International School Manila

ES PARENT BULLETIN
Volume 5 18 October 2013 metaphor,itisakintoprovidingthelearnerwithamap,rather thanadiscretesetofdirec ons.Thechartiden esthe44 soundsinthealphabet.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

OCT
23 25
Wednesday Morning Student Late Start , 8.30AM Filipiniana

How is this dierent from teaching a tradi onal phonics program?

Tradi onalphonicsfocusedonteachingle ersounds.For exampleAa=ant,Bb=ball.Itthensupplementedthese26 sounds,withabankofsightwords,whichdidntnecessarilyt intothese.Thisis,unfortunately,anoversimplis c methodology,asthereareonly26soundsinthealphabetand yet44soundsinprac ce. Aphonographicapproach(whichTHRASSu lizes)startsfrom speechsounds(auditory)tospellingchoices(visual).Usingthis method,theteacherdoesnotrelyonabankofsightwords,as everywordcanbesoundedoutandspellingpa ernslogically explained.So,forexample,was,doesnotstaywozinachilds mind,asitcanbelogicallyinves gated.

28 - Nov 1 Fall Break: No Classes

NOV
6,13,20,27 Wednesday Morning Student Late Start , 8.30AM 8, 22 12 16 19 22
Parent Bulletin Parent Meeting with ESL Specialist Dr. V. Rojas, 730 - 900 AM (LT) International Family Fun Day (ES Field) Parent Coffee, 730 - 830 AM (LT) 2nd Quarter Assembly, 8 9 AM (FAT)

Why is this approach superior to a tradi onal phonics one?

Skillsandstrategiesforlearninghowtospellarecri caltothe spellingprocess.Rotememoriza onofwordsoutofcontext doesnotprovidethelearnerwithanyskillstoabletospellnew wordstheyencounter.JustlikeinMathema cs,itisnotjust thecorrectanswerwhichisimportant,butalsotheworking memoryandunderstandingofhowtoachievethecorrect answer,whichisvitaltothecogni veprocess(deeper understanding)forfuturelearning. Knowingthe44soundsofEnglishandthevariousspelling choicesthatrepresentthesesoundsenablesthelearnerto understandorthography(thespellingsystemofourlanguage) andnotbeconfusedbyrestrictedphonicpa erns.Forexample, thele ercdoesnotjustrepresentthesoundatthebeginning ofcat.Itcanrepresentsincity,cent,Cindyetc.Thesoundfis notjustrepresentedbythele erfbutcouldbephasin photoandtelephone.Thele erydoesnotjustrepresentthe soundatthebeginningofyawn,butmorecommonlyit representsthesoundattheendofcityandponyorthesound inmy,yandby.Ourschooliscommi edtoexplicit,handson phonicsteaching.Welookatphonicspa ernswithinawhole wordapproach.Thatis,ifweareteachingthewordshwe focusonallthesoundsnotjustone. OneofthemostimportanttoolsweuseistheTHRASSchart. Thechartiden esthe44soundsinthealphabet.

From the ES Administration

DearSchoolParents,

LearningAboutLanguageatISM
Lastweekweheldaparentlearningsessiononlanguage learningintheElementarySchool.Ini allyweframedwhatwe knowabouthowstudentslearnlanguage,aboutlanguage,and throughlanguage.Thisthenleadintoahandsonexplora on ofTHRASSasateachingresourceforreadingandwri ng. Belowissomeinforma ondetailingthisresource:

What is Teaching Handwri ng, Reading and Spelling Skills (THRASS)?

THRASSisaresourceweuseintheElementarySchoolto supportaninquirybasedapproachtolearningaboutlanguage. Itisbaseduponteachingphonologicalawarenessbasedupon whatislinguis callycorrect,inapedagogicalapproachwhich alignswithourinquiry.Itprovidesthechildwithakeytoun lockingunfamiliarlanguage.Or,touseanErmaAnderson

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

From the ES Administration

(Con nuedfrompage1)

