MIDDLE SCHOOL

Weekly Publication for Middle School Parents

Friday Bulletin
ISSUE # 06
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 TO 21, 2012

From the Middle School Office

Dear Parents: Student learning is well underway this year, and along with this we would like to continue to engage you in parent learning. This past week we had our Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD) counselors working with our students in Middle School. Our parent session on Thursday was well attended, with important information, and advice provided. Should you wish to follow up on this topic further, our Guidance team invite you to come and speak with them individually. Next week we welcome John Joseph, a learning expert who connects current brain research to student learning. He will be working with students and faculty throughout the week along with two parent workshops one on Tuesday morning in the Little Theater, and the second on Wednesday evening. We have a Middle School Parent coffee on Thursday September 20 from 7:45 9:00 a.m. in the MS Faculty Lounge (beside the MS office). We will discuss what is happening in Middle School, we will provide you with information on our upcoming CWW trips and also provide you an opportunity to talk with us informally. This week we have had the opportunity to have a writing consultant working with our English, ESL and LS teams. Carl Anderson is a teacher, consultant and author on the teaching and learning of writing at the Elementary and Middle School level. Carl focussed on writing conferencing with our teachers, which is the process of sitting down individually with a student to discuss their writing, set goals and to practice skills to enhance their writing further. Carl held workshops for teachers, had conversations in small groups and one-on-one, and also was in classrooms demonstrating his techniques with our students. This was an excellent opportunity for our professional learning, and the continued development of our program. Our new format for student council is now underway and we are in the process of forming our Executive Council. Each grade level group of student representatives will be working with our faculty grade level coordinators, our guidance counseling team and leadership to provide students with a voice as we make decisions effecting them at the Middle School. In the near future we will provide you with more information of their initiatives and involvement in our Middle School. Yours in Education, Simon Gillespie Middle School Principal Clarissa Sayson Middle School Assistant Principal

Inside this issue:

Calling for Grade 5 Parent Volunteers Academic Bowl Practice Sessions From the Athletic & Activities Office Inauguration of New Tennis Facility Parenting with the Brain in Mind 2 3 4 5

UPCOMING EVENTS
SEPTEMBER
18 MS/HS Parent Coffee with John Joseph (8:00 A.M., LT) MS Parent Coffee (7:45 A.M., LT) Courtyard Event (3:00 P.M.) School Holiday (Faculty In Service) MAP Test Gr. 5 to 8 Teambuilding/Classroom Without Walls

20 20 21 24 to Oct. 17 27 to 28

OCTOBER
05 06 12 13 16 Gr. 5 & 6 Party Service Learning Trip (La Mesa Watershed) Gr. 7 & 8 Party Service Learning Trip (CCV) Guidance Workshop: Understanding Third Culture Kids (9:00 A.M., LT) Parent Teacher Conferences (1:00 P.M.)

17 to 18

POWERSCHOOL GRADE UPDATE

September 20 Grade Update October 05 Progress Report Distribution

F R I D A Y B U LLETIN

PAGE 2

Calling for Grade 5 Parent Volunteers

Dear Grade 5 Parents, We are looking for volunteers to help us during the Grade 5 Classroom Without Walls (CWW) activities. Be part of the Amazing Race! If you would like to help, please email the Middle School Office (msoffice@ismanila.org) Help us make it a wonderful experience for your children! Thank you. Grade 5 Team

Middle School Academic Bowl Practice Sessions

Does your child know lots of interesting facts and general knowledge? Is your child fast on the buzzers? Does your child like Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader? THEN YOUR CHILD SHOULD COME TO Academic Bowl Practice Sessions!! Practice sessions will take place in room P046 (Mrs. Birchenalls classroom) every Tuesday starting 11th September 2:30 3:30 P.M. Successful students will represent ISM at the next Academic Bowl competition which is to be held at Faith Academy on the 6th November 2012. All Middle School students are very welcome to come to the practice sessions. If you have any questions or queries please speak to Mrs. Birchenall or e-mail her at birchenallv@ismanila.org.

