International School Manila

ES PARENT BULLETIN
Volume 16 13 April 2012 and ESL. In some education systems, students remain with the same cohort or class for a sustained period of time in order to promote continuity. At ISM, we believe that in order to support our students in becoming selfdirected, adaptable and able to apply their skills (both academic and social) in new situations, a change of both teacher and class composition is more appropriate. This said, rather than dividing a class into for example, six other classes, we will do so into a smaller number, for example three, in order to support friendship groupings and transition into a new grade. Students need to feel happy at school in order for learning to take place and as such, social groupings are an important aspect of the process. We know that learning is a social activity and that an interactive and supportive environment is crucial, if we are to stay true to this learning principle. Ultimately, we will always place students in a class where we feel their learning will be maximized and they will experience success. Please note that whilst we are extremely cognizant of parent desire to ensure the best possible placement for their child considering all the above criteria, we are unable to accept parent requests for placements, as this would compromise the internal process we adhere to. Your support in this area is greatly appreciated. Section cards for returning students, informing you of your childs class teacher for the 2012/13 school year will be available at the Cashiers Office at the end of the school year upon completion of the re-enrolment forms. Parent Coffee Morning Tues 17 April 730 830am Next Tuesday we will be conducting our final parent coffee morning for this school year. Our focus will be on making our thinking visible, where we will be exploring the following questions: How can our students demonstrate their changing understandings? What is visible thinking? How does visible thinking relate to targeted understanding?
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IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

APR
17 18, 25 27 ES Parent Coffee @ 7.30am, Little Theatre Student Late Start @ 8.30am ES Parent Bulletin National Holiday - No School

23 - 27 PTA Used Book Fair

MAY
1 2, 9, 16, 23, Student Late Start @ 8.30am 30 11, 25 12 25 29 31 ES Parent Bulletin K-12 Dance Recital @ 3pm, Fine Arts Theatre Last day of After School Activities 2nd Semester Report Card Distribution Grade 4 Moving-On Ceremony @ 8am, Fine Arts Theatre Early Student Release @ 12pm End of Semester 2

21 - 23 AFAC Recitals @ 3.30pm, AMR

From the ES Administration

Dear Elementary School Parents, What class will my child be placed in next year? What criteria is this based upon? For those families that are returning to ISM in August, these are the two very valid questions which are beginning to be asked at this time of year. The process of sectioning students into new classes for 2012/13 has already begun and is one which will continue over the next seven weeks. Initially all grade level teachers and specialist teachers are involved, including Learning Support and English as a Second Language (ESL), before Guidance and the Elementary Leadership Team. There are a variety of factors which are considered when grouping students these include (in no particular order) gender, nationality, friendship groups, social dynamics, academics, independence, learning support

