Letter from the Director/High School Principal, Mr Tom Egerton

25 February 2011

Dear Parents, I want to thank you for your contribution to last Saturday’s Fun Fair. When looking at the success of a school, it is important to observe the entire

school community (students, parents, assistants, maintenance, board, admin, security and teachers) and from what I observed on Saturday we have a robust and vibrant ISM community. I especially want to thank the organizing committee headed by Chris Proulx and Stacey Gailey for their hard work that ensured a very successful day. Last week I attended the Search Job Fair in San Francisco. There was significant interest from prospective teachers in working at ISM and I am very pleased with the twelve teachers I was able to recruit for the school for next year. I will be providing detailed information about their backgrounds before the end of this school year. Kind Regards, Tom Egerton

Page 2 25 February 2011

From the Middle School Principal, Mr William Bianchi

Thanks to the initiative of one of our 8th graders, Thet

Haythi Swe, a group of five 8th graders and a group of

five 7th graders visited the local elementary school in

the past two weeks to read to the students there. Here are a few pictures from our trip. The ISM students really seemed to enjoy giving their time and all of them expressed a desire to return again. The students are: 8th Grade 7

th Grade

Swe Ngwe Zin Oo Kyaw Ko Ko (Kevin) Aung Phone Myint Thein Mi Mi thein Lwin Aung Kyaw Phyo The Ei Hlaing (Terri) Thet Haythi Swe Myo Myint Htoo (Rocky) Myo Myint Htoo (Rocky) Thanks also to Ms. Maria at the library for her help in selecting grade appropriate “BIG BOOKS” to read.

Dear Parents,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was able to attend the ISM Fun Fair! The weather was perfect this year and we had a lot of new vendors and events that made the day extra special. It was fantastic seeing so many families enjoying the day together!

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for 17 and 18 March. Starting on Tuesday afternoon, 1 March, we will have the signup sheets available for parents to sign up for their desired conference time with your son/daughter’s classroom teacher and specialist teachers! Parent Teacher conferences are an important event that allow you the opportunity to learn about your child’s learning. Please make sure that you sign up between 1 – 9 March. Please don’t forget to be on time for your conferences on 17 or 18 of March! Your children are looking forward to having their teachers share their learning journey with you and I am looking forward to seeing our building filled with happy and involved parents.

During the month of February, you should have received the ISA test results if your child is in Grade 3, Grade 4 or Grade 5. I want you all to know that this week during our 1/2 day teacher in service time; all of your children’s teachers were engaged in learning activities that focused on our ISA test results. We were able to critically look at where our students score well and celebrate those successes, as well as look at areas that present a challenge for our students. Our teachers and assistants from Pre School through Grade 5 were also able to use this time to critically look at our curriculum and make some plans as to how we can better help our children learn. I am very proud of the dedication and the focus that our teachers demonstrate every day.

As always, it is a pleasure to work with a wonderful group of students, parents and teachers!

Regards,

Stacey

Elementary News from Elementary School Principal, Ms Stacey Gailey

Page 3 25 February 2011

Page 4 25 February 2011

Dear Leslie,

My son is in elementary school and everyday I drop him off and pick him up. Sometimes

when I am waiting for him after school I see other children being mean to him. I want to

do something about it but I don’t know what to do. I love my son and I hate to see other

children being unkind to him. What can I do?

Signed,

Upset, Angry, and Frustrated

Dear Upset, Angry, and Frustrated, First of all, good for you taking the time to pick your child up as it gives you a few moments to observe his world at school. I understand how frustrated you feel sometimes by what you see. It is one of the most difficult parts of parenting to watch our children face challenges. As you will not always be there with your child it is important to help him develop the confidence and skills to fight his own battles as much as possible. You could talk with him at home asking questions like: “I noticed that Harold was bothering you after school, how did you feel about that?” “What could you say to Harold to make him stop?” “If that doesn’t work what else could you do?” “What might you have done to make him bother you in the first place?” Starting a conversation with your child so he knows you support him is very important. Children grow stronger and more independent when they are given the opportunity to work out their own problems. Of course if your child is being seriously bullied and cannot solve this problem himself then please feel free to talk to the counselor about it. Also if you see a serious problem while picking up or dropping off your child, please do not scold another child who is not yours. Instead go immediately to the Principal’s Office . It is her responsibility to help parents to find a solution to the problems like that. I hope this helps. Leslie

(Letters from students or parents to ‘Dear Leslie’ can be sent to

me at school.)

