ISSUE # 21

SY 20152016

MIDDLE SCHOOL
WEEK OF:

Friday Bulletin

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

FEBRUARY 8 TO 12

Inside this issue:

Dear Parents,
This week students and teachers have been working hard to ensure everything is
ready for next weeks CWW experiences. Students have been hosting fundraisers so
they can purchase donation items or materials that are needed at individual CWW
sites. Teachers have been adding the final details to their plans to ensure that each
and every student has a meaningful experience.
When I think about why schools offer CWW experiences for their students, I am reminded of a quote from the book Seven Arrows (1972) by Hyemeyohsts Storm,
where the tale of Night Bear and his people is shared. I feel that this quote perfectly
captures the essence of CWW.
To touch and feel is to experience. Many people live out their entire lives without
really touching or being touched by anything.
These people live in a world of mind and imagination that may move them
sometimes to joy, tears, happiness or sorrow. But these
people never really touch. They do not live and become one with life.
While this quote is over 40 years old, it has renewed relevance in a world where
many experiences are filtered through the online world. Shifts in our society, in regards to how we communicate and interact with each other, coupled with a heightened awareness of security and safety, have in some ways limited our students ability to connect authentically with their wider community. As students look forward
to the upcoming CWW experiences, we hope that as they venture out, and forge
stronger relationships with our service partners, they will make meaningful connections not only with their minds but also with their hearts.
Whether your child is engaged in CWW day trips or residential trips please be sure
to discuss their experiences and dig deeper into their perceptions, emotional responses and our shared humanity.

Rustic Pathways

Athletics & Activities

After-School Activities

MS Guidance Office

ISM Upcoming Events

MS Upcoming Events:
FEBRUARYMARCH:

IS

NATIONAL HOLIDAY
Monday, February 8
CLASSROOM WITHOUT WALLS
February 15 - 19
MS YEARBOOK PHOTOSHOOT
Monday, February 22
PARENT COFFEE - LITERACY
Wednesday, February 24
NATIONAL HOLIDAY
Thursday, February 25

DATES TO REMEMBER:

No School:
Monday February 8th (Lunar New Year)
Family Social: Parent/Child Dance
Friday, February 12th
Classroom Without Walls:
Monday, February 15th - Friday, February 19th
MS Yearbook Photo Retakes
Monday, February 22nd

NO SCHOOL
Friday, February 26
MAP TESTING
February 29 to March 23
G8 PARENT TRANSITION MEETING
Wednesday, March 2
ACADEMIC BOWL
Wednesday, March 9

MS Parent Coffee: Bonnie Singer

Wednesday, February 24th from 9:00 - 10:30 in the LT
No School:
Thursday, February 25th (No school for students - teacher work day)
Friday, February 26th (No school for students and teachers)
MAP Testing - Spring Testing Window:
Monday, February 29th - Friday, March 11th
NEED TO KNOW:

CWW - Dont Miss the Bus!

Information regarding student arrival time for the various CWW trips has now been shared with all parents. We have
made the mandatory arrival time for students approximately 15 minutes before the buses are due to leave. This provides
time for teachers to take attendance, deliver final instructions and allow students time to go to the bathroom before
boarding the bus. Please be advised that the CWW buses have to leave at their designated times in order to avoid the arrival of the school bus service. Students who are late will miss the bus and need to report to the MS Office. Please note that
we will not be calling parents/students who are running late. Please set your alarms in order to allow sufficient time to
navigate the morning traffic!
CWW - Tetanus Injections:
With CWW approaching fast, please take a minute to check if your childs vaccination record for tetanus is still up to
date. If it is 10 years or more, a booster shot is needed. Please make sure your childs vaccination is up to date! Every
injury during the CWW week is reported to the clinic, and whether a little scratch or a deeper wound, we check the status
of your childs tetanus vaccination. In the past, a student was scratched and both the student and a teacher spent hours in
a local hospital waiting for their turn, only to learn that the tetanus vaccine was unavailable in that particular province. We
wish to avoid this situation by making sure all children are up to date with their tetanus vaccination.
Please note that AFTER an injury (post exposure) more shots are necessary than BEFORE (pre exposure) to protect the
body against the infection with Clostridium bacteria. Should you have further questions, or do not know your childs vaccination status, please get in touch with the clinic at clinic@ismanila.org or via phone 840 8582. (BinsfeldD@ismanila.org Phone 8408581).
NICE TO KNOW:

Lunar New Year:

