es parent bulletin vol#15 2013 apr 12

12 April 2013 Volume 15 ES PARENT BULLETIN International School Manila IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER APR 17, 24 Wednesday Morning Student Late Start @ 8.30am 12, 26 ES Parent Bulletin 16—20 No Impact Week 22—25 PTA Used Book Fair @ CMC Lobby 1,8,15,22, 29 Wednesday Morning Student Late Start @ 8.30am MAY 10 4th Quarter Assembly 10, 24 ES Parent Bulletin From the ES Administration rom the ES Administration Welcome back to our final quarter of learning in the Elementary School at ISM. 2013/14 Class Placements Over the past month and connuing into this final quarter, we will be spending a large amount of me preparing our class lists for 2013/14. What criteria is this based upon? For those families that are returning to ISM in August, this is a very valid queson. The process of construcng class lists for 2013/14 has already begun and is one which will connue over the coming weeks. Inially, all teachers are involved in discussions, including those from the Learning Support and English as a Second Language (ESL) department, as the class lists are built. Following this, the Guidance Counselors and the Elementary Leadership team look for balance in the groupings in terms of: gender, naonality, friendship groups, social dynamics, academics, learning styles, and independence. In some educaon systems students remain with the same cohort or class for a sustained period of me in order to promote connuity. At ISM, we believe that in order to support our students in becoming self ‐directed, adaptable and able to apply their skills (both academic and social) in new situaons, a change of both teacher and class composion is more appropriate. This said, rather than dividing a single class five, six or seven diff erent ways, we aim to begin with a smaller number, such as a spling a class into three new ones, in order to support friendship groupings and transion into a new grade level. Again, this will depend upon the cohort of students and the criteria listed above. Students need to feel happy and a sense of belonging at school in order for learning to take place. As such, social group‐ ings are a crical aspect of the process. We know that learning is a social acvity and that an interacve and supporve environment is crucial if we are to stay true to this learning principle. Ulmately, we will always place students in a class where we feel their learning will be maximized and they will experience success. Please note that while we are very aware that parents want to ensure the best possible placement for their child consider‐ ing all the above criteria, we are unable to accept parent requests for placements as this would compromise the internal (Continued on page 2)

es parent bulletin vol#15 2013 apr 12

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