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Message from the Superintendent:

Dear Parents: I am pleased to say that we have received the WASC/CIS Five Year Accreditation Report on our school. In the conclusion of the report, the Visitors comment:

International School Manila is an outstanding school that is not content to rest upon its history or accomplishments. There is a spirit of reflection and forward thinking that allows all members of the school community to look beyond the present and prepare students with skills that will enable them to successfully navigate through an rapidly changing global business and social environment.  The Guiding Statements of ISM are not static but the basis for development and forward planning. The mission and goals are present throughout the school, not only as signs on walls, but equally through the underlying commitment to inquiry and service observed in classrooms and in discussions with teachers, students and parents. The inclusive process of determining and setting achievable annual school-wide goals provides a focus that is identifiable in decisions regarding activities, professional development and curricular choices. The ability of students to actually be the primary facilitators in a school-wide goal speaks to the school’s trust in their students and to students’ achievement of the trans-disciplinary skills that are embedded in the courses offered throughout the school.

There is ample evidence that ISM is reflective about the extent to which internationalism is promoted and recognized. The diversity of the student population and staff promotes opportunities for discussions related to differing perspectives and positions. Opportunities for service in the local community add to student understanding of the diversity of economic as well as cultural perspectives.

In the past five years, ISM has documented the school-wide written curriculum but has also included plans for on-going reflection and revision to ensure that the written curriculum will be current with the changes in course content and instructional pedagogy that will be necessary as the technology and integration needs change. This evolving pattern can currently be seen in the annual suggestions for new courses and the blurring of subject lines, as trans-disciplinary skills become focused objectives.

Students’ learning is clearly the focus at ISM. There is a reasoned transition process in place as students move from the pre-school level with play and inquiry, to elementary levels with Units of Inquiry, into a four-year transition program of Middle School and then to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. ISM is inclusive in admissions and in IB. Students are provided language and learning support

International School Manila For ATTENDANCE concerns, please contact the HS Office (Sam Ramos or Laurie Atilano) Tel: 840 8650 / 840 8653 Email HSOffice@ismanila.org For GUIDANCE concerns, please contact Bella, Eloisa or Jasmin Tel: 840-8655 / 840-8660 December  7, 2012  A weekly bulletin for Parents and Students

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as well as social and emotional guidance. Decisions regarding professional development and the Looking for Learning appraisal process are based upon the School’s commitment to supporting student learning.

International School Manila has made great strides in the past five years and addressed concerns and issues that were identified by the previous accreditation visiting team. The focus on student learning has sharpened, the governance is strong and consistent, and the sense of service and community is continuing. ISM is again set to move “from great to greater”.

Those are very positive words and reflect a generally held view in our community and beyond that ISM has made enormous progress over the last few years. All of us who work in the school recognize that these comments simply mark a point on our journey. No one here is in the least complacent about the work that lies ahead of us, and we anticipate that, in the next five years before WASC and CIS visit us again, there will be exactly the same level of purpose, drive and commitment from faculty and principals as we have witnessed in the last five years. For those who wish to read the full WASC/CIS report click here In the meantime, best wishes for very happy holidays and celebrations. Sincerely, David Toze Superintendent

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HS CALENDAR:  

Monday, December 10:  Tuesday, December 11: IB2 HL Biology Field Trip Gr.7‐12 Beginners Recital 5:00‐7:00pm (LT)  Wednesday, December 12: Student Late Start  Thursday, December 13: PTA Faculty and Staff Lunch 11:00am‐2:00pm (LT)  Friday, December 14: Early Student Release End of Semester 1  

UPCOMING EVENTS: December 17‐January 4:  School Holiday 

January 7:  Classes Resume / Start of 2nd Semester 

 

EARLY RELEASE SCHEDULE FOR DEC.14: Period 1 D  7:30 – 8:15 Break  8:15 – 8:30 Period 2 E  8:35 – 9:20 Period 3 F  9:25 – 10:10 Period 4 G  10:15 – 11:00 Period 5 H  11:05 – 11:50 Student Dismissal  12:00 noon 

FROM THE COUNSELING OFFICE:

Dear Parents of a Grade 11 Student,

As we begin to depart for our Christmas Break, a reminder from the counseling office to add an important date to your calendar for January.

