ISSUE # 27

SY1617
MIDDLE SCHOOL

WEEK OF:
Friday Bulletin Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

MARCH 27 TO 31

Inside this issue:

Dear Parents,
After School Activities
It was wonderful to see so many MS students cele- Athletics & Activities 3
brating diversity by wearing traditional clothes,
sports gear or their countrys colors for this morn-
ings International Day Flag Unfurling Ceremo- Clinic 6
ny. There were 100 countries represented in the
ceremony and it was wonderful to see our global
community come together and recognize this
Fine & Performing Arts 8
unique aspect of our school.
Athletics & Activities (ATAC)
Treasury 8
Please remember that on Monday we are hosting
the MS Student-Led Conferences (SLC). The MS
Office emailed the program for this event to all Parent Community
parents earlier today. Paper copies will be posted Association
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around the MS but individual copies will not be
distributed in an effort to be environmentally con-
scious. Admissions & Advancement 10

The Student-Led Conferences are designed to be a

celebration of student learning and are a manda- ISM Upcoming Events 12
tory component of our academic program. During
the SLCs, students are placed front and center and
are empowered to share different aspects of their learning to date. They will highlight areas
that they would like to celebrate alongside areas of growth for the future. This is a once a
year opportunity where students can articulate how they perceive themselves as learners
and walk their parents/guardians through a series of learning experiences so they can gain GUARDIANSHIP AGREEMENTS
deeper insights into what happens in different classes. Middle schoolers are notorious for
only sharing minimal information about their life at school so this is a wonderful opportunity When both parents are going to be
to learn more! Parents are encouraged to be active participants and are invited to pose away temporarily, It is important for
them to notify the Middle School Office
questions, share observations and try their hand at different activities.
in advance, stating who will be responsi-
ble for the student and who the school
While preparing students for this event, we have received numerous pleas from students to
should contact in case of emergency.
provide some parental guidelines for cell phone usage during the SLCs. The idea behind this Domestic helpers or emergency con-
event is to have uninterrupted time to talk with your child about their learning to date. We tacts in Powerschool do not qualify as
therefore politely request that cellphones are turned to silent and remain in pockets or guardians. For more information please
handbags for the duration of the conference. If a child is sharing their learning and a parent contact the Middle school office.
is focused on reading their email, sending/responding to texts or writing a Facebook post, it
E-MAIL:
sends a message to your child that their learning is not important to you. Show your child
ms@ismanila.org
how much you care by making this a device-free event!

While everyone knows how much I love my high heels, these too are frowned upon during PHONE:
the SLCs! The gym floor is not designed for heels and as such moms will need to take their 840-8550
high-heeled shoes off when they go to the gym. (Even I am not allowed in the gym or on the 840-8553
artificial turf with my heels!) We suggest that moms bring a pair of flats in their handbags or PLEASE CLICK HERE TO
wear comfortable shoes and clothes for the SLCs so parents can participate in the full range DOWNLOAD THE TEMPORARY
of learning experiences your child would like to share with you. As a sign of support, I prom- GUARDIANSHIP AGREEMENT FORM
ise to wearing flats too!
 Here are some quotes from parents who attended last years SLC event. We hope that this will
help encourage all parents to attend!

Please read on to learn more about our upcoming events: Student-Led Conferences:
Date: Monday, March 27th (Please note this is
Student Celebrations: a date change from the date published in the
ISM hard-copy calendar!)
Badminton Competition: Time: 12:30 - 5:00 p.m.

12:30 - 2:30 = Surnames beginning with A - K

3:00 - 5:00 = Surnames beginning with L - Z
No ATAC and AFAC activities for MS on this day (See
respective blogs for details)

Monday, March 27th - Friday, March 31st

Middle School MAP Testing Continues
What: MS Measures of Academic Progress
(MAP) Testing Window
Who: All students in G5 - G8
When: During regularly scheduled classes
Math MAP Test - will take place during Math
class
Last Saturday, we had a group of students attend a Badmin- Reading MAP Test - will take place during Eng-
ton competition at Brent School. Congratulations to the lish class
following students who earned 3rd place: Language Usage MAP Test - will take place
Yueran Sun (Hannah) during Social Studies class
Martina Yap
Anagha Chakravarti Remember: These are untimed, adaptive, multiple-choice
Priyasha Chakravarti tests taken on a computer. Students do not need to study
YeJin Jang for these tests.

THIS WEEK: Kind regards,

Monday, March 27th: Rachel Harrington, Middle School Principal
Amanda Pekin, Assistant Middle School Principal
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There will be NO MS Activities on March 27, Monday (early student release for Middle School) due
to Student Led Conferences. Hence, there will be regular MS Activities on March 29, Wednesday.

