es parent bulletin vol#17 2014 may 23

23 May 2014 Volume 17

ES PARENT BULLETIN International School Manila

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

MAY

26, 27 AFAC Recital 3:30 - 4:30 PM (AMR)

28 Wednesday Morning Student Late Start, 8:30AM

JUNE

4 2nd Semester Report Card Distribution

5 Gr4 Moving on Ceremony, 8:00 - 10:00 AM (FAT) ES Early Release, 12NN

30 Last Day of After School Activities

27 Preschool Concert, 10:00 - 11:00 AM (LT)

30 Kinder Concert, 8:00 - 9:00 AM (LT)

4 Wednesday Morning Student Late Start, 8:30AM

From the ES AdministrationFrom the ES Administration Dear Parents,

Where did the year go? It seems quite unbelievable that we are already coming towards the end of May and star ng to farewell some of our students and teachers. Today in our final ES assembly we had the opportunity to acknowledge all our students who are moving onto new schools and even new countries. Equally, we were able to appreciate those teachers who are leaving us in June. We sincerely wish each and every person who is moving on, success in their new schools and roles. There are so many wonderful things about learning and working in an interna onal school environment, however perhaps one of the downsides is that we have friends and colleagues leave on a regular basis. Our thoughts are with all those who are moving and equally for those who may have a dear friend leaving. Best of luck to the following teachers who are leaving us: Megan Debaun (Preschool), Sue Powers (Grade 2), Lee Allison (Grade 3 ESL) and Pat Hallihan (CMC). Leaving us, but only going so far as the Middle School and High School, are Amanda Pekin (PE) , Lada Benesova (ESL), and Nadia Hartley (Art). A very special goodbye to two teachers who are re ring in two weeks me, Anna Pagcaliwagan (ESL) and Anna Jimenez‐Ocson.

This is also gives us the opportunity to welcome our new teachers joining us in 2014/15. We have Inge Strange (Preschool), Penny Lawler (Kindergarten), Anne Courso (Grade 1), Sco Strange (Grade 2), Veronica Gibbs (Grade 2), Sabina Conjamalay (Grade 2), Chris Miller (Grade 3), Mar na O’Connor (Art) and Holli Gelina (Learning Support). We also have a number of ES teachers moving into new roles: Kelley Brooks (Grade 1 ESL), Travis O’Neel (Grade 2 ESL), Monica Atkinson (Grade 3 ESL), Mike Quinlan (Grade 4), Kris Hamaguchi (Grade 4), Chris Rea (Grade 4), Annie Markovich (Grade 4 ESL), Nat Ayling (PE) and Edel Walshe (Informa on Literacy Coordinator). To support the transi on into new grades for the 2014/15 school year, all students will have an opportunity to visit their new grade level next Thursday 29th May. All students (including those leaving) will visit a classroom in the next grade level and talk to one of the teachers from that grade level. This will be an opportunity to get to know the physical environment as well as ask ques ons about what learning looks like as they move into this new year.

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23 May 2014 Elementary School Parent Bulletin

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From the ES AdministrationFrom the ES Administration Community A hear elt thankyou to our en re community for all that you do to support the learning that happens at ISM every day. Despite being a large school, the sense of community and support in the ES at ISM is tangible and truly appreciated by all who come here every day.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Adam Campbell Michael Rourke Elementary Principal Elementary Assistant Principal


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Returning for school year 2014-2015? Dear Parents,

Please take a moment to review the re‐enrollment procedure for your child to a end classes on August 7, 2014.

STEP 1 ‐ Please complete this step immediately.

You are required to log‐in to POWERSCHOOL beginning March 17th to complete STEP 1 of the process.

A er May 22nd you will not have access to POWERSCHOOL and this may result in a delay for your child to a end classes on the first day of school for school year 2014‐2015.

Please check www.ismanila.org > Admissions > Re‐enrollment & Withdrawal page for the detailed step‐by‐step guide and required forms for students entering Grade 1, 6 and 9. To access the Parent Portal and PowerSchool, please down‐load the PDF instruc ons there.

The forms should be completed and submi ed to the appropriate offices at any me prior to the start of school in the Fall. We encourage you do start this process NOW to avoid long lines.

For informa on regarding your POWERSCHOOL access informa on please contact the school in which your child is

currently enrolled. For informa on regarding our Health Clinic Clearance procedures, please contact the Clinic at [email protected]. For informa on regarding billing or tui on and fees, please contact our Treasury department

at [email protected] (for billing) and [email protected] or [email protected] (for tui on and fees). May we request that if you are NOT RETURNING that you send the Admissions Office your official WITHDRAWAL NOTI‐FICATION FORM immediately as this will help us to clear student account(s) in a mely manner. We request one form per child. Please note: Parents who fail to no fy the school by Friday, 9th May that their children are leaving ISM will forfeit US$1,000 from each Facili es Upgrade Deposit. We appreciate your assistance with this procedure as we have many anxious families awai ng word regarding spaces for their children for school year 2014‐2015.