What can I do as a parent? Talkingwithyourchildrenaboutthemeaningofwordsfromtherelevantclassroominquiries,usingdic onariesandlookingatthe gramma calchangesinwordsisfarmoreimportantthanrotelearningawordfortes ngattheendoftheweek.Themorethe childcanseethewordincontext,understandthemeaning,makephoniclinksandprac cewri ngwordsinafunandmeaningful way,themorecompetentandadventurousspellertheywillbecome.Youwillalsobebuildingvocabularyforfuturelearning.This isappropriateforchildreninkindergartenandolder. Forcopyrightreasons,wearenotabletooertoparentstheactualTHRASSchartwhichstudentsusetohelptheminquireinto wordsatschool.However,weareorganizingforabulkorderofthesecharts.Belowisthelinktothewebsitewhereyoucansee thechart.ThecostisapproximatelyUS$7dollarsplusshipping.Ifyouareinterestedinpurchasingone,pleasecontacttheES oce.Pleasenotetherecouldbea2to3monthdelayduetoshippingandcustoms. h p://www.thrass.com.au/oscommerce/catalog/index.php?cPath=23

StudentsEmailintheElementarySchool
PleaseseethemessagebelowfromSteveMcCallum,ourTechnologyIntegrator,regardingthestudentuseofemailinthe ElementarySchool. HiParents Weprovideemail,foreduca onalpurposes,toourISMstudentsinElementarySchool.InSeptember,wemadesomechangeswith ourstudentemailcongura oninElementarySchool.Thesechangeshavebeenimplementedtoreectthewayinwhichemailis usedbyourstudents.Asofnowthefollowingse ngsareinplace: Preschool/Kindergarten/Grade1:Studentsdonothaveemail. Studentsatthesegradelevelshavenoneedtouseindividualemailaccountsatschool. Ifanycorrespondenceneedstotakeplaceeitheronoroourdomain,@ismanila.org,itwillbedoneviatheteacher'semail. Grade2&3:Studentemailscanonlybesent/receivedto/froman@ismanila.orgemailaccount. Studentsatthesegradelevelsarebeginningtoexploretheworldofemailatschool. Theyareabletoemailclassmatesandteachers.Havingindividualemailsonlyavailablewithinourdomain,@ismanila.org,gives usaloca ontoprac cesafeemailhabits. Ifstudentsatthesegradesneedtohaveanycorrespondenceoutsideofourdomaintheteacher'semailaddressisused. Grade4:Studentsinthisgradelevelhaveaschoolemailthatcansend/receivetoanyemailaddress. Studentsatthisgradelevelneedaccesstoemailinordertosignupforsomeexternalservicesthatareusedatschool.

Filipiniana
NextFriday,willbeFilipinianaatISM.Thisisadaywhenwecelebrateourhostcountryandinquireintosomeoftheculture, languageandcustomsofthePhilippines.Ale erwillbesenthomenextweekdetailingtheactualschedulefortheday,which includesanElementaryAssemblyat8amonFridayintheFineArtsTheater(F.A.T).Parentsareverywelcometojoininthefunof Filipiniana.However,pleasedonotethatsea ngwithintheF.A.Tislimitedinthewholeschoolassemblyandyoumaybeaskedto standattheback!

Adam Campbell
ElementaryPrincipal

Michael Rourke
ElementaryAssistantPrincipal

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

From IT Dept
AppsWeUseinElementarySchool
BelowaresomeappswehaveonsomeofourElementarySchooliPads.Thesearesomeappsyoumightndusefulathome.

PuppetPalsDirectorsPass
Kidsandadultsalikelovethesimplicityofpuppeteeringandvoicingcharacterswhilecrea ngmoviesto share. Simplypickoutyouractorsandbackdrops,dragthemontothestage,andtaprecord.Yourmovements andaudiowillberecordedinreal meforplaybacklater. Thisappisasfunasyourowncrea vity.ActoutastoryofPiratesonthehighseas,ghtasscarymon sters,orplaythepartofaWildWestbanditontheloose.Youcanevencombineanycharactershowever youwant! Yourcrea onsareonlylimitedbyyourimagina on!

Whyweuseitatschoolandwhyyoumightwanttouseitathome: Crea ngastoryusingthisappisagreatwaytoprac cethoseimportantspeakingandlistening skills.

NumberPieces
NumberPieceshelpsstudentsdevelopadeeperunderstandingofplacevaluewhilebuildingtheircompu ta onskillswithmul digitnumbers.Studentsusethenumberpiecestorepresentmul digitnumbers, regroup,add,subtract,mul ply,anddivide.

Whyweuseitatschoolandwhyyoumightwanttouseitathome: Thisappallowsyounglearnerstoshowhowtheysolvedavarietyofdierentmathproblems.

StripDesigner
Makebeau fulHDmoviesanywherewithiMovie,thefastandfunmoviemakingappthatputseverything youneedtotellyourstoryatyournger ps.BrowseandplayprojectsintheMarqueeview.CreateHolly woodstyletrailersorsophis catedhomemoviesinminutes.*Andshareyournishedprojectswiththe worldrightfromiMovie.

Whyweuseitatschoolandwhyyoumightwanttouseitathome: MakingcomicsontheiPadrequiresavarietyofliteracies.Digital,visualandtradi onalreading &wri ng.Agreatwaytotellastoryaboutplay,avaca onorafamilyou ng.

From ES PE Team
ESPEclasseswillchangevenuesasofnextweekfromOctober16thNovember22nd. CoachChapmanSwimmingPool CoachBillESGym CoachPekinCoveredCourtPreschoolKindergartenGrade1/ESFieldGrade2Gymnas cslevel3 CoachvanGaalenGymnas cslevel2ESGymLevel1

Amanda Pekin
ES PE Program Leader 3

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

Message from the Clinic

Message from CMC

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PHOTOS Retakes and New Students

Rm. 1123 Changing Room October 21 and 22, 7:30 AM - 1:00 P.M. October 23, 8:30 AM - 2:45 PM October 24, 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM
The photographer will be on campus next week, 21-24 October, for the Middle School Photo Shoot. ES Students who were not able to have their photo taken last September and those who wish to have retakes done may do so during this week. For NEW STUDENTS who came in after the September photo shoot, an order sheet will be sent home with your child this Friday, 17th October, with instructions on how you may order your childs photo. There will be no retakes for class photos. All photo orders will be delivered on 13 December 2013. Parents are welcome to be with their child during the photo shoot.

Check out our new CMC Blog. http://cmc.ismonline.org/

DEAR PARENTS!

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

From Operations and Security Office

Opera onsandSecurity
Accessandparkingwithinthecampusareimportantsecurityandsafetyissues.ForthewellbeingofallmembersoftheISMcom munity,thoseenteringtheschoolcampusarerequestedtotakenoteoftheinforma onandproceduresoutlinedbelow.

ParentIDs
WewillbeissuingnewparentIDsfortheschoolyear2013/14.Toreducetheinconveniencetoparentsofthisreplacementpro gram,theoldparentIDcardswillbevalidforschoolaccessun ltheendoftherstsemesteronDecember18however,electto applyforasmartcardIDwhichwillbeusablewiththenewcashlesspaymentsystembeingintroducedintotheschoolforSY2013 14.TherewillbeafeeofP250.00forasmartcardwhichcoversinparttheregistra onfeetheschoolisrequiredtopayforeach cardissued. Thesecurityoceisnowprocessingapplica onsforthenewparentIDs.Aswerequirenewphotographsforthecardsparentsare askedtovisitthesecurityoceforthetakingoftheirpicture.

SchoolPasses
Schoolpassesissuedtoparentsemployeesandrepresenta vesneedtobereplacedfornextschoolyear.AsofAugust31,2013 theorangeborderedpasseswillbeinvalid. Thesecurityoceisnowaccep ngapplica onsfornewschoolpasses.Thesepasseswillnotbecompa blewiththecashlesspay mentsystem. Eachfamilywillbegiventwofreeschoolpasses.Addi onalschoolpassesmaybeobtaineda erpayingaprocessingfeeof Php100.00eachtotheCashiersOce.

VisitorsPasses
AllvisitorsmustsecureapassfromtheguardhouseatGate3.Beforeentrywillbeallowed,atelephonecheckwillbemadewith therelevantocetoconrmthevisitorsbusinesswithintheschool.VisitorswillneedtosurrenderaphotoIDuponentrytocam pus.

CarS ckers
Thecars ckersforschoolyear2013/2014areavailablefromthesecurityoce. Forvehiclesalreadydisplayinganexis ngs cker,parentsshouldsubmitacompletedrenewalformwithacopyofacurrentLTO ocialreceipt.Fornewvehicles,parentsareremindedthatacopyofthevehiclescer cateofregistra onandacurrentocial receiptneedtobesubmi edwiththeapplica on.Applica onsforvehiclesregisteredwithcompaniesorotherins tu onsshould besupportedbyale erofassignment. EachISMfamilywillbeissuedonevehicles ckerfreeofcharge.Anyaddi onals ckerswillbeissuedfollowingpaymentofP100to thecashiersoce. Inordertofacilitatetheeasyrecogni onofauthorizedcarsatthegates,thes ckersshouldbeaxedtothetoprightcornerof thewindshield.Furthertothis,oldISMs ckersissuedinpreviousyearsshouldberemoved. Vehiclesnotdisplayingacurrentcars ckerwillnotbeallowedaccessfromAugust31,2013.

Drivers,HelpersandBodyguards
Drivers,helpersandbodyguardsshouldnotwaitoncampusforstudentsthroughouttheschoolday.A erdroppingostudents theyshouldexittheschoolgroundsandnotreturnmorethan30minutesbeforedismissal me.Thosewhorepeatedlyfailtocom plywiththeregula onwillhavetheiraccessprivilegesuspended. Onlythosevehiclescarryingparentsorotherpeoplewithbusinesswithintheschoolwillbeallowedtoreturntothecampusbe forethescheduledpickup me. 5

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

(Continued from page 5)

Therearedesignatedareasforunaccompanieddrivers,yayas,helpersandsecurityescortstowaitforparentsandstudents.Unless specicallyauthorized,theymaynotenteranyotherarea.Intheinterestofsecurity,andtopreventconges onatthepedestrian entrancestothecoveredparkingarea,parentsarerequestedtoemphasizetotheiremployeestheimportanceofcoopera ngwith thesecuritystaandremainingintheappropriateareas.

Firearms
AllmembersoftheISMcommunityareremindedthatitisstrictlyforbiddenforrearmstobebroughtontothecampus.Thisin cludesconcealedweaponscarriedbybodyguardsforcloseprotec on.Anypersonarrivingattheschoolwitharearmshouldin formthegateguardandarrangementswillbemadefortheweapontobesafelyandsecurelystoredduringthevisitorsstay.

Securitystadirec ons
Oursecurityteamisendeavoringtomaketheschoolassafeandsecureanenvironmentaspossibleforallmembersofourcom munity. Weaskthateverybodycooperatewithusinthisimportanttask.Inpar cular,allthoseenteringourcampusarerequestedto complywithanydirec onsgiventothembymembersofourguardforce. Ifyouareconfusedorunclearastothepurposeofsuchinstruc ons,pleaseseekclarica onfromthesecurityoce.Pleasenote thatitistheparentsresponsibilitytoadvisetheirstaaccordingly. Thankyouforyourcoopera on.WearelookingforwardtoanothergreatyearatInterna onalSchoolManila. Bestwishes,

Michael Flynn
Director, Operations & Security

From the Art Department

TheESArtteamishavingaveryproduc vestarttotheyear.We wouldliketoaskforyoursupportindona nganynewspapers ormagazinesyouhaveathomeaswellascentertubesfromtoi let ssueandkitchenpaperrolls.Thiswillbeusedforaspecial project!Also,ifyouhaveanyoldshirtsortshirtsthatyouno longerusewewouldreallyappreciatethemtouseasextra smocksforpar cularlymessyprojects!
Thanks,

International School Manila ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES (ES-AFAC)

ES Art Team

TENNIS FOR AFAC WILL ONLY BE UNTIL OCTOBER 25, 2013

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

From the Admissions & Advancement Office

UPDATEYOURCONTACTDETAILSTHROUGHTHEISMPARENTPORTAL

DearParents, WearepleasedtoinformyouthatyourchildsPowerSchoolaccountmaybeaccessedthroughtheISM ParentPortal.AsidefrombeingagatewaytoPowerSchool,theParentPortalalsoprovidesinforma onon schoolevents,usefullinks,aswellaschildspecicacademicblogsandstudentpor olios.Shouldyouneed tomakeanychangestoyourcontactinforma on,visittheParentPortalandfollowthestepsbelow:

STEP1:GOTOwww.ismanila.org

Note: PowerSchool opens in a new tab, allowing users to return to the Parent Portal any me.

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

Note: An email no ca on will be sent to your registered email address regarding the changes made on PowerSchool.

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

AgreatwaytostayintouchwiththeISMATACprogramistosub scribeviaRSSfeedtotheATACblogandalsotofollowviatwi er (seetwi erfeedonthebloghomepage) EachMondayIwillposttheweekshappeningsandhighlightim Welldonetoallplayersandcoachesforthe1stseasonIASAS portanteventsforstudentsandparentsinforma onontheATAC Championshipsthatwereheldlastweekend.CONGRATULA blogandintheregularFridayparentbulle ns. TIONStoourincrediblefreshmanMollyBaileywhoranaway withthegirls5kmXCraceinJakartaina meof19:33.What GAMESCHEDULEPDF:(accesstogamescheduleinforma on) anamazingachievementforsuchayoungrunner.Thegirlsand Informa onaboutallmidweek/weekendxturesforISMteams boysXCteamsplaced5thand4thoverallintheteamsdivi canbefoundviatheATACblog.Pleasenotethegameschedule sions. doeschangeo enduetoinvolvementwithmanylocalschoolsso pleasecheckthepageregularlytondoutthelatestinforma on Ourboysandgirlsvolleyballteamsdidextremelywelltotake ofwhereandwhentheBearcatsteamsareplaying.Clickon SilverandBronzerespec vely.Bothteamsplayedfantas c schedulestabortheBearcatlogotobedirectedtothepower matchesthroughoutthetournamentandfullydeservethere schoolsecuresiteh p://powerschool.ismanila.org/public/ wonderfulresults.Congratstobothteamsandthecoachesfor Youwillneedyourpowerschoolusernameandpasswordtoac anoutstandingtournamentInJakarta. cessthegameschedulepdf. Theboysandgirlssoccerteamsba ledveryhardinTaipeibut alasclosegamesdidnotgotheirwayandnishedin5thand BEARCATDEN:h p://atac.ismonline.org/bearcatden/ 6thplacethisyear.Bothteamswereyoungthisyearwitha TheBearcatDenisopenforbusiness,pleasedropbytocheckout solidgroupoffreshmanplayers.Welookforwardtobe er therangeofBearcatproducts.Wehaveagreatteamofvolun resultsnextyearwithsuchapromisinggroupofyoungplayers teerswhorunthedenandarealwayslookingformorepeopleto inbothteams.Visitwww.iasas.asiaforallthenalresultsof helpout.Ifyouareinterestedinjoiningafantas cgroupplease 1stseasonIASASevents. contactanyofourdenmembersduringdenopeninghoursor pleasecontactCarolynChingforde TheRIFAsoccerfes valnalswillbeheldtomorrowSaturday tailscarolynqching@yahoo.com.Wearealwayslookingfornew Oct19thatISM,a eryetanotherweathercancella onlast volunteersandencourageparentsfromES/MStojoinourgroup. Saturdayduetothetyphoon.Alluptodateinforma onabout ourES/MSsoccerteamsandtheRIFAfes valsetccanalways befoundhereh p://atac.ismonline.org/atac/1stseason/es HaveagreatyearattheHomeoftheBearcats! soccerrifaleaguefes vals/andhereforMSfes val teamsh p://atac.ismonline.org/atac/1stseason/mssoccer rifaleaguefes vals/ Regards, Intheeventofacancella onorifyouareunsurewhethera fes valwillbeheldpleaserefertothelinksaboveorh p:// atac.ismonline.org/manilaweatherforecast/atacevent cancela onextremeweather/Assoonasacancella onisno Athletic Director edISMsecurityisinformedandpostsaremadetothepages referredtoontheATACblog. The2ndseasontryoutsscheduleandtheseasonprac ce schedulewhichrunsfromOct23toFeb7isnowpostedon no ceboardsaroundschool,andisalsonowavailableonthe ATACblog.2ndseasonsportsareBasketball,Tennis,Varsity swimteam,RugbyandTouchh p://atac.ismonline.org/ schedules/hs/ Newfamiliespleasetakesome metoperusetheATACblogas thiswillhelporientateyouwiththewidevarietyofco curricularprogramsISMoers.

From the ATAC Office

Mark Pekin

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

1st SEASON AWARDS

10

Elementary School Parent Bulletin

18 October 2013

ANNOUNCEMENTS

11