ISSUE # 29

SY1617
MIDDLE SCHOOL

WEEK OF:
Friday Bulletin Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

APRIL 10 TO 14

Inside this issue:

Dear Parents,

Supporting and guiding your child as you collaboratively navigate adolescence is no mean
MS Film Festival 3
feat! There are many pitfalls that can ensare your child or trip you up as a parent - especially
when we throw social media into the mix! We hope that this article/video clip may help shed
some insights into What Teens Need Most from their Parents. Findings from longitudinal studies After-School Activities 4
and brain research are pulled together in this Wall Street Journal article so that parents can gar-
ner tips to help them successfully support their child as they move through this critical stage of
development. Athletics & Activities 5

We would also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful week off and trust you will
enjoy some quality family time. Please read on to learn more about whats happening after we
Athletics & Activities (ATAC)
Clinic 7
return from our vacation:
Parent Community
THIS WEEKEND: Association
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Friday, April 7th - Sunday, April 9th: 3rd Season IASAS Continues:
The third season IASAS sporting events continue over the weekend. The ISM campus is
open to parents and students so please feel welcome to come along and support our Admissions & Advancement 10
Bearcats! (Please note, that MS students should not be dropped off at school without
adult supervision.)
Badminton hosted at ISM ISM Upcoming Events 11
Golf hosted in Manila
Baseball and Softball at Singapore American School - live streamed
Track and Field at International School Bangkok - live streamed
Please see the ATAC blog for the game schedules

Friday, April 7th: Vacation! GUARDIANSHIP AGREEMENTS

School closes for a one week vacation on Friday.
When both parents are going to be
School reopens on Monday, April 17th. away temporarily, It is important for
them to notify the Middle School Office
WEEK OF APRIL 17TH - 21ST: in advance, stating who will be responsi-
Tuesday, April 18th: MS Parent Coffee: ble for the student and who the school
should contact in case of emergency.
Time: 7:45 - 9:00a.m.
Domestic helpers or emergency con-
Location: Little Theater tacts in Powerschool do not qualify as
Focus: guardians. For more information please
7:45 - 7:50 = Summer Fun! contact the Middle school office.
Learn about our optional summer vacation program with Rustic
Pathways as well as ISMs new Bearcat Summer Academy!
E-MAIL:
ms@ismanila.org
7:50 - 8:30 = Navigating Transitions
Whether you are saying goodbye to ISM or saying farewell to a
much loved friend, transitions are never easy. Parents and students PHONE:
wrestle with transitions and, as we approach a time of year where 840-8550
there is a lot of movement in our school community, we want to be 840-8553
sure to set both students/parents up for success. In this workshop PLEASE CLICK HERE TO
we will share practical strategies and tools for coping with transi- DOWNLOAD THE TEMPORARY
tions. GUARDIANSHIP AGREEMENT FORM
 8:30 - 9:00 = Breakout Sessions: (Pick an interest area and come and chat!)
Digital Citizenship and Technology Tips
Literacy - What can I do to support my child?
Understanding MS Girls
Understanding MS boys
General Q and A

COMING UP IN APRIL!
Friday, April 28th - Middle School Activity Day:

MS UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: dors while also providing deeper insights into grade level dynamics
and relationships. Please see below to find out which Counselor
MS Counseling - Changes for SY 2017 - 2018 will be working with each grade:
In the MS years, there is a significant amount of change - personal, Grade 5 = Diana van der Merwe
social, emotional, psychological, physical and intellectual. While Grade 6 = Ce Unite
we place great importance in developing all facets of develop- Grade 7 = Marc St. Laurent
ment, we appreciate the critical role that social-emotional devel- Grade 8 = Charlotte Bliss
opment plays in these pivotal years. In our efforts to be develop-
mentally responsive, we have decided to increase our staffing Diana van der Merwe and Ce Unite will form the G5/G6 Counseling
allocation in the MS Counseling department for the coming aca- partnership and Marc St. Laurent and Charlotte Bliss will make up
demic year (2017 - 2018) and we would like to extend a very warm the G7/G8 Counseling partnership. Each Counselor will rotate up
welcome to Ms. Ce Unite who will be moving from the ES Counsel- with a given cohort as they move from G5 to G6 or from G7 to G8
ing department to join us in MS as of August 2017! to ensure continuity in their social-emotional development. After
working with a cohort for a two year cycle, they will return to the
The 3 MS Counselors are currently allocated to students according younger grade level.
to a childs last name and all three Counselors work with students
across G5 - G8. For example - In the 2017 - 2018 school year, Diana
Diana van der Merwe = Students whose surname will work with G5 and she will move up with these
starts with the letters A - H students as they go into G6 for the 2018 - 2019
Charlotte Bliss = Students whose surname starts school year. In the 2019 - 2020 school year, Diana
with the letters I - O will return to G5 and the cycle will repeat.
Marc St. Laurent = Students whose surname starts
with the letters P - Z We are very excited about this change and firmly believe it will be
of significant benefit to students, parents and teachers.
With the new Counseling model, we will assign a dedicated Coun-
selor to each of the 4 grade levels. This shift in staffing will reduce Kind regards,
the number of students on a given Counselors caseload and pro- Rachel Harrington, Middle School Principal
vide increased opportunities for the Counselor to connect with Amanda Pekin, Assistant Middle School Principal
individual students, grade level peer groups and student ambassa-

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 Season 4 Netball and Cross Country G4-7
During the 4th season April 17th-June 2nd we still have places for Netball Tuesdays and will be
adding Cross Country on Wednesdays. These two activities will be available for Grade 4 stu-
dents as well as MS.