Stephanie Hagedorn Director, Admissions & Advancement


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From the Admissions & Advancement OfficeFrom the Admissions & Advancement Office

How to Access the Online Re‐Enrollment

1. Log in through the Parent Portal. h p://203.177.92.107/ParentPortal/

2. Enter your Username and Password. Click Login. Please contact the school office if you have forgo en your username/ pass‐word.


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From the Admissions & Advancement OfficeFrom the Admissions & Advancement Office

3. Click the Powerschool link

4. Click the Re‐enrollment Clearance menu


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5. Click the Create Re‐enrollment Clearance Form link

6. Update Demographic informa on. Click Submit when done.


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7. Update Clinic informa on. Click Submit when done.

8. Download the appropriate forms and submit to the respec ve offices immediately.


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9. Click Sign Out when done. You will receive confirma on emails and a final Clearance Form once all steps are complete.

From the CMCFrom the CMC

CMC End-of-Year Schedule For Students and Parents

May 13 ‐ 19 Last classes for Browse and Borrow

May 20 Borrowing limit = 2 items for everyone

May 21 Absolute last borrowing date for everyone

May 22 All items due back from all patrons – students, parents Shelves are closed and audi ng begins

May 26 CMC closes its doors for general use Overdue no ces sent out to parents, students

May 28

Final overdue no ces sent to parents

May 29 Charges for non‐returned items sent to accoun ng

Step 1 of on‐line Re‐enrollment must be completed by May 22.

A er May 22 you will not have access to PowerSchool and this may result in a delay for your child to a end class on the first day of school for SY 2014‐15.


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Re-enrollment: SY1415 Returning Students: Medical Update

Dear Parents,

As you may know, for a number of years we have had required medical check‐ups for students at different stages in their school lives: G1; G5; G9. In recogni on of the increasing concern about heart health, especially in conjunc on with physical exercise in a tropical climate, we shall be introducing a mandatory Electro‐Cardiogram (ECG) test for older students. Sudden Cardiac Death in Adolescents, especially during spor ng ac vity, is a recognized syndrome and well over 100 children a year die of this in the USA. Medical advice is that it makes sense to test only students who are 12 years old and beyond. In light of this, we shall now have two thresholds for medical examina ons instead of the present three. These will be in Grade 1 and Grade 6. At Grade 1, there will be a physical examina on performed by a duly accredited doctor as is the case at present. At Grade 6, there will be a similar physical examina on but with the added compo‐nent of an ECG. All new students between G1 and G5 will have a physical examina on; all new students from G6 onward will have a physical examina on and the ECG. In order to "grandfather out" our present cohort of students, please note:

Incoming G6 students will have an ECG, but will not need a physical examina on, since this was done when they entered G5

Incoming G9 students will have the full medical examina on and an ECG.

Incoming G7 and G8 will have the full medical examina on and an ECG when they enter G9.

We shall con nue to encourage very strongly all athletes par cipa ng in Varsity sports to take an ECG. Over the course of the next years, this will mean that all ISM students from G6 onwards will have had a basic heart check‐up. The ECG is not defini ve, and there is a more sophis cated check that the doctor will recommend if any‐thing in the ECG causes concern. The test itself is very reasonably priced and is readily available at St Luke’s and Ma‐ka Medical Center as well as other hospitals. Please take a moment to review our re‐enrollment me‐line and procedures for all students returning for school year 2014‐2015: RE‐ENROLLMENT URL: h p://goo.gl/rCwCAo I do understand that adding this requirement of an ECG may be seen as an addi onal chore for parents and students at the me of re‐enrollment, but if such a test saves even one life then it will be well worth the extra effort.

Sincerely,

David Toze

Superintendent


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A MESSAGE FROM THE OPERATIONS AND SECURITY DEPARTMENT

I. IDs for the New School Year Parent IDs

The parent IDs issued in SY 2013/14 (black) will con nue to be valid for the new school year. The old parent IDs (burgundy) issued before this year are no longer valid and must be replaced. Standard parent cards will be issued free of charge. Parents may, how‐ever, elect to apply for a smartcard ID which will be usable with the cashless payment system introduced into the school for SY 2013‐14. There will be a fee of P250.00 for a smartcard.

Applica ons for parent IDs can be processed through the Security Office. Student IDs

All students will be issued with new ID cards at the beginning of the new school year. The cards will be compa ble with the cash‐less payment system. There will be no need for returning students to visit the Security Office as we will be u lizing the photo‐graphs taken for the yearbooks. School Passes

School passes issued to parent’s employees and representa ves need to be replaced for next school year. As of August 29, 2014 the grey bordered passes will be invalid.

The security office is now accep ng applica ons for new school passes, however the cards will not be available for collec on be‐fore July 1, 2014. These passes will not be compa ble with the cashless payment system.

Each family will be given two free school passes. Addi onal school passes may be obtained a er paying a processing fee of Php100.00 each to the Cashier’s Office. 2, Car S ckers for the New School Year The car s ckers for school year 2014/2015 will be available from the security office beginning July 1, 2014.

