M I D D L E S C H O O L

F R I D A Y
ISSUE # 36
SY1617

BULLETIN
WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR PARENTS

Issue # 3 week of august 28 september 1 sy1718

Dear Parents,

Wed like to extend our most sincere thanks to everyone

who took time out of their busy schedules to attend our
MS Open House. This year we had a record number of at-
tendees with over 500 parents supporting this
event. Thank you for your unwavering support and the
importance you clearly place on your childs education.

During the Middle School years, the human body goes

through a significant amount of change. Some of these
changes are in plain sight but others are hidden from
view. Many of the complex changes that take place dur-
ing adolescence occur in the region of the brain known as
the prefrontal cortex. Between the years of 11 - 17, the
brain undergoes a process of synaptic pruning - where the
brain decides which connections are important to keep
and which can be let go. During this time, Middle School
students may struggle with organization, self awareness
and most notably, impulse control.

If youd like to know more about whats going on inside

your childs head, why not check out Sarah-Jayne Blake-
mores captivating TED Talk on The Mysterious Workings
of the Adolescent Brain or, if you are short on time, take
a quick look at the accompanying graphic.
Whats
Inside?
A great tip for parents of middle school students is to im-
agine an under construction sign on your childs fore-
head as a reminder of all these hidden changes! Remem-
ber that the Middle School years are a beautiful strug-
gle and strive to enjoy this deeply fascinating time of
development.
MS Activities 3
Next week is a three-day week with no school on Fri-
day. All the upcoming events for this week and next Campus Card Corner 3
week are summarized in this weeks bulletin. The next
Parent Bulletin will be sent home on Friday, September Operations & Security 4
8th.
Admissions & Advancement 6
Please read on to make sure you are in the communica-
tion loop about upcoming MS events. Athletics & Activities 7
ISM Upcoming Events 8
 THIS WEEK: Yearbook Photo Schedule:
Our yearbook photos will be taken from Mon-
Monday, August 28th: day, September 4th - Thursday, September 7th
No School! during one of your childs regular Science clas-
Philippine Holiday - National Heroes Day ses.
Photos will be taken in Room 1123.
Tuesday, August 29th: During Wednesdays Advisory session on August
Start of ES/MS After School Activities 30th, Advisory teachers will give each child a
Please remember to tell your child what the white envelope. This summarizes the various
pick-up plans are following after-school activi- photo packages and their related costs, should
ties! parents wish to buy one. Please look out for
this envelope before it gets lost in your
Friday,September 1st: childs backpack!
No School
Id-ul-Adha

COMING UP NEXT WEEK:

Monday, September 4th - Thursday, September 7th :
MS Yearbook Photos:
Our MS yearbook is called the Salinlahi.
Photos will be taken during class time
(Science)
Please see the Need to Know section for
more details.

COMING UP SOON:
Thursday, September 21st:
ESL Parent Coffee (MS and HS)
Location: Little Theater
Time: 7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
Please see the flyer below for details

NEED TO KNOW:
PowerSchool:
PowerSchool opened up for all parents on If you have any questions about the pho-
Tuesday, August 22nd. toshoot, please feel free to contact Ms. Aida in
Please remember to go into PowerSchool and the MS Office.
verify that your demographic information is
correct. This includes: Enjoy the second long weekend!
Address
Telephone numbers Kind regards,
Email addresses Rachel and Amanda

2

CAMPUS CARD CORNER
Login:
Ways to log in to your account?
www.ismanila.org Select Student Services
Campus Card System; Click the link (here) to log
in.
http://campusonline.ismanila.org
What are your login details?
Log in to your account using your Family ID number (by
default) as the username and password. E.g. Family ID
Number is 112233.
Username: 112233
Password: 112233
MS ACTIVITIES
Once logged in, we recommend that you change
the password.
Top-up:
You can top up the account online for a minimal
fee. If you happen to be on campus, you can also
top up at the kiosk or through the cashier.
For more information, visit:
http://campusonline.ismanila.org
For questions/concerns, email:
campuscard@ismanila.org
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 ISSUE # 36
SY1617