F R I D A Y B U LLETIN

PAGE 3

From the Athletics & Activities Office

This Friday, after school, our HS Volleyball teams travel down the Sth Super to play Brent, on Saturday Brent are hosting the 3rd Cross Country race of the season with our MS/HS teams competing and race results will be posted on the ATAC blog next week when they are received from Brent. Our MS Chess and Table Tennis teams will also be playing a tournament at Brent on Saturday. Next weekend, September 14-16, our Varsity Cross Country/Volleyball and Girls Soccer team will be traveling to Taipei for the Pre-IASAS exchange. IASAS venues for the Season one championships on October 10-14 are - Soccer in Bangkok, Volleyball/Cross Country in Kuala Lumpur. Information about our ES soccer teams and the RIFA festivals can be found here http://atac.ismonline.org/atac/1st-season/es-soccer-rifa-leaguefestivals/ and flyers have been posted on ES notice board and on the notice board located under the tent at the ES field. The information link for the MS C teams and MS Girls 7 a side soccer teams is available at http://atac.ismonline.org/atac/1st-season/ms-soccer-rifa-leaguefestivals/. IMPORTANT: Parents, please note the venues for the 7 a side C, E, G and MS Girls festivals on September 15 and 22 have changed. Please check the venues and times below carefully. Permission slips will be issued to all players via the coaches at training prior to each festival. Please consult the ES and MS Rifa League links above to get the latest information. The RIFA League 7 a side festivals will be held on the dates/venues below: Saturday, September 15 Midgets C teams (C1, C2, C3 and C4 Coach Eric/Chris/Kleng and Jays teams) at CSA (Colegio San Augustin) Dasmarinas Village kick-off at 8:00 A.M. Midgets E teams (E1 and E2 Coach Popoy and Coach Francis teams) at ISM HS Field kick off 8:00 A.M. Midgets G teams (G1 and G2 Coach Mike and Coach Isas teams) at ISM HS Field kick-off at 1:00 P.M. MS Girls 7 a side festivals at CSA (Colegio San Augustin) Dasmarinas Village 1:00 P.M. kick off Saturday, September 22 Midgets C teams (C1, C2, C3 and C4 Coach Eric/Chris/Kleng and Jays teams) at Venue still to be decided? kick-off at 8:00 A.M. Midgets E teams (E1 and E2 Coach Popoy and Coach Francis teams) at ISM HS Field kick off at 8:00 A.M. Midgets G teams (G1 and G2 Coach Mike and Coach Isas teams) at ISM HS Field kick-off at 1:00 P.M. MS Girls 7 a side festival at venue still to be decided? 1:00 P.M. kick off Rifa Festival Finals will be played at Ateneo on October 13 for teams that qualify via results from the earlier festivals. The All year round program for Sailfish, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Aikido, Table Tennis, Chess, Gymnastics and Wall Climbing is now in full swing. For detailed information about our Sailfish Swim Team program please visit the Sailfish blog http://sailfish.ism-online.org/ and get in contact with Coach Andy. Students can join our all year round teams at any time, just go and talk with the coaches at the venues after school if you are interested. A great way to stay in touch with the ISM ATAC program is to subscribe via RSS feed to the ATAC blog and also to follow via twitter (see twitter feed on the blog home page). Each Monday, I will post the weeks happenings and highlight important events for students and parents information on the ATAC blog and in the regular Friday parent bulletins. 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 PowerSchool secure site http://powerschool.ismanila.org/public/. You will need your PowerSchool username and password to access the game schedule. HS Student registration for ATAC activities: (new for school year 12-13) A Google doc registration is now available for all HS students who will take part in any ATAC seasonal sports teams, MUN and Cultural Convention programs. Please take the time to complete this online registration for activities that you plan on joining this school year. Please access the form via the HS Student Registration tab found under the Helpful Shortcuts bar on the ATAC blog home page. (Please note this is for HS students only and you must use your school email address to access the link. Personal gmail or hotmail addresses will not allow you to access the page) BEARCAT DEN: http://atac.ism-online.org/bearcat-den/ Our Bearcat Den is up and running and open for business. Please drop by to check out the range of Bearcat products. We have a great team of volunteers who run the den and are always looking for more people to help out. If you are interested in joining a fantastic group, please contact Melanie Ball, our volunteer coordinator, at melaniehball@gmail.com. We have a new range of dri fit t-shirts now available along with new Bearcat bags. Regular Opening Hours for the Bearcat Den: Wednesday & Friday, 11:30 A.M. 1:00 P.M. & 2:30 P.M. 4:00 P.M. Tuesday & Thursday afternoons, 2:30 - 4:00 P.M. Have a great year at the Home of the Bearcats! Regards, Mark Pekin Director of Athletics/Activities

F R I D A Y B U LLETIN

PAGE 4

Were on the web! www.ismanila.org

IF YOU HAVENT LOGGED ON TO POWERSCHOOL

please call the Guidance Office at 840-8555 or email msguidance@ismanila.org to obtain your username and password.

F R I D A Y B U LLETIN

PAGE 5

Parenting with the Brain in Mind