ISSUE # 05

SY 20152016

MIDDLE SCHOOL
WEEK OF:
SEP 7 TO SEP 11

Friday Bulletin

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

Inside this issue:

Dear Parents,
Just before the last long weekend, we took the time to ask a range of MS students what
their plans were. It was interesting to note that the most popular answer was, Catch
up on my sleep. In light of this response, we thought we would take a little time to dig
into the importance of sleep as part of this weeks Parent Bulletin.
As you know sleep is a critical component of our daily lives and is a vital indicator of
overall health and well-being. Sleep needs vary across different ages and are especially
impacted by other factors such as lifestyle and health. The National Sleep Foundation
has created a "sleep duration recommendation graphic and it is a useful guide to help
you determine how much sleep you and your children need. Take a look - are you and
your children getting enough sleep?

Service Learning

Parent Coffee: Bilingualism

Athletics & Activities

ISM Upcoming Events

MS Upcoming Events:
SEPTEMBER
FREEDOM FROM CHEMICAL
DEPENDENCY (FCD)
Mon - Fri, September 7 to 11
PARENT COFFEE
Wednesday, September 9th
Time: 08:30 - 09:40
Venue: Little Theater

BEARCAT WELCOME
Thursday, September 10
Time: 07:30 - 09:30
Venue: Little Theater

PARENT COFFEE: BILINGUALISM

Tuesday, September 15
Time: 07:45 - 09:00
Venue: Little Theater

In conjunction with this graphic, it is also important to examine what lifestyle factors
may be affecting the quality and quantity of your sleep such as daily schedules and
stress levels. When we are sleep deprived, we build up a sleep debt. When youre
awake, a chemical called adenosine builds up in your blood, and when you sleep, your
body breaks it down. If you skimp on sleep, however, adenosine may build up in your
bloodstream, making you more and more desperate to snooze. Your reaction time
slows, which makes you more prone to a lapse in concentration and attention, which
can result in lower levels of performance. Sleeping in on the weekend is a strategy used

CLASSROOM WITHOUT WALLS

(CWW)
Thursday, September 17 and
Friday, September 18
Locations:
Grade 5: Amazing Race (on campus)
Grade 6: Island Cove (overnight)
Grade 7: Tagaytay (overnight)
Grade 8: Caliraya (overnight)

by many teens to repay their sleep debt however, this is not

as effective as ensuring you are getting the right amount of
sleep every night.

including medical forms

and parent permission slips. Please take the time to review
this information in detail, complete the required forms and
return them to school no later than Friday, September
Getting enough sleep is essential to all MS students (as well as 11th. G6 students will bring their letters and permission slips
their parents and teachers!). We encourage all parents to
home on Monday and will be asked to return them on Thursreflect on the duration and quality of their child/childrens
day, September 10th.
sleep so that they can be set up for success as they navigate
the busy MS years.
With CWW approaching fast, please take a minute to check if
your childs vaccination record for tetanus is still up to date. If
This week, ISM was privileged to host, Niall de Burca - our
it is 10 years or more since their last vaccination, a booster
artist in residence and expert storyteller! On Wednesday, MS shot is needed. One of our internal CWW protocols is a manstudents were treated to two enthralling stories - one about
date for any injuries incurred while students are off campus,
how language came to be and the other about a boy called
to be reported to the clinic - this includes anything from a
Silly Billy. The presentations were interactive and it was won- slight scratch or other bumps, bruises and wounds. Teachers
derful to see how quickly Niall captivated the audience.
report what caused the wound and the clinic immediately
checks the status of the childs tetanus vaccinations.
Next week (September 7th - September 11th) is Freedom
from Chemical Dependency (FCD) week. FCD is the leading
While injuries are rare, there have been isolated instances
international nonprofit provider of school-based substance
where a supervising teacher has spent hours in a local hospiabuse prevention services. For decades, FCD has worked
tal with a student, waiting for a tetanus shot, only to be told
worldwide to provide students and the adults who care for
that the tetanus vaccine was not available in the provthem with the knowledge, understanding and skills they need ince. Please also be aware that AFTER an injury (post expoto make intelligent, healthy choices about alcohol, tobacco
sure) more shots are necessary than BEFORE (pre exposure)
and other drug use. External counselors will be spending time to protect the body against the infection. As student safety is
with grade 8 students throughout the week and as well as
our highest priority, we would like to respectfully remind all
facilitating an assembly for all students in Grade 7 and 8, foparents to check the status of their childs vaccinations - especused on making wise decisions.
cially tetanus.
On Wednesday, September 9th, ISM will be hosting a Parent
Coffee in the Little Theater from 08:30 - 09:40. If you are
available and interested in learning more about how to promote wise decision making with your child, please feel free to
come and join us.

Should you have further questions or do not know your

childs vaccination status please contact the clinic at
clinic@ismanila.org, phone 840-8582 or contact our Clinic
Administrator, Dorothee Binsfeld (BinsfeldD@ismanila.org).
Phone 840-8581.

On Thursday, September 10th, ISM will be hosting the Bearcat Welcome! This event is for new and returning parents
and will take place from 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. in the Little Theater. Drop of your Bearcats and come join the PCA for snacks,
morning coffee/tea. At this event you will be able to find
products, services and businesses serving Manilas expat and
local communities and learn about organizations and groups
in Manila for both adults and children.

On Tuesday, September 15th from 7:45 - 09:00, Kim Guiry and

the ESL team will be hosting a parent coffee in the Little Theater. Interested parents can come and learn more about the
language acquisition process and how to support their child.

We are currently finalizing our plans for the upcoming Classroom Without Walls (CWW) event which is scheduled for
Thursday, September 17th and Friday, September 18th. The
focus of the September CWW activities is to develop teambuilding skills and strengthen our MS community. Last week,
parents received an email communication about the respective grade level events. Today, students in G7 and G8 should
have brought home hard copies of all CWW communications

On Wednesday, September 16th, Students in G6, 7 and 8 will

have the opportunity to meet Kiera Cass - author of The Selection Series. Students will attend an assembly during the
first block on Wednesday from 08:30 - 09:40, in the
FAT. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students and
we are sure they will enjoy learning more about Keiras inspirations and her writing process.
Kind regards,
Rachel Harrington, Principal
Amanda Pekin, Assistant Principal
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For more information,

contact Kim Guiry
(guiryk@ismanila.org)

This Saturday is the second of the RIFA ES/MS soccer

festivals. See links at the ES/MS festival pages for
venues and times. Venue information is also posted
on ES/MS notice boards. Please check carefully and
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.ismonline.org/manila-weather-forecast/atac-eventcancelation-extreme-weather/
ES RIFA festivals information and MS Rifa festivals
information
Housing needed 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. We
currently need to house 90 more athletes!

Sept 5th Aspirants soccer vs Ateneo 4pm

Sept 18-20 Pre- IASAS exchange at KL(V'ball/XC
teams) and Singapore(soccer teams)
Sept 21- PRFU/CBRE Rugby clinic #2 with former
All Black Geoff Alley 5:15-7pm @ HS Field ISM
rugby players welcome.

For our Sailfish swim team program please check the

Sailfish blog for information. http://sailfish.ismonline.org/
Please note the practice times for ATAC programs
for SY 15-16 are as follows: ATAC all year round
teams- 3:15-4:30. See schedule for our All year
round teams program here...
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 by 4:50pm 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 inforThis coming October break ISM will be hosting a Fall mation and links to our sports and activities proBasketball Camp run by Filipino Basketball Academy gram. If you have any questions regarding the comFBA. See FBA flyer for details. Flyer is also posted on petitive program of sports at ISM after reading the
notice boards around school. Sign up quick as places information on the blog please send an email
will go fast.
to pekinm@ismanila.org and I will endeavor to assist
you as best I can.
Good luck to our ISM Bearcats Climbing team and
coaches who participate in the 2nd round of the lo- Bearcat Den- drop by our fantastic spirit store. There
cal wall climbing series tomorrow at PowerUP.
is a new school year sale on at the moment and a
range of new products and items to purchase includUpcoming events:
ing items from our service partners. Bearcat Den
Sept 4 JVGirls and V Girls Soccer vs DLSL and
hours of operation- 7am-4pm Mon-Fri.
Faith at home
Sept 4 HS Volleyball teams away at Faith
GO BEARCATS!
Sept 5th Rifa Soccer Festivals ES/MS teams
Sept 5th Cross Country meet at Brent 8am start Best Regards,
Sept 5th Wall Climbing Comp at PowerUp TanMark Pekin
dung Sora
Director of Athletics and Activities
Sept 5th Midgets A1 and A2 vs DLSL and Ateneo
from 2:30pm
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