OPERATIONS AND SECURITY

Dear Parents, Starting school year 2015-16, parents are no longer re-
quired to submit copies of the registration documents of
Access and parking within the campus are important secu- their vehicles. They are instead asked to confirm through
rity and safety issues. For the well-being of all members the applica
of the ISM community, those entering the school campus
are requested to take note of the information and proce-
dures outlined below. tion form that the vehicle has minimum Third (3rd) Party
Insurance, is legally registered and is fully compliant for
Parent IDs operation on the roads under Philippine Laws. For those
The parent IDs issued since SY 2013/14 (black) will contin- vehicles not registered in a parents name a letter of as-
ue to be valid for the new school year. Standard parent signment will still be needed.
cards will be issued free of charge. Parents may, howev-
er, elect to apply for a smartcard ID which will be usable Each ISM family will be issued one vehicle sticker free of
with the cashless payment system introduced into the charge. Any additional stickers will be issued following
school for SY 2013-14. There will be a fee of P250.00 for payment of P100 to the cashiers office.
a smartcard.
In order to facilitate the easy recognition of authorized
Applications for parent IDs can be processed through the cars at the gates, the stickers should be affixed to the top
Security Office. right corner of the windshield. ISM stickers issued in previ-
ous years must be removed.
Student IDs
All students will be issued with new ID cards at the begin- Vehicles not displaying a current car sticker will not be
ning of the new school year. The cards will be compatible allowed regular access from August 31, 2017.
with the cashless payment system. There will be no need
for returning students to visit the Security Office as we Vehicular Access
will be utilizing the photographs taken for the yearbooks. During drop-off and pick-up times, vehicles may enter the
campus through Gates 2 and 3. Those entering through
School Passes Gate 2 should proceed to the drop off area and, once the
School passes issued to parents employees and represent- student has alighted or boarded, they should exit via Gate
atives need to be replaced for this school year. As of Au- 1. Those vehicles entering through Gate 3 must turn into
gust 31, 2017 the light green bordered passes will be inva- the covered parking area and use the designated drop-off
lid. areas. All vehicles must exit through Gate 1.

The security office is now accepting applications for new Please note that Gate 2 may only be used by those drivers
school passes. These passes will not be compatible with and passengers who have an ISM ID card and who are in a
the cashless payment system. vehicle displaying a valid ISM vehicle sticker.

Each family will be given two free school passes. Addi-
tional school passes may be obtained after paying a pro-
cessing fee of Php100.00 each to the Cashiers Office.
Visitors Passes
All visitors must secure a pass from the guardhouse at
Gate 3. Before entry will be allowed, a telephone check
will be made with the relevant office to confirm the visi-
tors business within the school. Visitors will need to sur-
render a photo-ID upon entry to campus.
Car Stickers
The car stickers for school year 2017/2018 are available
from the security office.
Alternatively, vehicles entering through Gate 3 may park
in the covered car park. The spaces reserved for parent-
driven cars should only be used by those vehicles which
are driven by parents themselves. Vehicles in which par-
ents are traveling, but which are driven by a driver,
should not use these spaces. Rather, they should park
elsewhere in the covered car park or make use of the out-
side spaces next to the power center.
Visitors to ISM must enter through Gate 3. There is an
area for short-stay visitor parking near Gate 1.
4
 ISSUE # 36
The Pedestrian Gate
The pedestrian gate is located in the perimeter fence mid campus before the scheduled pick-up time. SY1617
-way between Gate 1 and Gate 2. There is a paved area
between the road and the perimeter fence, allowing easy There are designated areas for unaccompanied drivers,
access to the gate. The pedestrian gate is solely for the yayas, helpers and security escorts to wait for parents and
entry of members of the ISM Community at the beginning students. Unless specifically authorized, they may not en-
of the school day. It will only be open between 7:00 am ter any other area. In the interest of security, and to pre-
and 7:45 am (8:00 am to 8:45 am on Wednesdays). vent congestion at the pedestrian entrances to the cov-
ered parking area, parents are requested to emphasize to
Due to parking restrictions, and in the interests of securi- their employees the importance of cooperating with the
ty, it will not be open in the afternoon for pick-ups. Dur- security staff and remaining in the appropriate areas.
ing the time it is open, it will be under the supervision of
members of the ISM Guard Force. Firearms
All members of the ISM community are reminded that it is
Drivers should stop adjacent to the paved area and stu- strictly forbidden for firearms to be brought onto the
dents should alight from the right side of their vehicle. campus. This includes concealed weapons carried by bod-
The driver should then move off, clearing the space for yguards for close protection. Any person arriving at the
other vehicles dropping off students. Under no circum- school with a firearm should inform the gate guard, and
stances should a student be dropped off from the middle arrangements will be made for the weapon to be safely
lane. This is dangerous as the student would need to walk and securely stored during the visitors stay.
in front of another vehicle. Drivers are reminded that
traffic regulations forbid parking on the roads around ISM. Security Staff Directions
Therefore, vehicles should only be stopping for the brief Our security team is endeavoring to make the school as
time it takes for a student to alight. Drivers must not safe and secure an environment as possible for all mem-
wait for anybody to return to the vehicle. bers of our community.

Drop Off/Pick Up Passes
For non-regular drivers without ISM identification who are
entering school to drop off or collect visitors or members
of our community, but who do not intend to park within
the campus, a drop off pass will be issued. Our regular
checks to confirm the identity of a driver and their pur-
pose for entering the campus will continue to be made,
but we will not retain a photo-ID in return for the issued
pass. The use of these new passes will avoid delays at the
Gate 1 exit and reduce traffic congestion at busy times.
Vehicle Checks
The practice of inspecting vehicles will continue. During
off-peak hours, all vehicles will be checked before they
are allowed to enter the campus.
During peak hours (drop off and pick-up times), all vehi-
cles without valid stickers and randomly selected vehicles
with stickers will be asked to undergo an examination.
We ask that everybody cooperate with us in this important
task. In particular, all those entering our campus are re-
quested to comply with any directions given to them by
members of our guard force.
If you are confused or unclear as to the purpose of such
instructions, please seek clarification from the security
office. Please note that it is the parents responsibility to
advise their staff accordingly.
Thank you for your cooperation. We are looking forward
to another great year at International School Manila.
Best wishes,
MIKE FLYNN
Director of Operations And Security

Whether an examination is conducted or not, it is im-

portant that the security staff at the gates are able to
identify the occupants of vehicles entering the campus;
therefore IDs must be clearly displayed. Vehicles with
tinted windows must roll down windows to allow a clear
view of the interior of the vehicle.

Drivers, Helpers and Bodyguards

Drivers, helpers and bodyguards should not wait on cam-
pus for students throughout the school day. After drop-
ping off students they should exit the school grounds and
not return earlier than 30 minutes before dismissal time.
Those who repeatedly fail to comply with the regulation
will have their access privilege suspended.

Only those vehicles carrying parents or other people with

business within the school will be allowed to return to the
5
 ISSUE # 36
SY1617

ADMISSIONS & ADVANCEMENT

Instructions for
Demographic Update

6
 ISSUE # 36
SY1617

ATHLETICS & ACTIVITIES

Congratulations to our all our teams that were able to play Information on our ES/MS Activities program is available on
vs Faith last Friday night at our first FNL for this year. A the ES and MS Activities blogs. Links to these blogs are on the
good showing from our volleyball teams in the gyms for their helpful shortcuts menu on the home page of the ATAC blog
first matches of the season and outside we managed two or accessible via the ISM website.
games before the lightning and Manila storms prevented the
final two matches from being played. Thanks to the clubs For our Sailfish swim team program please check information
and and Bearcat Council for arranging for food stalls to be about tryouts at Sailfish blog
open and for our community members who came to watch
the matches. For gymnastics team information please check Gymnastics
blog Look for Coach Jas or Coach Ramon at the MS gym
Well done to teams that played their first local league games when attending training sessions.
last Saturday and to our XC teams both MS and HS runners
who had their first race out at Faith Academy early last Sat- Please note the practice times for ATAC programs for SY 17-
urday morning. The next race will be at Faith on Sept 18 are as follows:
2nd and then ISM hosts the twilight XC race on Friday Sept All year round team team training sessions are 3:15-
8th. 4:30. See schedule for our All year round
teams program here
For our year round teams and season 1 sports teams practice See Sailfish blog for swim squad start and finish times
schedules are posted on notice boards around the school and after the tryouts period has concluded and squads have
on the schedules page of the ATAC (Athletics) blog and pro- been finalised.
vided in links below. Our S1 practice schedule runs from Mon Gymnastics team training is 3:10-4:50pm every M,W,F
Aug 14until Oct 13th. See schedule links

1st season 17-18-Practice sched
All season sports sched 17-18.xls 17-18
Please take the time to navigate the ATAC blog as it is our
one stop shop for all information related to the competitive
ISM sports program.
All HS seasonal teams practice from 3:05- 4:50pm.
MS seasonal teams practice 3:15-4:40pm.
In order to clear the campus prior to 5pm all after school
programs will conclude by 4:50pm or earlier. The last bus
is 4:55pm this is due to the ever increasing traffic concerns
in our area.

Upcoming Events:*matches at ISM unless specified as *away
venue. Check ATAC game schedule at the parent portal for
all the midweek and weekend matches upcoming. Please
check on a regular basis as venues and time do change at
short notice. Players will always be informed by their coach-
es if times/venues change.
Parents and students please take some time to peruse the
ATAC blog it has a wide variety of information and links to
our sports and activities program. If you have any questions
regarding the competitive program of sports at ISM after
reading the information on the blog please send an email
to pekinm@ismanila.org and I will assist you as best I can.

Aug 25 VBoys and MS A2 boys soccer vs San Be- Bearcat Den- drop by our fantastic spirit store. There is a a
da 5pm range of new products and items to purchase including items
Aug 26 MS Boys A2 soccer vs Keys 12 noon/VGirls from our service partners.
soccer 12noon/JVGirls soccer 2pm//VBoys soc-
cer 2pm Bearcat Den hours of operation- 7am-4pm Mon-Fri.
Aug 26 Local league volleyball matches
from 8am (MS/HS teams) GO BEARCATSin 2017-18!
Aug 31 MS A1 Boys soccer 5pm/Aspirants Boys
soccer 5pm Regards,
Sept 2 ES Rifa soccer festival #1 E&G divisions at Mark Pekin
ISM 8am/ES&MS Rifa C division soccer at BSM/MS Director of Athletics & Activities
Rifa Girls soccer at ISM 1pm
Sept 2 XCountry race #2 *away at Faith MS& HS
runners
Sept 8 ISM Twilight XC race #3 5pm MS 3.2km
race and 5:30pm HS 5km race.
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 ISSUE # 36
SY1617

ISM UPCOMING EVENTS

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ISSUE # 36
SY1617