For vehicles already displaying an exis ng s cker, parents should submit a completed renewal form with a copy of a current LTO official receipt. For new vehicles, parents are reminded that a copy of the vehicle’s cer ficate of registra on and a current official receipt need to be submi ed with the applica on. Applica ons for vehicles registered with companies or other ins tu ons should be supported by a le er of assignment.

Each ISM family will be issued one vehicle s cker free of charge. Any addi onal s ckers will be issued following payment of P100 to the cashier’s office.

I would like to thank all members of the ISM community for their coopera on across this school year in helping us maintain ISM as a safe and secure environment for our children.

MIKE FLYNN Director of Operations and Security


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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE TEXTBOOK CENTER

Refund for LOST, PAID and Returned Textbook/s

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, PAYMENTS MADE FOR LOST TEXTBOOKS WILL ONLY BE REFUNDED, IF THE BOOK IS RETURNED WITHIN THE CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR OR THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL YEAR, AT THE LATEST. For questions, please email [email protected] or call 840-8517. Thank you.

From the Business Office: Treasury DepartmentFrom the Business Office: Treasury Department IMPORTANT NOTES ‐ FROM TREASURY OFFICE: School Year End Reminders In an cipa on of the year‐end clearance for SY2013‐2014, please note that only students with fully paid SY2013‐2014 fees will have their clearance forms signed by the cashier and will then have access to school documents such as report cards and tran‐scripts.

Likewise, for next school year’s incoming Pre‐School 4 to Grade 4 old students, sec on cards will be released by the Accoun ng Office on June 5, 2014 only if current school year (2013‐2014) fees are fully se led.

Parents and guardians are advised to se le the remaining fees at this me and check any addi onal charges that may come in May for immediate se lement in order to avoid long line of students who will clear their accounts towards the end of School Year in June.

Please be informed that peso checks will no longer be accepted a er the second Friday of May (May 16) while US$ checks will no longer be accepted a er the second Friday of April (April 11). This is to allow enough me for the check(s) to get cleared by the bank in me for the student clearance in June for SY2013‐ 2014. US dollar coins are not accepted by the cashier, however, the same can be converted to its peso equivalent to se le the remaining fees.

FROM CITIBANK

In accordance with the recent advisory made by Ci bank N.A. Philippines, please be informed that star ng January 01,2014 , CITI‐BANK US Dollar Account checks drawn from Ci bank N.A. Philippine Branch will no longer be cleared through Ci bank N.A. Agana Guam.

In effect, CITIBANK checks deposited to a local bank or bank abroad will be treated as collec on checks with clearing period of not less than 45 days. The said checks will no longer be acceptable for outright credit to both foreign currency deposit unit (FCDU) and PESO account un l the receipt of credit advice from Ci bank NA Philippines.

A collec on fee will also be imposed by depository banks (please see charges from BPI and HSBC below).

Furthermore, the student's account paid by the Ci bank check will not be considered as se led / paid for un l such me the check is advised to have been cleared by Ci bank. Addi onal surcharge maybe computed at the me that the check has not yet cleared and already falls a er the due date.

In this regard, we would like to advise our parents to deposit CITIBANK checks directly to the ISM CITIBANK account. Please DO NOT DEPOSIT CITIBANK Checks to other ISM local banks such as HSBC and BPI to prevent above‐men oned problems. Also re‐member to use your new set of dollar checks as advised by Ci bank to you. As per Ci bank, they have previously issued no fica‐on le ers to their account holders regarding this change.


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From the ATAC OfficeFrom the ATAC Office

4th season prac ces con nue this week for HS Boys and Girls Volleyball, HS Boys and Girls Soccer and HS Girls Basket‐ball. If you are interested in trying out for one of these teams next school year, come along and join in. Grade 8′s you are very welcome and encouraged to join these prac ces if you are planning on trying out for teams next school year. Please come along and meet the coaches. If you have ques ons talk to the following coaches for informa on… Boys and Girls Volleyball‐Coach Atkinson and Coach Child, Boys Soccer‐ Coach Ayling, MacInnes, Girls Soccer Coach Dodd and Girls Basketball Coach Juteau.

This coming Saturday May 10 is the annual Goodwill Gymnas cs meet, with 250 gymnasts entered this year it is going to be a great event. Meet starts at 8am and runs un l 5pm. Come along and support our ISM Gymnas cs team in ac‐on.

May 10 is also set for our TaeKwondo team to compete at the annual Interna onal Schools tournament. This year it will be held at Everest Academy close to ISM. Good luck to all our team members.

May 17 ISM will host our annual Judo tournament at the MS gym, this will be our final event of the year and is always a day full of ac on and Judo compe tors from all over the Philippines come together to test their skills.

Have a great year at the Home of the Bearcats!

Mark Pekin Athletic Director


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ANNOUNCEMENT!

LOST AND FOUND VIEWING

EVERYDAY

Monday until Friday,

May 26 to June 5, 2014

From 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

FAT changing room 1123

Items uncollected after this time will be disposed of in support of our

Service Learning Program.


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es parent bulletin vol#17 2014 may 23

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