ISSUE # 31

SY1617
MIDDLE SCHOOL

WEEK OF:
Friday Bulletin Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

MAY 1 TO 5
Inside this issue:

Dear Parents, MS Play:

Man of La Mancha
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The teenage years are a minefield - not only for students but for parents as well!
MS/HS Art Show
MS Film Festival
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Between the ages of 11 and 13 a childs need for privacy increases and this can lead to
them posting signs on their bedroom door such as the one shown in the graph-
ic. Accompanying the sign can be an even more terrifying thing that causes parents to MS After-school Activities 4
stop dead in their tracks - a closed (and
sometimes locked) door! This shift in a Athletics and
& Activities
Athletics Activities(ATAC) 5
childs behavior is often a bitter pill for
many parents to swallow and can lead
to worrying thoughts about why your Clinic 7
child could possibly need to close their
door, let alone lock it!
Admissions & Advancement 8
As MS educators, we are frequently
approached by parents asking the criti-
cal question Should Teenagers Be Able ISM Upcoming Events 9
to Lock Their Bedroom Doors? This

PARENT
article may provide some insights about why teens close their doors and some sugges-
tions as to how parents can respond.

As an international school, with a diverse population, we appreciate that every family is VOLUNTEERS
different in regards to culture, beliefs and values. We know that a workable solution for
one family may prove untenable for a different family. Ultimately, each household will NEEDED!
make their own decisions about whether a closed, locked or partially closed door is ac- We are looking for some parent volun-
ceptable in their home. However, it is our hope that upon facing a closed door or poster teers to be guest speakers for the
for the first time, parents will open up a collaborative conversation with their child and Grade 8 Advocating For Change (AFC)
project. You would come in for a 30 - 45
reach an agreement (and perhaps a compromise) about the way forward. minute presentation / Q/A with a group
of grade 8 students related to the
If you are interested in a creative way to tackle the closed door issue with pre-teens, on topics of: Climate Change, Gender
please scroll down to the Nice to Know section and look at the respectful solution one Inequality, Water, Renewable Energy,
Middle School mom and her daughter came up with. Infectious Disease, Poverty & Hunger,
Contemporary Slavery, and Migration.
Ideally we would like to arrange these
THIS WEEK: presentations on Tuesday April
Friday, April 28th and Monday, May 1st: No School: 25 or May 2 from 2:30 - 3:15 pm but we
School is closed on Friday and Monday, creating an extended long weekend. could also offer them on Wednesday
Please remember to encourage a balance between work, rest and recrea- April 26 or May 3 from 7:30 - 8:15am.
tion when planning these days off.
If you are working in the field or have a
keen interest in a topic area and want to
Thursday, May 4th: Explore Art Exhibition Opens: share this, we would love to have you
What: Art Exhibition Opening - MS and HS pieces of work take part. Please contact Marc St. Lau-
Where: FAT Lobby rent at stlaurentm@ismanila.org and
he'll provide you with all the necessary
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
information.
Ending Date: Wednesday, May 17th
 Thursday, May 4th - Saturday, May 6th: MS Play
What: Man of La Mancha
Where: FAT
Time of Shows:
Thursday = 6:00 p.m.
Friday = 6:00 p.m.
Saturday = 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Tickets: Can be purchased from the Cashiers
Office.
Students 150 PHP
Adults 300 PHP

NEED TO KNOW:
Middle School Activity Day:
The unanticipated school closure for tomorrow has unfortu-
nately impacted our MS Activity Day. Since Monday, the or-
ganizing committee has been trying to find an alternative
date for this event. Unfortunately, due to the lack of availa-
ble facilities and an action-packed calendar between now
and the end of the school year, we have been unable to find Kind regards,
a day that works. This sadly means that we will have to can- Rachel Harrington, Middle School Principal
cel this event. This message was communicated to all stu- Amanda Pekin, Assistant Middle School Principal
dents via email today and we want to make sure parents are
kept firmly in the communication loop.

NICE TO KNOW:
Door Hangers!
In connection with the opening message about pre-teens/
teens desire to start closing and possibly locking their doors,
here is one ISM Middle School Parents creative solution to
this predicament. May 19: All MS Library resources due from stu-
dents and parents
After a collaborative conversation with her G6 daughter
about her closed door, they agreed that the door would be May 29 June 7: Summer borrowing available
open at least two to three inches and a door hanger would
be created to help provide some level of privacy and respect in the MS Library
for personal space. If the Do Not Disturb side was dis-
played, the child would be given some privacy. If the You
are Welcome to Come Right In side was showing, then clear-
ly pop in visits/chats could take place.

I have the parents and childs permission to share the tem-

plates they created in case any parents/students find this an
appealing option or a workable compromise. The templates
are attached to the MS Parent Bulletin email. Please feel free
to download or save them as needed.

The images here show the two sides of the finished door
hanger. Your child can go online and select the images that
reflect his/her personality, thoughts and feelings. Copy and
paste them onto the template, print and laminate.

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Practice schedule for S4 sports is posted to ATAC blog sched- May 6 ISM Goodwill Gymnastics Meet
ules page and is on notice boards at school. S4 runs from May 12-14 Jakarta MS Mixed Touch tourna-
week of April 17 to June 2nd and is designated as pre season ment
training for S1 teams and other sports offered by coaches. May 13 ISM Judo Invitational

Current Grade 8 students who will enter grade 9 next year To find out details of all the Bearcats matches mid week and
should attend HS training sessions offered. on weekends go to the ATAC game schedule page- link is
provided below and follow the instructions to find out when
We are also running a MS Baseball and Softball development and where our Bearcat teams will be playing. The ATAC
program at the HS field. Any MS students from grades 5-7 (Athletics) Game schedule is housed within the parent portal
are welcome to join. Softball Mon/Tues and Baseball is to ensure secure access for ISM parents http://atac.ism-
Wed/Thurs. If you have questions talk with Coach Tim Ben- online.org/schedules/
ford and Coach Angela Respecki.
Please take the time to navigate the ATAC blog http://
A big thanks to our Sailfish swimmers and coaches for a atac.ism-online.org/ as it is our one stop shop for all infor-
wonderful meet held last weekend. Two days full of swim mation related to the competitive ISM sports program.
racing and excellent performances. Well done Sailfish!
For our All Year Round teams- Wall Climbing, Chess, Judo,
Next weekend we host the ISM Goodwill Gymnastics meet. TKD, Aikido, Table Tennis -As these programs are year round
Teams will arrive Friday and take part in open warm-up ses- it is possible for students to join during the year as long as
sions Friday afternoon to get used to our facility and equip- space is available. See link to information and schedule to
ment with the meet proper beginning attend and meet the coaches. All year round sports
at 7:45am on Saturday May 6th at the MS gym. teams See schedule for our All year round
teams program here
ISM Goodwill meet competition schedule:
Session 1: WAG Level 2 & 4 Please note the practice times for ATAC programs for SY 16-
Open Stretch: 7:00am 17 are as follows: ATAC all year round teams- 3:15-4:30. For
40 min apparatus warm-up in the competition hall our Sailfish swim team program please check the Sailfish
will be allowed BUT no one touch warm-up for the blog for information http://sailfish.ism-online.org/
1st event
March-In: 7:45am ATAC Gymnastics team practices 3:10-4:50 M/W/F
Competition: 8:00am* awards will follow im- All HS seasonal teams practice from 3:05- 4:50pm on their
mediately after the session respective practice afternoons. MS seasonal teams practice
Session 2: WAG Level 3 and MAG all levels from 3:15-4:45pm.In order to clear the campus prior
Open Stretch: 10:30am to 5pm all after school programs will conclude by 4:50pm or
* apparatus warm-up in the competition hall earlier. The last bus is 4:55pm this is due to the ever in-
from 10:30am to 11:00am or as soon as the previ- creasing traffic concerns in our area.
ous session end
* one touch warm-up for all the apparatus Parents and students please take some time to peruse the
March-In: 11:05am ATAC blog it has a wide variety of information and links to
Competition: 11:15am * awards will follow our sports and activities program. If you have any questions
immediately after the session regarding the competitive program of sports at ISM after
Session 3: WAG Level 5 reading the information on the blog please send an email
Open Stretch: 1:00pm to pekinm@ismanila.org and I will endeavor to assist you as
* apparatus warm-up in the competition hall best I can.
from 1:00pm to 1:50pm or as soon as the previous
session ends Bearcat Den- drop by our fantastic spirit store. There is a a
* one touch warm-up for all the apparatus range of products and items to purchase including items
March-In: 2:00pm from our service partners. Bearcat Den hours of operation-
Competition: 2:15pm awards will follow imme- 7am-4pm Mon-Fri.
diately after the session
Best Regards,
Upcoming events- (full match schedule available at ATAC Mark Pekin
Game schedule): Director of Athletics/Activities
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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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