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Practice schedule for S3 sports are posted. S3 HS sports are on weekends go to the ATAC game schedule page- link is
(Golf, Track and Field, Baseball/Fast Pitch Softball, Badmin- provided below and follow the instructions to find out when
ton) and where our Bearcat teams will be playing. The ATAC
S3 MS sports are (Track and Field, Mixed Touch and Badmin- (Athletics) Game schedule is housed within the parent portal
ton) S3 flyer for practice schedule at MS office notice board to ensure secure access for ISM parents http://atac.ism-
and on ATAC blog. online.org/schedules/
Please note a Baseball and Fast Pitch Softball development
program for MS boys and girls will take place during S4 be- Please take the time to navigate the ATAC blog http://
ginning after the April break until the end of May. atac.ism-online.org/ as it is our one stop shop for all infor-
mation related to the competitive ISM sports program.
Well done to our Bearcats gymnasts who competed at the
BSM meet last Saturday! Results will be posted to the gym- For our All Year Round teams- Wall Climbing, Chess, Judo,
nastics page on ATAC blog when received from host school. TKD, Aikido, Table Tennis -As these programs are year round
it is possible for students to join during the year as long as
Housing requests for upcoming IASAS events- We are calling space is available. See link to information and schedule to
for community support to host student athletes for IASAS attend and meet the coaches. All year round sports
Badminton (April 5-9 need 80 beds- as of Mon Mar 20 we teams See schedule for our All year round
have 44 confirmed beds online badminton housing registra- teams program here
tion ) and for IASAS Golf (April 8 need 48 beds one night
only, as of Mon Mar 20 we have 24 confirmed beds- online Please note the practice times for ATAC programs for SY 16-
golf housing registration ) Please assist and support these 17 are as follows: ATAC all year round teams- 3:15-4:30. For
two final IASAS events of the school year. our Sailfish swim team program please check the Sailfish
blog for information http://sailfish.ism-online.org/
All S1, S2 athletes and MUN/Cul Con delegates who have
been this year please help out and house to fulfil your ATAC Gymnastics team practices 3:10-4:50 M/W/F
hosting responsibility as a Bearcat athlete/delegate for this All HS seasonal teams practice from 3:05- 4:50pm on their
year. We need your support! respective practice afternoons. MS seasonal teams practice
from 3:15-4:45pm.In order to clear the campus prior
Online housing form links for these events are available as to 5pm all after school programs will conclude by 4:50pm or
listed above and are at IASAS housing and hosting tabs on earlier. The last bus is 4:55pm this is due to the ever in-
ATAC blog or under the helpful shortcuts on ATAC blog main creasing traffic concerns in our area.
page. Should you require further information about hosting
for IASAS events go tohttp://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/ Parents and students please take some time to peruse the
iasas-housing/ or contact ATAC office or ATAC blog it has a wide variety of information and links to
email pekinm@ismanila.org our sports and activities program. If you have any questions
regarding the competitive program of sports at ISM after
Upcoming events- (full match schedule available at ATAC reading the information on the blog please send an email
Game schedule) to pekinm@ismanila.org and I will endeavor to assist you as
Mar 24 ISM twilight track meet best I can.
Mar 25/26 Badminton Invitational at ISM
Mar 25 Golf team at Mt. Malarayat Bearcat Den- drop by our fantastic spirit store. There is a a
Mar 25 Varsity Baseball tourney at away/Varsity Softball range of products and items to purchase including items
tourney at ISM from our service partners. Bearcat Den hours of operation-
Mar 27 Send of IASAS assembly FAT 2:30pm 7am-4pm Mon-Fri.
Mar 29 IASAS teams send off parent sponsored lunch at
LT Best Regards,
Apr 1 Varsity Baseball away tbc? Mark Pekin
April 5-8 S3 IASAS Championships Badminton/Golf at Director of Athletics/Activities
ISM, Track at ISB, Baseball/Softball at SAS
Apr 22-23 Sailfish International meet at ISM
May 6 ISM Goodwill Gymnastics Meet
May 12-14 Jakarta MS Mixed Touch tournament

To find out details of all the Bearcats matches mid week and
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 ISM DANCE COMPANY TRY-OUTS
ISM Dance Company's class placement tryouts will be held on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. It held in the HS Dance Room
(3050) from 3PM-4:45PM. The sign up list is on the Fine Arts Office notice board.

Requirements:
Prepare a 2-minute dance routine of your choice that demonstrates your dance skills and ability. Take note that the dance
routine should be a self-choreographed dance. You should not have sought any professional help or assistance in preparing
your choreography.
Technique class in contemporary or modern jazz will be given followed by 2 short routines (adagio and allegro dance com-
binations).
Wear something form-fitting (black shorts and tights or black dance pants with a form-fitting top), wear proper dance
shoes and have your hair tied-up.

Best Regards,
Marsha Hillman
Fine and Performing Arts Director

To: Parents and Company Sponsors

For the purpose of clearing the accounts of students for SY16-17, the following are school CUT-OFFS in accepting checks
from parents and sponsors:

Dollar Checks:
Pre- School to Grade 12 - March 30, 2017- For Dollar checks that are not cleared within the US territory these are
considered collection checks and are routed longer, will take not less than 28 days to clear . Additional bank fee is col-
lected for routing and collection purposes. ( e.g. Citibank Philippines checks)
Pre School to Grade 12 April 17,2017 - For Dollar checks cleared within US check territory and with shorter clear-
ance period

Peso Checks:
Grade12 May 5,2017
Pre- School to Grade 11 May 22,2017

This is to allow enough time for the checks to get cleared by the bank in time for the student clearance in June.
Please also note that US dollar coins are not accepted by the cashier. Charges billed with dollar cents can be settled con-
verting it to its peso equivalent.

Other Notes:
- Pursuant to the endorsement of the Philippine Clearing House Corporation (PCHC), please be informed that effective Jan-
uary 04, 2016, any peso check that shows or indicates on its face any erasure or alteration shall no longer be eligible or
acceptable for clearing. The cashiers will only accept peso checks with complete details and without any alteration(s).

- For payment related queries and in sending a copy of the bank confirmation payment to Cashiers please contact Elmer
Esguerra( 840-85-12) and Ma Luisa Refran( 840-85-01) (esguerrae@ismanila.org or refranm@ismanila.org).

For billing, Rhoda Villa at 840-85-22 and email address villar@ismanila.org, or Marissa Dulay at 840-85-06 or email
to dulaym@ismanila.org/ 8
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