementary school setting are more susceptible. Head
lice is easily spread through head-to-head contact.
Our checks involve one of our nurses visiting every classroom in the Elementary school and
individually checking each student. In the event that a student is found to have head lice, they
will be personally contacted by the Clinic (in confidence) and also sent information regarding
treatment. Should there be two or more cases within a particular class, all students in that class
will receive a generic letter regarding treatment and raising awareness.
Should you have any question about our program please get in touch with our Clinic administrator
Dorothee Binsfeld (8408580 or BinsfeldD@ismanila org)
Have a wonderful long weekend.

Adam Campbell

Michael Rourke

Elementary Principal

Elementary Assistant Principal

28 August
22 May 2015

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

22 May 2015
2015
28 August

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

22 May2015
2015
28 August

As part of the Artist in Residence Program and with the support of the PCA, ISM will host Niall de Brca, a renowned professional storyteller from Ireland, on Thursday, September 3rd at 3:30pm in the Little Theater.
We invite all ISM parents and their children to join us to hear Niall share a mix of traditional and original tales.

28 August
2015
22 May 2015

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

28 August
22 May2015
2015

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

ATAC Announcements
This Saturday is the first of the RIFA ES/MS soccer festivals. See links at the ES/MS festival pages for venues.
Venue information is also posted on ES/MS notice boards. A permission slip was sent home with your child
this week with match details for this Saturday. Festival information and venues can be found at the links below. Please check carefully. If you are in doubt about whether the event will go ahead due to heavy rain or
extreme weather please follow the procedure at this link. http://atac.ism-online.org/manila-weather-forecast/
atac-event-cancelation-extreme-weather/
ES RIFA festivals information and MS Rifa festivals information
Housing for IASAS soccer Oct 7-11. ISM proudly hosts IASAS Soccer this year and it is going to be a fantastic
event for our community. In order to host we need to house 160 athletes from the IASAS schools. Please
consider hosting it is a great experience. ES and MS along with HS parents can host. Check out the link
at IASAS housing information if you have any questions please contact the ATAC office. Forms can be printed
and turned in to ATAC office or emailed to pekinm@ismanila.org
Upcoming events:
Aug 28th HS V'ball teams vs Brent from 4:15pm
Aug 29th Rifa Soccer Festivals ES/MS teams
Aug 30th Mid A1 soccer vs Don Bosco away game
Sept 5 XC meet at Brent
For our Sailfish swim team program please check the Sailfish blog for information. Squads are now confirmed
and Sailfish training has started in earnest from last week. http://sailfish.ism-online.org/
Please note the practice times for ATAC programs for SY 15-16 are as follows: ATAC all year round teams3:15-4:30. See schedule for our All year round teams program here...
See Sailfish blog for swim squad start and finish times. Gymnastics team starts 3:10-4:50.
All HS seasonal teams practice from 3:05- 4:50pm each day. MS seasonal teams practice 3:10-4:40pm. In
order to clear the campus prior to 5pm all after school programs will conclude by4:50pm or earlier. The last
bus is 4:55pm this is due to the ever increasing traffic concerns in our area.
Parents and students please take some time to peruse the ATAC blog it has a wide variety of information and
links to our sports and activities program. If you have any questions regarding the competitive program of
sports at ISM after reading the information on the blog please send an email to pekinm@ismanila.org and I
will endeavor to assist you as best I can.
Bearcat Den- drop by our fantastic spirit store. There is a new school year sale on at the moment and a
range of new products and items to purchase including items from our service partners. Bearcat Den hours
of operation- 7am-4pm Mon-Fri.
Mark Pekin
7

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

22 May 2015
28 August

28 August
22 May 2015

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

28 August
2015
22 May 2015

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

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