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

13 April 2012

From the Fine Arts Office

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

13 April 2012

From the Admissions & Advancement Office

RE-ENROLLMENT AND WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURES
Dear Parents, Re-Enrollment for school year 2012-2013 is ongoing. We advise all families to begin the process early to avoid long lines. Please drop by the Admissions Office to pick-up your RE-ENROLLMENT CLEARANCE FORM or visit our web site at http://www.ismanila.org > ADMISSION > Re-Enrollment & Withdrawal to download the appropriate forms. Clearance signatures are required from the following offices: Admissions Health Clinic Cashiers Office Step 1 Admissions forms will need to be signed and submitted to the Admissions Office. Step 2 All students are required to submit the Health Clinic Updating Form directly to the Clinic. This may be done at any time. Incoming Grade 1, 5 and 9 students must have page 2 of the document completed by a licensed physician. We do recommend that all children have an annual check-up. In addition, all incoming Grade 5 and 9 students will need to submit the Tuberculosis Screening Form. Step 3 Beginning May 31, 2012 you may visit the Cashiers Office to settle your accounts. The Re-Enrollment Clearance Form will need to be submitted in exchange for your childs section card and/or class schedule. Please do not discard this form. WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURE If your family will be leaving before or at the end of SY11-12, we would appreciate that you submit the official Withdrawal Notification Form in order to initiate the withdrawal process. Please note, this does not pertain to Grade 12 students who will graduate in May. Please submit the completed Withdrawal Notification Form as early as possible. All forms are available here: http://www.ismanila.org > Admission > Re-enrollment and Withdrawal WITHDRAWAL NOTIFICATION FORM (required by ES/HS/MS students) Please submit this to the Admissions Office MIDDLE SCHOOL CLEARANCE FORM Once completed please submit this to the Cashiers Office HIGH SCHOOL CLEARANCE FORM Once completed please submit this to the Cashiers Office IMPORTANT DATE to remember: May 11, 2012 Withdrawal Notification Forms for School Year 2011-2012 must be submitted. Forms received after this date will incur a penalty of USD $1000 on the refund of the FUD. For detailed information regarding receiving Report Cards, Transcript of Records, obtaining a yearbook and/or the refund of the FUD please visit our web site at www.ismanila.org under the Admissions TAB < Re-Enrollment & Withdrawal. We appreciate your notification as we have many families awaiting word for enrollment for next school year. Please feel free to contact us at admissions@ismanila.org for any questions or concerns. Sincerely,

Stephanie H. Hagedorn

Director of Admissions & Advancement International School Manila www.ismanila.org

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

13 April 2012

From the Athletics Office

IASAS teams are away this week end and return Sunday April 15th. Information about the 3 tournaments can be found under helpful shortcuts on the blog main page. We wish all our IASAS athletes the very best of luck at the final IASAS event of the school year. A full wrap up of tournament results along with live streams for some events will be available via www.iasas.asia See the link on the blog homepage Best wishes to all athletes and coaches. ATAC Events coming up: April 11-13 3rd season IASAS tournamentsTrack at Taipei Softball at Singapore Badminton at Kuala Lumpur April 24 Head Coaches year end meeting for sports awards April 27 3rd season HS sports awards for all HS participants (softball, badminton and track) at the lofthouse 5:30 start. May 12 ISM Gymnastics Dual Meet (please note this event has been cancelled!) GAME SCHEDULE PDF: (access to game schedule information) Information about all mid week/weekend fixtures for ISM teams can be found via the ATAC blog. Please note the game schedule does change often due to involvement with many local schools so please check the page regularly to find out the latest information of where and when the Bearcats teams are playing. Click on schedules tab or the Bearcat logo to be directed to the http:// powerschool.ismanila.org/public/ You will need your power school user name and password to access the game schedule pdf.

Regular Opening Hours for the Bearcat Den: Mon, Wed and Fridays from 11:30am 1:00pm and 2:30pm 4:00pm. Tues and Thurs afternoons from 2:30-4pm. If you are interested in joining our volunteers in the Bearcat Den please contact our BCD volunteers coordinator Radhika radhikasavantmohit@yahoo.com or pop in to the Den near the HS Cafeteria and talk with one of our volunteers they will be very happy to make you welcome. Anyone interested in joining the den next school year starting in August names are being taken, please contact Radhika to submit your information and expression of interest. Please note final day for den sales this school year is Wednesday May 30th.Thursday May 31st the den volunteers will be doing inventory and closing up the den for summer hibernation. The den will not be open for sales on the final day of school May 31st!

Mark Pekin
Director of Athletics/Activities E-mail: pekinm@ismanila.org ISM Website:http://www.ismanila.org/ ATAC Blog: http://atac.ism-online.org/

From the ES Administration

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From the Art Department

The art department needs clean, glass jars. Please bring them to room 1189 or your child can bring them to their art teacher. Many thanks!

The session will be designed to be as interactive as possible, with opportunities for discussion and participation through-out. Please join us at 745am in the LT.

Adam Campbell
Elementary Principal

Michael Rourke
Elementary Asst. Principal

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

13 April 2012

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

13 April 2012

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

13 April 2012

From the PTA

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

13 April 2012