Our annual Junior University Kick-Off will take place Saturday, January 19 from 12:30pm – 5:30pm in the Little Theatre (LT). This meeting is one of the most important of the year, so we encourage both parents to attend with your Junior. Please plan to eat lunch before attending as only light snacks will be provided.

Come learn about our university counseling program, Naviance, and admissions to universities in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. The event will be conference style with a general presentation for all Juniors and their parents followed by break-out sessions for various topics. The event will conclude with a general presentation focusing on US universities for all interested.

We wish you and your family a safe holiday and look forward to working with you further next semester.

Ms. Lisa Ball, Ms. Jennifer Melton, and Mr. Curt Nichols Grade 11-12 Counselors  

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FROM THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE: Dear Parents, Our first Semester is coming to an end. If you will not be returning for the second Semester which commences on January 7, 2013 please contact the ADMISSIONS OFFICE immediately. For your reference and guidance, IS Manila follows the procedures outlined below:

Withdrawal Procedure for students leaving ISM Parents are obliged to officially inform the School in writing through a WITHDRAWAL NOTIFICATION FORM.

� For families that will not be returning for Semester two SY1213 please send us the form immediately.

� For families withdrawing before the end of the year but during our second semester the Withdrawal notice must be received on or before MAY 10, 2013. Failure to do so will lead to a deduction of US$1,000 from the Facilities Upgrade Deposit (FUD).

The Withdrawal Notification Form may be obtained from the Admissions Office or directly from the ISM website under Admission > Re-Enrollment & Withdrawal > For ALL Withdrawals STEP 1: Return the Withdrawal Notification Form scanned and e-mailed as an attachment to admissions@ismanila.org or drop the completed forms at our office.

� Upon receipt of the Withdrawal Notification Form by the Admissions Office, a copy will be forwarded to the appropriate School Office and the Finance Office for their action.

� The School Office, upon receipt of the Withdrawal Notification Form, will initiate the student clearance procedure which requires a Middle or High School student to have the Student Clearance Slip signed by the indicated teachers and offices for clearance. For Elementary students, the Elementary Office will handle the withdrawal clearance for them.

� Note that school transcripts and records will be available from the particular school office approximately 15-working days after the child’s last day of attendance at ISM. Please coordinate directly with the particular school office if you require other arrangements.

STEP 2: If required, and when completed, the Student Clearance Slip must be taken to the Cashier’s Office. Only after the Cashier has received and signed the completed clearance form will the child’s transcript or school records be released from the Elementary, Middle or High School Office. Please note that one copy of the transcript is provided free of charge, additional copies cost P100 each, payable at the Cashier’s Office before release. Please coordinate directly with the particular school office if you require more than one copy of school records. STEP 3: In order to receive your Facilities Upgrade Deposit or FUD (formerly the Special Project Deposit) refund, the following must be submitted to the Cashier’s Office: 1) Signed Student Clearance Slip 2) Signed Facilities Upgrade Deposit Certificate Please note that the FUD refund will not be released before your child’s last day of school and may take up to thirty (30) days. Only the person whose name appears on the FUD Certificate may claim the refund at the Cashier’s Office. Please call the Cashier at 840-8506 if you have questions regarding your FUD Certificate. Please allow the withdrawal process to go smoothly by starting the process early. Thank you for your help and understanding. If you will be withdrawing before the end of the school year and wish to receive your child’s YEARBOOK please submit the appropriate form to the division office. The forms are available through the web site: Admission > Re-Enrollment & Withdrawal

1. Elementary School Yearbook: ALAALA 2. Middle School Yearbook: SALINLAHI 3. High School Yearbook: KAWAYAN

Many thanks, Stephanie H. Hagedorn Director of Admissions & Advancement International School Manila www.ismanila.org

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FROM THE ATAC OFFICE:

With the holiday break fast approaching this coming weekend will be the final weekend of matches for 2012. ISM Bearcat action will resume the first weekend back on Jan 11th and 12th 2013.

ISM will host IASAS Tennis Jan 30-Feb 3. We need to house 80 visiting tennis players from the IASAS schools. Please click this link to access the housing letter information http://atac.ism-online.org/files/2011/02/IASAS-tennis-2013-Housing-Request-letter.pdf For more general information about housing at IASAS tournaments see the housing and hosting page….http://atac.ism-online.org/iasas/iasas-housing/ The letter is also available under the helpful shortcuts bar on the right side of the ATAC blog home page. We look forward to ISM community support for what will be a fantastic tennis tournament as our ISM tennis teams attempt to defend GOLD at IASAS! Deadline for submission of housing is Dec 7th! We still need 43 more athletes housed!

Congratulations to our Gymnasts who traveled to represent ISM at the Hong Kong Gymnastics meet last weekend. Results will be posted when received from the organizers. The results from the Philippine Cup meet held at Rizal Memorial two weeks ago are included in this bulletin from Coach Ramon and Coach Jas.

This coming Saturday on campus we have rugby and touch, ms tennis and a range of basketball games for our MS/HS teams please check the game schedule for times and come along to support the Bearcats. Our MS boys rugby team will play BSM this Friday after school…4pm at British School field. Our varsity tennis teams will play at CSA on Saturday vs Ateneo B and Woodrose

On Saturday Dec 8th at the Rox store in the Fort our wall climbing team will compete in a local climbing competition. Good luck to our climbing team and coaches.

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.

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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 power school secure site http://powerschool.ismanila.org/public/

You will need your power school user name and password to access the game schedule pdf.

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 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 any of our den members during den opening hours. Please note we are looking for a new volunteer coordinator as Melanie Ball is leaving us in December. If anyone is interested in taking on this role please contact the ATAC office. Don’t forget to stock up this week for your ISM merchandise for holiday gifts. Last day for den operations will be Thursday Dec 13th. The den will not be open Dec 14!

Regular Opening Hours for the Bearcat Den: Wed and Fridays from 11:30am – 1:00pm and each afternoon from 2:30-4pm.

        

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CONGRATULATIONS  TO  the ISM GYMNASTICS TEAM for participating in the Philippine Cup 2012                                

November 24, 2012 (Sat.) At  Rizal Memorial Stadium, Vito Cruz Manila 

 ELEMENTARY GIRLS:                 FX        BB       U. Bars       Vault       AA   1. Jessica Kim                          3rd        5th         2nd              2nd         2nd  2. Kate Juteau                                               6th              3rd   3. Hannah Feren                                       5th         1st               3rd         4th                        4. Brianne Roberts                      2nd        2nd         2nd              2nd         1st                                                       5. Holly Robertson                             3rd         4th         4th               1st         3rd          6. Mikayla Wargues                    5th         4th          3rd                            5th  7. Saiya Zulberti                                    6th          3rd              2nd         4th  8. Lauren Drysdale‐ Rumrill       5th        5th         2nd               2nd        3rd                     9.  Rhian Loader                                     1st        3rd         1st               1st          1st 

10.   Johanna Olafsson                  6th                5th                5th    ELEMENTARY BOYS:                     FX           P. Bars            Vault          AA 

1. Alexander Kendrick           1st             2nd                 1st              1st                   2. Hiroyuki Tabe                    4th              6th                 3rd              5th    3. Yechan Lee                       3rd             3rd                  4th              4th  4. Takezo Kimura                  1st              3rd                 1st               3rd  

       MIDDLE SCHOOL:                     FX          BB       U‐Bars     Vault      AA 1. Jennifer Javier                                                                       4th  2. Ameera Makunja               6th                          4th          3rd          5th  3. Ishani Sharma                               6th                         6th          3rd     4. Alexis St. Laurent              1st           6th          4th           4th         4th                 5. Lea Chiarada                                                          3rd           6th   6. Nicole Garcia                      6th            6th                        4th  7.  Sia Asmussen                    3rd           5th                        3rd                                    8.  Rocio Tambunting                      4th                                        3rd   9. Awe McCallum                 3rd           1st           1st          2nd         1st  10. Kayla Uytengsu                1st           3rd          4th          2nd         2nd   HIGH SCHOOL: 