Page 5 25 February 2011

Students’ Page

Our Class Trip by Laurence, 4S

We went to the Chinese Temple and the Funsun Restaurant. The

Chinese Temple was built in 1816. It was built to respect the sea

goddess (Mazu). The left side of the entrance is for good life

and the right side of the entrance is for good business. The

middle top of the entrance is to wish for anything and the middle

bottom of the entrance is for anything that is concerned with

water. I saw people selling the gold paper but I didn’t buy

because I always go. They burn the gold paper to respect their

ancestors. The burning place was built in 1994. The people also

pray with jawsticks for their wishes and to the dragons. The

thing is they hit the drum and the bell when somebody donates money. There is also a classroom at the

back of the burning place. Then it was time to go to the restaurant. We went by bus. It was time to eat

and after we ate hot and sour chicken. We went back to school. Everybody enjoyed the trip.

My Big Family by Alex, 4S

My name is Alex. I have 150 sisters and 150

brothers. In my family, I am the youngest. So

everybody loves me. One day my egg started to

break apart.

So I was scared and I closed eyes. But when I

opened my eyes, I saw my family eating mulberry

leaves. So I run to my family and started to eat

too. We ate for 5 weeks. Then when I looked at

my sister, she was too big and I looked at

myself , I was big too. So I was happy.

Everybody knew that we had to spin thread now.

So we had to spin for 3 days. 3 weeks later, I

bit a thread and I looked at my family. There

were only 9 brothers and 5 sisters left. So we

were worried for our last family and members.

We are so scared. So we started to fly away.

However somebody caught my 4 brothers and 2

sisters. We could not save them and we flew

away quickly. 2 days later my sister laid 300

eggs and they died. My brothers were also dead

because one was sick , one was eaten by a bird, 2

fell down to the ground because they could not

fly anymore. I had to fly alone. Then I saw a big

leaf and then there were a lot of moths’ when I

went inside. So I was very happy and I decided

to spend my whole life there.

Why I Want To be Moth by Yerin, 4S

I want to be a moth because I can go

everywhere. I know I can be ugly, but I

am happy. I am happy because I can spin

many beautiful silk threads. It takes

about 3 days to spin silk threads. The

food that I eat is fresh green leaves.

They are juicy and delicious. I like to eat

a lot. It is very good for my health. And I

grow bigger and bigger and stronger and

stronger. I also can visit so many

interesting places. That’s why I want to

be moth.

Page 6 25 February 2011

Students’ Page

Two Days Without Walls By Ei Hnin 5R

I want to tell you about my excursion. We were going to Bago with all 5th grade students. We went there on Feb.10th and 11th. The most fun things were on the bus. The boys were so bad. They took photos of us so we had to cover our faces. The boys also took pictures of people who were sleeping. The people in Bus 2 were funny. Sometimes we all sang happily together. My favorite Pagoda was Four Face Pagoda. It looked precious. You could see the Pagoda in front of our Hotel, we walked to it. I want to tell you about one of the Pagodas in Four Face Pagoda. It is about Kat Tha Pa image. It was different than other Pagodas because there were four sisters who donated the Pagoda and they swore not to get married. Then the youngest sister married, so every time, there was an earthquake only the Kat Tha Pa Pagoda was damaged. They had to repair it again and again. I think this is the most interesting thing I learnt in Bago. ****Our hotel was Bago Star. The rooms were made out of wood. It looked a little scary and mysterious. The boys were teasing the girl about ghosts. So everybody was worried about it and some girls were crying. The boys said that room numbers 101-105 were haunted. My friends were in 102 and 103 they cried and came to our rooms. I become scared. We put photo of Buddha and we prayed. I really had a great time at pottery making. I have known that it is not easy to become a pot. You really have to be patient. The woman who was working at the pottery making helped me to make the pot. The clay was soft and wet so it seemed dirty and I didn’t want to touch. This was my first time to make a pot. Although we had some problems, we really had wonderful time. We had experiences that we had never met before. If you want to make pilgrimage, Bago is the most suitable place.