For grade 4 students wishing to attend either of these activities, please note they will need to
wait until 3:15pm either in their usual ES Activity, the Library or ES Kantina.

Netball - Tuesdays, 3:15-4:30, Covered Court

Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Games are played on a rec-
tangular court with raised goal rings at each end. Each team attempts to score goals by passing
a ball down the court and shooting it through its goal ring. Netball games are 60 minutes long.
Variations have been developed to increase the games pace and appeal to a wider audience.
You will be able to develop skills to be able to play adapted versions of this popular game.

Cross Country - Wednesdays, 3:15-4:15, HS Track

Calling all students in Grades 4-7 who are interested in trying out for the Middle School Cross
Country Running Team in August! Run, be fit, have fun! Wednesdays, April 19 to May 31, 3:15-
4:15pm, at the Track. No experience required!

If your child is interested in adding these to their after-school schedule please complete the sign
-up form before Friday 8th April at 10am. Cross Country & Netball Sign up Form

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Practice schedule for S4 sports is now posted to ATAC shop for all information related to the competitive
blog schedules page and is on notice boards. S4 runs ISM sports program.
from week of April 17 to June 2nd and is designated
as pre season training for S1 teams and other sports For our All Year Round teams- Wall Climbing, Chess,
offered by coaches. Judo, TKD, Aikido, Table Tennis -As these programs
are year round it is possible for students to join dur-
This week is IASAS week follow all the action, results ing the year as long as space is available. See link to
and livestream of our Bearcats via www.iasas.asia information and schedule to attend and meet the
coaches. All year round sports teams See schedule for
SAS and ISB will be live streaming Baseball/Softball our All year round teams program here
games and the Track meet from Bangkok. ISM will be
live streaming IASAS Badminton. Keep in touch with Please note the practice times for ATAC programs for
the IASAS golf results at Mt. Malarayat SY 16-17 are as follows: ATAC all year round teams-
via iasas.asia site. Go BEARCATS! Best wishes to all 3:15-4:30. For our Sailfish swim team program
participants and coaches. please check the Sailfish blog for information http://
sailfish.ism-online.org/
Please note a Baseball and Fast Pitch Softball devel-
opment program for MS boys and girls will take place ATAC Gymnastics team practices 3:10-4:50 M/W/F
during S4 beginning after the April break until the
end of May. These programs will be led by Coach All HS seasonal teams practice from 3:05- 4:50pm on
Benford and Coach Respecki along with other coach- their respective practice afternoons. MS seasonal
es who will assist in this development program. teams practice from 3:15-4:45pm.In order to clear
the campus prior to 5pm all after school programs
Thanks to all our hosting parents this week for IASAS will conclude by 4:50pm or earlier. The last bus
Badminton and for Golf on Saturday night. Your sup- is 4:55pm this is due to the ever increasing traffic
port to house is greatly appreciated and makes these concerns in our area.
events so special for the athletes.
Parents and students please take some time to pe-
Upcoming events- (full match schedule available at ruse the ATAC blog it has a wide variety of infor-
ATAC Game schedule) mation and links to our sports and activities program.
April 5-8 S3 IASAS Championships Badminton/ If you have any questions regarding the competitive
Golf at ISM, Track at ISB, Baseball/Softball at SAS program of sports at ISM after reading the infor-
Apr 22-23 Sailfish International meet at ISM mation on the blog please send an email
April 26 S3 HS sports awards Lofthouse to pekinm@ismanila.org and I will endeavor to assist
May 6 ISM Goodwill Gymnastics Meet you as best I can.
May 12-14 Jakarta MS Mixed Touch tournament
Bearcat Den- drop by our fantastic spirit store. There
To find out details of all the Bearcats matches mid is a a range of products and items to purchase in-
week and on weekends go to the ATAC game sched- cluding items from our service partners. Bearcat Den
ule page- link is provided below and follow the in- hours of operation- 7am-4pm Mon-Fri.
structions to find out when and where our Bearcat
teams will be playing. The ATAC(Athletics) Game Best Regards,
schedule is housed within the parent portal to ensure Mark Pekin
secure access for ISM parents http://atac.ism- Director of Athletics/Activities
online.org/schedules/

Please take the time to navigate the ATAC

blog http://atac.ism-online.org/ as it is our one stop
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 Important Information on Re-Enrollment for SY 2017-2018
Dear Parents:

Online Re-Enrollment for SY17-18 is now open. As before, parents will have to log into PowerSchool in order
to do this. Below are instructions to help. If you are not sure of your PowerSchool log-in or need support,
please contact your divisional office.

Please note that you must register online by 4PM on Friday, May 26 at the latest. PowerSchool will close on
that date and will not re-open. We have over 500 students on our waitpool, and we will assume that your
children are leaving if you have not registered online by 4PM on Friday, May 26.

If your child/ren will not be returning for SY17-18, you MUST follow the Withdrawal Procedure and submit a
Withdrawal Notification Form on or before Friday, May 12.

How to Register Online Deadline: 4PM on Friday, May 26

Visit www.ismanila.org and click on Parent Portal under the Community drop-down menu. Log-in to the
Parent Portal and click on PowerSchool.

Look for the Re-Enrollment Clearance icon on the left hand panel. Click on the icon and update:
Parent/Guardian Contact Information
Health History & Immunization Status

Once complete, you will receive a confirmation message and an email notification verifying that you have
been successful in registering online. The email will outline instructions for the remaining steps of Re-
Enrollment.

You MUST complete the entire Re-Enrollment process before the start of SY17-18. Upon completion, you will
receive your FINAL CLEARANCE NOTIFICATION, which is necessary for your child to attend class on August 7,
2017.

To check status of Re-Enrollment, please visit the Parent Portal page.

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