As we approach a long weekend for the Lunar New Year, we wish everyone who is travelling to celebrate this special time
of year with their families a safe trip. As some members of our community welcome the Year of the Monkey - we wish you
all happiness and prosperity.
Family Social: Parent/Child Dance:
Time to dust off your blue suede shoes and get ready to boogie! The PCA sponsored Parent/Child Dance will take place on
Friday, February 12th in the LT. Tickets are available from the cashier. The theme of this years family social is the 80s so
start searching the deep dark depths of your closet for your old ra ra skirt or New Romantics frilly shirt!
Kind Regards,
Rachel Harrington, Middle School Principal
Amanda Pekin, Assistant Middle School Principal
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Dear Grade 8 Parents,

If your Grade 8 child is interested in joining
one the Rustic Pathways Global Program, or
they're already going and want to meet a representative, then stop by the AMR next Tuesday.
Grade 8 parents can attend at any time between 9:30 and 12.30.
You can visit the website (password - ism) to
find out more.

Thailand (Elephants)
MS: groups.rusticpathways.com/
trips/ismelephants2016/

Congratulations to all our Bearcats teams that represented at Basketball in ISKL, Tennis at ISB, Swimming at SAS and Rugby/Touch
here at ISM. What a wonderful, historic and exciting 3 days
of competition last weekend.
Results:
Swimming- Girls 5th, Boys 6th (8 new school records broken
and 21 out of 24 swimmers on our team broke their own personal best times with 5 medals. (Maia Ner Bronze 100 Bstroke/
Dias Konysbayev Silver 100 Backstroke/Bronze 800 and 400
Freestyle and Boys 4x50m relay)
Tennis- Boys Silver, Girls Gold (6peat! 6th Gold in a row for ISM
girls tennis)
Basketball- Boys 5th and Girls Silver
Touch- Gold (repeat-2nd Gold in a row)
Rugby- Gold (first rugby Gold for ISM)
To all our 2nd season varsity coaches thank you for your hard work
and dedication during S2.
HS awards Thurs Feb 11 5:30-7:30pm at the lofthouse 3rd floor. For
all HS 2nd season Asp/JV and Varsity teams and parents- (Rugby/
Touch/Tennis/Basketball/Swimming)
Thanks to all our community for the fantastic support with housing
and the support at all the R&T matches. It was a wonderful atmosphere to watch our girls and boys win double Gold at home.
Congratulations to the JV girls basketball who won the local league
ISSA final on Saturday going through the season undefeated. Our JV
boys lost to Beacon in the semi final and play for 3rd place this Saturday.
Well done to our ISM Table Tennis teams who won all 3 divisions
(ES/MS/HS) at the ISM Invitational Table Tennis Tournament held
last Saturday at the covered court.

notice boards and on schedules page of ATAC blog)

Feb 5-8 ISM Climbing team trip to Cebu
Feb 11 S2 HS sports awards night (for all Season 2 HS teams
V&JV)
Feb 13 ISM Track meet, Mar 12 Brent track meet, Mar 18 ISM
twilight track meet
Feb 12-14 Gymnastics meet at Bangkok/Feb 20-21 Philippine
Cup Gymnastics at Rizal Stadium/Mar 12 BSM Gymnastics
meet/May 7 ISM Goodwill Gymnastics meet.
Mar 4-6 Bangkok Splash meet for Sailfish swim team.
April 6-10 IASAS S3 Championships (Badminton at SAS, Golf at
JIS, Track at TAS, Softball at ISB)
May 13-15 Mixed Touch Tournament at Jakarta

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 by 4:50pm or
earlier. The last bus is4:55pm 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.

This Saturday our MS Girls gold basketball team plays off for 3rd
place in the local league and our MS Boys gold basketball team plays
their semi final, if they win the final will be
Access the parent portal via this link, log in with your user name/
played Saturday afternoon.
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
Sunday is the start of the local softball league season with Varsity
opens so you access the most current schedule. Please note this
girls and JV boys having games to kick off S3.
schedule does change often and at short notice due to involvement
with many local schools and organizations.
Next weekend a group of our gymnasts will be heading to Bangkok
to compete at the ISB meet.
Check it regularly for the most up to date information. For security
Season 3 (S3) tryouts will begin this week announcements are posted on notice boards and on ATAC blog schedules page for tryouts
and the season practice schedules.
ATAC S3 sports for MS are Badminton, Track&Field, Mixed Touch
and Co-ed Softball. For HS S3 sports are Golf, Track&Field, Softball
and Badminton.
Upcoming events:
Feb 1-5 S3 tryouts week for MS/HS teams (see schedules on

purposes....access to the ATAC game schedule pdf must be linked

via the secure parent portal 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.
Best Regards,
Mark Pekin
Director of Athletics & Activities

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