International School Manila

ES PARENT BULLETIN
Volume 16 16 April 2010

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER The teachers of the grade are responsible for establishing the
APR classes their students are moving to. For example, Grade 3
teachers will organize the Grade 4 classes for next year. Once
12 - 23 MAP Testing for Grades 3 & 4 the grade level has made their final draft, the lists are then re-
viewed by the Counselors, Learning Support and ESL Program
21, 28 Wednesday Student Late Start @ 8.30am Leaders, and the Principal and Assistant Principal. At the end
19 - 23 PTA Used Book Fair, CMC Lobby of the school year, you will receive a section card informing
you of your child’s teacher for the next school year.
22 ES Parent Coffee @ 7.30am, Little Theatre
ES International Day - Flag Ceremony @ It is not uncommon to receive special requests from par-
ents. In order to minimize inequalities among sections, we do
7.25am, ES Playground not accept special requests from parents for placement with a
30
International Day Concert, Fine Arts Theatre particular student, classmate or teacher. To do so we would
Schedule on page 2 have to honor 650 preferences and this would be impossible to
do. If you do have any concerns about the process or ques-
MAY tions about next school year, please do organize a time to
meet with us. To help with the process we would request
3 Labor Day Holiday - No School those parents who are not returning next school year to begin
10 Presidential Elections - No School the withdrawal process and inform Admission Office and the
ES Guidance Office.
15 K-12 Dance Recital
Next week, the Elementary School has been invited to watch
the MS production of “Seussical,” which we will be doing on
From the ES Administration Friday afternoon. This is a great opportunity for our younger
students to watch our older students perform!
Dear Elementary School Parents,
International Day will be on April 30 this year, kicking off with
It is at this time of year that we start to receive a lot of ques-
our flag ceremony in the ES Playground at 7:25am. This will be
tions about classes for the next school year. Class numbers in
followed by our series of grade level music concerts, a new
each grade level for next year will be remaining the same, with
format for this year, which we hope you enjoy! Students are
four groups in Preschool, five groups in ECLC, and six groups
welcome to dress in an outfit that represents their home coun-
in each of Grades 1 – 4. Aside from the students going into
try.
their second year of Preschool, where we maintain the group
and teachers as much as possible, mixing of classes is some-
On April 22, we have our final ES Parent Coffee of the year at
thing that happens at every grade level. We have a relatively
7:30am in the Little Theatre. We will be discussing homework
transient student population and we feel it gives us the oppor-
and also collecting general feedback from you, as we look
tunity to balance the classes for the start of the new year. It
ahead to the 2010-2011 school year.
also helps the children expand their circle of friends and helps
them to adapt to change.
Please note that Grade 4 students will be bringing home an
envelope today containing their individual results from the ex-
This sectioning process is very involved, one is on which all the
ternal ERB writing assessment. If you have any questions,
teachers spend considerable time and give a lot of thought and
please meet with your child’s class teacher.
consideration. The aim of the process is to create balanced
groups in terms of gender, language proficiency, academic
We hope everyone has a great weekend!
needs, emotional and social dynamics, and a mix of ethnici-
ties. Students receiving Learning Support and ESL are also dis-
tributed evenly across the classes. As much as possible, we Yours in Education,
also try to place each child with a least one other person they
work well with. Simon Gillespie Michael Rourke
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

From the Music Department From the Art Department

Hi all. Just a reminder that

the Art Department has an
ongoing need for recycled
materials. In particular, we
are in need of ribbon, gift
wrap, plastic and metal lids/
caps and broken toys. Any
deliveries can be dropped off
at room 1189 opposite the
ES gym.
Many thanks!

The ES International Day Concert

will be held. . .
Ÿ Friday, April 30
Ÿ Students should dress for International Day, repre-
senting any country they choose. We hope to see you
there!

~ Music Team
From the PE Department
We hope you all had an “active” holiday. Please send photos of
your children being active over the break to share with the PE
department. If any families have photos of swimming with the
whale sharks at Donsol, we would love to see them. We are look-
ing for photos of children actively involved in water sports as
part of an article in the upcoming Bamboo Shoots on swimming
and all the fun activities we can enjoy once we learn to swim
safely – such as scuba, sailing canoeing, kayaking, surfing, para-
sailing, water skiing, jet boating etc. We would also love to see
photos of parents being active with their children, as research
tells us this is the best way to foster lifelong activity in your chil-
dren. Please rename photos adding your child’s name and grade level and forward photos to Pe-
[email protected].