BAGO

by Richard, 5R On our first trip to Bago, it was exciting

for me. That was my first trip outside of Yangon. I think the teachers make w.w.w because they want us to be independent for a night and get ready for sixth grade. We visited many pagodas. They were Snake Pagoda, Sein Thar Hlyaung, Koe Thein Koe Than, Shwe Maw Taw and Four Face Pagoda. When we visited the Snake

Pagoda, we saw a very big snake. Its age is over 100 years. Its kind is a Python. It eats only chicken and they eat many of them because its stomach can fit many. At night, we went to Shwe Maw Taw Pagoda. The guides told us that the pagoda was bigger than Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon. Our hotel name was Bago Star Hotel. In each room, there was only a little space. At night, all the students were playing tag because they were scared of ghost. They were all running until 9:30p.m. I think there are no ghosts, but the girls were all scared. On the second day, we went to the pottery making place. The pots are made out of mud. It was so cool. They pressed with their thumbs and turned the pot into circle. It automatically turned into a pot. We tried to do it, but it was ruined. At first, I was going to give it a try, but I saw much mud and it looks dirty so I decided not to give it a try. When they make the pot, it was so fast. On the bus, it was fun at the back of the bus because all the teachers were at the front and we could do anything we want. We took photos of a student from 5S, Henry sleeping. Everyone from the back of the bus took photos, but still he didn’t know it. Then, Myo splashed some water on his face, but he wiped it and went back to sleep. Then, Myo splashed more water then, he woke up. When we were going back to Yangon, I didn’t want to leave Bago because it was the best trip that I’ve never had. I wanted to go back to Bago.

Page 7 25 February 2011

Students’ Page

Grade 6 Week Without Walls Trip to Pyay

Day I On Day I, 6th grade students arrived at I.S.M at 7:00 a.m. Then Mr. Ant organized us into our buses, Bus 1 and Bus 2, or Group A and Group B. The two buses left at 7:30 a.m. During the road trip, we stopped for going to restrooms, and we ate lunch at the monastery. We also found out at the monastery who our roommates were. When we arrived, we had free time, then dinner, then the house building contest. Wow! My group won, Nico, Alfred and me. We all went to the room at 9:00 p.m. We slept at 9:30. Day 2 On this day, we discovered that steam came out of the pond when it was very cold in the morning. I was on Bus 2 and we had to go on separate ways with Bus 1. We had to go on a boat trip; across the Ayeyarwaddy River to our destination: Pho Oo Taung hike. When we arrived there, we took one look at the mountain and knew instantly that it was going to be steep and a difficult climb. We all got to the top, however, and celebrated by taking pictures, refilling our water bottles and getting the rubbings on the Buddha’s footprints. We prayed at the pagoda, donated some money and eventually sat down to listen to what

the trustee man of the pagoda telling about the history of that pagoda on the mountain. Then we went down, which was a lot faster than our climb up, but on the way, I got lost, scratched and bruised my legs while falling down and lost my partner ( who was way ahead of me). I didn’t wait for the people behind me, so I was sort of in the middle, but two boys from our class helped me find my way to the boat. Then we all climbed into the boat and sailed away to the hotel for lunch. After lunch, we (Bus 2) went to the weather station, where we learned about the prediction or the incoming of the weather. Then we all got to see the bat fruit tree with hundreds of bats in it. At night we were entertained by Shan dancers. Sooo wonderful! Day 3 The day started with people waking up. After breakfast, Group 2 went on an ox cart ride to Baw Baw Gyi Pagoda, then back. The ride was extremely bumpy. When we got back to the hotel, we ate lunch and went to the pond for pond study. The water was warm and smelled like pond. After the pond, we went to a cheroot factory. It was nothing like a factory. When Group 1 came back, we went to Shwe Sandaw Pagoda. Everyone wore a longyi. It looked cool but Ronan got lost, and lots of people cried! He came back and we went to sleep happily.

William @ Wunna Maung Maung Moe Zaw Susan @ Su Zar Wai Hnin

CONGRATULATIONS

for passing

the IELTS Exams

with flying

colors!

Page 8 25 February 2011

Students’ Page

7th Grade Trip

to Kyaik Hto and Golden Rock

The seventh grade Week Without Walls trip to Kyaik

Hto was a memorable one! Mr. Craig Bell and I, Jeanie

Cook, really enjoyed going with the students, who had

fun while they learned and while they pushed some of

their own boundaries, whether emotional, physical or

mental. They produced some lovely journals as evidence

of their experiences. The students’ WWW journal work

will speak to that, so without further ado, here are

some of their comments, photos, and pictures. Thanks to

Min Ji, Min Min, and Jun Hyung for their well-done

creations reprinted here! (next page) Enjoy!

Page 9 25 February 2011

Students’ Page

Week Without Walls GOLDEN ROCK, MYANMAR This picture is a close-up of what I saw on the way to Kyaik Hto. It looks like the people are working on their crop field. Some of them are picking crops. I think some crops are to sell and some are for themselves. ~ by Min Min Kyaw Min Htet, 7T ~

Week Without Walls DAY 3 We went to see the rubber plantation near the hotel and it was good to learn something new. There was one man to explain us about the bamboo things and it looked kind of easy to me of how to make those leaves combine with bamboo. Also, you need to wait for one year after you plant to cut for good bamboo. After that, we went to see the

rubber tree and the white liquid from the tree becomes rubber and if it gets on your clothes then it can’t be erased so you have to be careful. The liquid you can get from the rubber tree is one cup per day so you have to plant more trees and collect more everyday. Also, we saw a snake near the rubber tree and it was small. Some people were scared of the snake and if the snake bites you then it can kill you but lucky no one was bitten by the snake. ~~ by Jun Hyung, 7T~

Week Without Walls Min Ji’s Illustrated Journal

The last view of a mountain I was imagining when we were first going to Kyait Hto what the view will look like.

This ia a picture I actually drew on the bus when we were coming back

Page 10 25 February 2011

Finally the day most of us had been waiting for was here. In what felt like a tick of the clock, 48 8

th graders and 7 adults were on a flight to Inle

Lake. After that comfortable 1 hour flight we reached our hotel after a not so comfortable bus ride. The bus ride was totally worth it as the hotel was so beautiful. Soon after a bit of time all of us were ready to roll on to Inle. The same day we went on a small tour around the lake on the boats. As it was our first time on the boats, many of us were scared to go in because as soon as someone on board, the boats stated to shake. After a stop at a beautiful monastery and a lost shoe, we went back to the hotel for dinner. With our stomachs full and our minds at peace, all of us fell asleep. The next day was the big trek day, Tuesday. Climbing up the mountains was a tiring but great experience. After climbing for 3 hours we reached the monastery. A large group of villagers from nearby mountains had come to welcome us there. After the warm welcome by the Pa-Oo people we thanked them for their hospitality. We had a quick rest and it was time for dinner. The Pa-Oo people had made some of their delicious delicacies for us. As night came the villagers started to perform their traditional dances for us and we joined them! The night had been a little rough but most of us made through it. After having a heavy breakfast it was time to hike back to town. After what felt like ages we fin ally reached the hotel. In the night we were entertained by a comic act performed by a few of our class mates. Today was the big shopping day, Thursday. We went to one of the 5 rotating markets of Inle Lake called the Nam Pan market. By the time we were leaving the market most of us were broke. