ISSUE # 14

SY 20152016

MIDDLE SCHOOL
WEEK OF:

Friday Bulletin

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

NOVEMBER 23 to 27

Inside this issue:

Dear Parents,
We live in an ever-connected world where all of us, including our children, have immediate access to information. Pre-teens and teens, have a developmental need to be connected to the world they live in and a
desire to be constantly in touch due to the fear of missing out. As many pre-teens and teens have their own
devices, they tend to be connected long after the school day has ended. This never-ending stream of information appears in social media, videos, blogs, images, newsfeeds and websites and not all of the content has
been designed with the developmental needs of children in mind. This shift in how we access information
means that parents, or another trusted adult, are not always around to offer support when our kids read
disturbing news-related information.
At times, many adults can struggle to process the devastating news stories that are reported 24/7. Some
adults can feel overly alarmed, depressed and worried about the state of the world in which we live. The
emotional reactions that we go through as adults are often mirrored in our children. The significant difference, however, is that many pre-teens and teens do not have the ability to frame such events in context and
they are less equipped to discern whether the source of information is credible. This can often lead to children processing current events long after the event is over.
This week, as a front-loading activity for the upcoming MS Parent Coffee on Teens and Technology, we would
like to share an insightful article from Common Sense Media that offers guidance to parents about how to
explain the news to children. We hope you find it useful.

MS Art Show

Athletics & Activities

MS Service Learning

After-School Activities

ISM Upcoming Events

MS Upcoming Events:

DATES TO REMEMBER:

NOVEMBERJANUARY:
Fri. Nov 20 = MAP Student Progress Reports go home in a sealed envelope.
Mon. Nov 23 to Sat. Dec 5th = MS Art Show. The Opening is on the 23rd (15:00) FAT.
Mon. Nov 23 = All Strings concert MS and HS (17:30) FAT.
Tues. Nov 24 = MS Parent Coffee - Teens and Technology (07:45) LT.
Wed. Nov 25 = All Choirs concert MS and HS (17:30) FAT.
Mon. Nov 30 = HOLIDAY - no school!
Tues. Dec 1 = All Bands concert MS and HS (17:30) FAT.
Sat. Dec 5 = K-12 AFAC Dance recital (15:00) FAT
Thurs. Dec 10 = MS Sports Day
Fri. Dec 11 = Last day of the semester - early release at 12:00.
Tues. Jan 5 = Return to school.
Wed. Jan 20 = Semester reports open up for parent access.

ART EXHIBIT
November 23 to 29
ALL STRINGS CONCERT
Monday, November 23
MS PARENT COFFEE
Tuesday, November 24

NEED TO KNOW:

ALL CHOIRS CONCERT

Wednesday, November 25

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Testing:

Today you should have received your childs MAP Student Progress Report (SPR). If your child has yet to share
this envelope with you, please give them a gentle reminder! Parents whose child/children arrived at ISM after
the MAP testing window opened (beginning of October) will not receive MAP data at this time.

NATIONAL HOLIDAY
Monday, November 30

MS Parent Coffee:
The semester 1 MS Parent Coffee will take place on Tuesday, November 24th from 07:45 - 09:00. This event
will take place in the Little Theater and will revolve around Teens and Technology. The coffee is for all MS
parents and attendees will:
Learn more about the Middle Schools philosophy in regards to technology.
Gain a deeper understanding into the educational literature pertaining to pre-teens/teens and their use
of and interaction with technology.
Reflect upon the extent to which their own beliefs about teens and technology are aligned with research.

ALL BANDS CONCERT

Tuesday, December 1
K-12 DANCE RECITAL
Saturday, December 5
MS SPORTS DAY
Thursday, December 10

Brainstorm solutions to some of the challenging issues related to teens and technology.
Listen to insights and ideas from MS students about how teens perceive technology.
Walk away with key resources to help guide and support parents as they navigate this complex matter.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY
December 14 to January 1

NEED TO KNOW:
NICE TO KNOW:
MS Sports Day:
On Thursday 10th December the Middle School students will celebrate Sports Day. On this day, all MS students are off schedule and will participate in an
inclusive day for all, focussed on active participation and sportsmanship. Students will have the opportunity to showcase their growing skill development in
PE, After School Activities and ATAC sports. Students will take part in a mixture of competitive and noncompetitive activities in the morning in a wide variety
of school venues. In the afternoon the whole of the Middle School will be doing fun water-based games on the high school field.
Feel free to come along and support your child/children! A full schedule will be posted on the Activities Blog nearer the date.

Kind Regards,
Rachel Harrington, Middle School Principal
Amanda Pekin, Middle School Assistant Principal

A Gentle Reminder
to all Parents:

On days when your child needs to be absent from school, we ask that a parent
inform the Middle School Office before
7:30 A.M. via phone at

840-8550 / 553
or via email at

MS ART SHOWOPENING ON
MONDAY
AT 3:00 P.M. in the FAT! Support
this wonderful art show and your
fellow middleschoolers!

ms@ismanila.org
It is the responsibility of your child to
communicate with their teacher when
they return to school to make up for
work missed as a
result of any absences.

Nov 20-22 Pre- IASAS Rugby exchange at ISM Thanks to all

parents who volunteered to house our visiting ruby players
this weekend. Pick up times are ISKL 6:30pm at HS field
bleachers, SAS and JIS 8pm and ISB 9pm at Little Theatre.
The S2 practice schedule which runs until the end of January is posted on notice boards around school and on the
ATAC blog schedules page.
RIFA MS soccer festival finals: Congratulations to Coach
Eric/Chris's C1 soccer team who placed 3rd in the Rifa
festival 9 aside final on Sunday at BSM. The finals were
delayed due to the typhoon back in October so it has
been a long wait to play. Well done to all the players on
the team for a very good finish to the season.
Upcoming events:
Nov 21 Puma Touch League rd #2 at BSM
Nov 20-22 Pre- IASAS Rugby exchange at ISM (see
match schedule below)
ISB/SAS/JIS with adjusted flights due to APEC now
arrive too late to play Friday. Friday Nov 20 Game 1 3:30pm ISM Green vs ISM Gold (2x12min
halves)
Game 2 4:15pm ISM Varsity vs ISM JV select squad (2x
12 min halves)
Game 3 5:00pm ISM Varsity vs ISKL (2x15min)
Game 4 5:45pm ISKL vs ISM JV select squad (2x12min
halves)
Host pick ups ISKL 6:30pm, SAS/JIS 8pm, ISB 9pm
Sat Nov 21
8:30am to 9:45AM IASAS rugby skill sharing stations/
pd for coaches/players followed by 30min break before resuming play at 10:15am...
All games 2x12min halves with a 20 min break between games to allow for warm-up and recovery time.
Game 5 10:15pm ISB vs SAS
Game 6 11:00am JIS vs ISM
Game 7 11:45am SAS vs ISKL
Game 8 12:30pm JIS vs ISB
LUNCH BREAK 1:00 - 2:15PM
Game 9 2:15pm ISB vs ISM
Game 10 3:00pm JIS vs ISKL
Game 11 3:45pm ISM vs SAS
Game 12 4:30pm ISB vs ISKL
Game 13 5:15pm SAS vs JIS
Nov 20-22 Pre IASAS exchange weekend Swim team to
JIS, B'ball to ISB, Touch to SAS.
Nov 25 HS Academic Bowl at Faith
Well done to all Sailfish swimmers for a great effort at the

Fall Sailfish swim meet held last Saturday. See sailfish blog
for full meet results. For our Sailfish swim team program
please check the Sailfish blog for information. http://
sailfish.ism-online.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 3:15-4:45pm. 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.
The ATAC game schedule pdf which is updated regularly by
Triz Gonzalez (ATAC Athletics Coordinator) gives the most
up to date information on where/when and who our Bearcat teams will be playing throughout the school year. Access to the game schedule is now via the ISM parent portal
not via power school as in the past. A navigation guide is
available here. ATAC Game Schedule Users Guide. Access
the parent portal via this link, log in with your user name/
password and then look for the ATAC Game Schedule tab
under the left side quick links. Don't forget to refresh the
pdf page each time it opens so you access the most current schedule. Please note this schedule does change
often and at short notice due to involvement with many
local schools and organizations. Check it regularly for the
most up to date information. For security purposes....access to the ATAC game schedule pdf must be linked
via the secure parent po.rtal and details should not be
shared with non ISM community members.
Bearcat Den- drop by our fantastic spirit store. Bearcat
Den hours of operation- 7am-4pm Mon-Fri.
Regards,
Mark Pekin
Director of Athletics and Activities
3

October 10

PCF

November 7

La Mesa
Watershed
CCV

November 14

Tzu Chi
Foundation

November 21

CRIBS
Foundation
Papaya Academy

December 5

Love2Learn

November 17 to 20, 2015

Rock of Ages, Thank you!

We would like to thank everyone who supported
Rock of Ages and made it a success! Especially to
our Filipino scholars and their families, faculty, parents and PCA who graced the evening with
their presence. This event would not have been
possible without the help of Stephanie Dodd, the
National Art Honors Society and the MamSirs
namely Ringo Dingrando, Keith Bailey, Erik Richardson, Robbie Smith and Holly Walker.
A special thank you to our Rock of Ages Sponsors
for our great line up of raffle prizes!

Mark your calendars, folks! The ISM Parent Community Association is bringing you an afternoon of wholesome family
fun! Please join us onSaturday, November 28th, 2015 from
1pm-4pm for the ES CARNIVAL at the ISM Elementary
School Field. There will be Inflatables, Carnival Games,
Prince and Princess Shows, Zumba classes for the kids, craft
activities, and plenty of fun and entertainment. Food will be
available for purchase from Malcom's Deli and NY Fries, as
well as baked goods from the USA Girl Scouts.

All proceeds of Rock of Ages support the Vicky

SyCip Herrera Philippine Scholarship for a truly
deserving Filipino student to attend ISM. For more
information on the Philippine Scholarship, please
visit this LINK.

Buy your tickets now at the Cashiers Office. Tickets are

P200/person and P300 on the day of the event. PCA Representatives will also be selling tickets from November 23 to
27 in front of the ES Office (7:00-8:00AM and1:30-2:30PM).