Amanda Pekin and the ES PE Team

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

From the School Clinic From the ATAC Office

Head Lice

During the last week, we performed one of our

regular head lice checks in Elementary
School. Lice prefer to live in clean, well-kept hair
and we are all susceptible to getting them, espe-
cially in a setting such as school where there are
many children in close contact.

Please inspect your child’s hair every week. This is

recommended for all school children, particularly
of elementary school age. You will need to use a
very fine toothed comb and part the hair into
sections, examining each section thoroughly be-
fore moving on. Regular, thorough combing
through the hair using plenty of conditioner may
help to prevent lice eggs holding on to the hair
and prevent an infestation but an existing infesta-
tion may require pharmaceutical treatment.

We recommend that you check your child’s head

thoroughly and, if you find any live head lice, buy
one of the many preparations available from any
mainstream pharmacy to eradicate them (ask Sailfish Swim Club
your pharmacist for advice). Follow the instruc-
tions on the container and ensure that all family Dear Swimmers and Parents,
members are treated. You need to thoroughly
wash any soft furnishings eg: bedding, cushion Please be reminded to reserve/purchase your
covers, hats or even helmets. Soft toys should also dinner tickets for the Awards Night (May 27).
be put into plastic bags for a week and then Early reservation would be much appreciated to
washed thoroughly. facilitate our catering reservation. You can ap‐
proach one of us at the ES Canteen from 2:15 to
Please continue to inspect your child’s hair on a
3:15 pm from M‐F. (Christie Jeffries, Lorna Gon‐
daily basis until no live lice can be detected and
then reduce the inspections to every 3 days. Your zales and Pia Miralao)
child can come to school after the first treatment For more information please visit the Sailfish
but you must ensure that there are no live lice in Blog ‐ http://sailfish.ism‐online.org/
the hair before coming to school. If no more lice
are detected, you can continue with one inspec- Cost
tion every week. With a little vigilance, we can Swimmers Free
ensure that the children at school suffer as little as Parents Siblings 250 pesos.
possible from these troublesome little creatures!
Thanks
Thank you for your continued support.
Christie Jeffries, Lorna Gonzales and
From the Clinic Pia Miralao

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

From the Admission Office

IMPORTANT information regarding Re-Enrollment
for School Year 2010-2011

Dear Parents,

It is RE-Enrolment time!!!

You have two choices for getting the Re-Enrollment forms this year:
1. DOWNLOAD the forms from the ISM website (under Admission go to the Re-Enrolment & Withdrawal link)
2. PICK-UP the forms at the Admission Office (by parent or child or if you would like a helper to do this, please supply them
with a letter of authorization.)

Please follow the instructions on the Re-Enrollment Clearance Form and return the following completed documents:
• Parent and School Shared Agreements form – to the Admission Office
• ISM Drug Policy Form – to the Admission Office for students re-enrolling for Grade 7 and Grade 9 only
• Board (proxy form) is an optional form that can be submitted to the Admission Office
• Health Clinic Form – to the Clinic
- Updating Form (front side) must be completed for all children
- Physical Examination Form (back side) must also be completed for children entering Grades 1, 5, 9 along with the
Tuberculosis Screening Form

IMPORTANT – KEEP THE RE-ENROLLMENT CLEAR-

ANCE FORM to fulfill the re-enrollment requirements. Bring
and show this form to the respective school office to obtain
the Class Schedule for HS or MS students or to the Cashier to
From the Superintendent
obtain the Section Card for ES Students.
CHANGE IN PROCEDURE
Please note that a Re-Enrollment DEPOSIT PAYMENT Dear Parents:
is not required to reserve a space at the School for SY2010-
11. However, parents are obliged to inform the School in Every year we have to deal with the administrative burden of try-
writing, on or before 15th May, if their children will withdraw ing to collect from parents the $1000 Re-enrollment Deposit. This
at the end of the academic year. There is a WITHDRAWAL is difficult for many parents, especially those whose fees are paid
NOTIFICATION FORM for such purpose; this must be sub- by the sponsoring company, and more difficult still for the school
mitted to the Admissions Office on or before 15th May of each trying to collect from parents, especially those who are not sure of
school year. Failure to do so will lead to a deduction of their circumstances.
US$1,000 from the Facilities Upgrade Deposit (FUD), in This year we shall try something different. There will be no re-
compensation for having held a space for the child and thus enrollment deposit. Instead, we shall expect all departing fami-
preventing the School from offering that space to another child lies to complete the WITHDRAWAL NOTIFICATION
prior to the summer holiday break. FORM on or before May 15th. Failure to do so will lead to a
deduction of $1,000.00 from the Facilities Upgrade Deposit.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to As I am sure you understand, we at school face considerable pres-
contact either of us. sure from families applying to enter their children into ISM. We
have to establish the May 15th deadline in order for us to be fair to
Regards, those families on our waitlist. The earlier you can tell us that you
are leaving school, the sooner we can provide clear answers to
Gary W. Jerome incoming families.
Director of Admission
Sincerely Yours,
Margie Endelman
Deputy Director of Admission David Toze
E-mail: [email protected] Superintendent
Admission Office: 840-8488
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Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

From the Environmental Council

ECo are excited to invite you all to this year’s Earth Day Celebrations!

When? Thursday 22nd April

PCF, INVISIBLE and TRASHEBOLSES will be selling recycled goods

@ Outside the canteen. 10.30-3pm

Recycled Beads and Bag making Workshops run by PCF and INVISIBLE
@ Little Theatre. 3-4.30pm.
Please bring plastic bags and glossy magazines. All are welcome.

ISM's first meat-free menu!

No meat or fish products will be sold in the canteen or concessionaries.

Not only is this in accord with the United Nations declaration that "Meat is one of the top
two or three contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale
from local to global", it also resonates with current health and wellness thinking that
many people consume far too much meat in their diet.
For just one day, we are asking you to vote with your stomachs for a sustainable lifestyle.

Earth Day is our chance to Eat Well for the World.

Join us! Have you ever wondered how our food is made?
Where it came from?
For more information on all of these events, 'Food Inc,' directed by Robert Kenner, ex-
please check out www.ism-online.org/ plores where the food we purchase at the
gogreen grocery store really comes from, and what it
means for the health of future generations.
Thanks to industrial food processing, the
Many thanks for your support, way we eat has changed more in the past 50
years than it has in the previous 10,000 -
and it is having dire environmental and
health impacts.

On Wednesday, April 21
@ 3pm in the Little Theatre
ECO invites you to explore where your
food comes from.
Welcome to the world of Food Inc.

… And don’t forget to visit your community "Dream the world you want and deserve to live in. Write it
garden! down.
Communicate your vision passionately, as if
your life depended upon it!"
(Randy Hayes, Founder of Rainforest Action Network)

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

From Student Council, Service Learning & ECo

Help Support PCF and INVISIBLE

From pop can tab

to purse!

From magazine
to jewelry!

From plastic bag

to purse!

From drink
holder to bag!

Your children can bring plastic bags, magazines, ring pulls from soda cans and tetra paks to
school. We are helping PCF and Invisible by collecting these items and they use them for
making things and sending their children to school. For more information go to: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlOZXdDn3h4

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

Battle of the Bands

International School Manila’s annual student-run Battle
of the Bands (BOB) competition is in its eighth year. This
year’s event has more participants than ever before; 15
Bands and 14 singers, and promises to be the most en-
tertaining BOB yet! The Battle of the Bands committee is
also working with the Philippine Community Fund (PCF)
to raise funds for the construction of 10 permanent
family homes for the people living in the Tondo on the
“Smokey Mountain” dumpsite. Proceeds from ticket
sales and our raffle will go towards achieving this goal.

Tickets for April 17 and 18 are P250 each. These two

nights are the preliminary judging nights and will take
place on ISM’s Middle School Field.

Tickets for the night of April 24 are 350 pesos. This night
is the Final night of competition and will take place on
ISM’s Elementary Field.

Note: Tickets this year are “Baller-bands” (rubber

bracelets), and there are 3 different colors: yellow for
day one, pink for day two, and blue for day three.
“Baller-Band” tickets are on sale at lunch at ISM. While
“Baller-Bands” are limited in number and only on sale
during school hours, those who would like to attend the
event can also purchase entry into the event upon arrival
each night.

The Battle of the Bands committee hopes you can at- From the PTA
tend!

From the School Clinic

HAVE FUN IN THE SUN
- BUT TAKE CARE
Care in the Sun Tips:

♦ Between 11am and 3pm seek shade

♦ Cover up in the sun with ‘T’ shirt, hat and sun-
glasses

♦ Use a broad spectrum sunscreen with a SPF of 15

or greater

♦ Take extra care with children, their skin is often

more sensitive and easily burned.

♦ Check moles for changes in size, shape and color or

any new skin growths and report any concerns to
your doctor.

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

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Elementary School Parent Bulletin 25 March 2010

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