1. Mariel Olejniczak                                                  5th           2nd      MAG MIDDLE SCHOOL:        FX       P.Bars        Vault         AA 

1. Aiden Carter                     4th          3rd               6th            4th  2. Max Campbell                  2nd         2nd               2nd            2nd   

 HIGH SCHOOL: 

1. Jonathan Taneja                1st           3rd               3rd             1st  

       MAG 1ST RUNNER UP TEAM  CHAMPIONSHIP 

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FROM THE SECURITY OFFICE:  

AAANNNNNNOOOUUUNNNCCCEEEMMMEEENNNTTT!!!

LLLOOOSSSTTT AAANNNDDD FFFOOOUUUNNNDDD VVVIIIEEEWWWIIINNNGGG EEEVVVEEERRRYYYDDDAAAYYY

MMMooonnndddaaayyy uuunnntttiiilll FFFrrriiidddaaayyy,,,

DDDeeeccc... 333 tttooo DDDeeeccc... 111444,,, 222000111222 FFFrrrooommm 777:::000000 aaa...mmm... tttooo 444:::000000 ppp...mmm... FFFAAATTT ccchhhaaannngggiiinnnggg rrroooooommm 111111111888

IIIttteeemmmsss uuunnncccooolllllleeecccttteeeddd aaafffttteeerrr ttthhhiiisss tttiiimmmeee wwwiiillllll bbbeee dddiiissspppooossseeeddd ooofff iiinnn sssuuuppppppooorrrttt ooofff ooouuurrr

SSSeeerrrvvviiiccceee LLLeeeaaarrrnnniiinnnggg PPPrrrooogggrrraaammm...  

FROM THE ALUMNI OFFICE:

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FROM THE COUNSELING OFFICE:

Bearcat Career Exploration Week January 14th to 18th, 2013 High School Students – Discover your Passion!

The Bearcat Career Exploration Week is a week-long event of activities/presentations for our high school students designed to help them reflect more about their interests, possible passions and then how these interests and/or passions might translate into potential career options. Current Events Planned

For ALL HS Students – numerous “Career Talks” by professionals (in our ISM community) in their area of expertise including medicine/law/hospitality/fashion/IT/Journalism and much MORE (students are required to sign up for the presentations that interest them). 

For ALL HS students – a career focus talk during their advisory period centering on the question, “What is your Passion?” 

For ALL HS students – a career themed keynote presentation by Rick Santos (Chairman of CB Richard Ellis Philippines) during the Wednesday Assembly. 

For Sophomores – teacher facilitated in‐class career talks throughout the week related to their subjects. 

For Sophomores – a viewing of the documentary “One Week Job”…a year‐long quest taken by a recent university graduate as he attempts to “find” his passion. 

For Freshmen – a career research project in their geography classes using our Naviance/Family Connection web‐based Career and College Readiness program. 

For Parents – a HS guidance department facilitated parent session titled “Helping your Children Navigate their Career Path” (Wednesday January 16 8:30am to 10:30am @ LT). 

For Parents – a viewing of the documentary “One Week Job”…a year‐long quest taken by a recent university graduate as he attempts to find his passion. (Thursday January 17 8:30am to 10:30am @ LT). 

For the most updated list of the professionals presenting “Career Talks” to our HS students throughout the week, please go to our Bearcat Career Experience website at http://bearcat-careers.ism-online.org/career-explore/.

Doug McQueen High School Counselor Grades 9 & 10 (Surnames A - Lh) Tel: (+632) 840 8664 *HS Counseling Blog: http://guidance.ism-online.org/ *Bearcar Career Experience Blog: http://bearcat-careers.ism-online.org/ *Bearcat Career Experience Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BearcatCareerExperience

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MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS……….

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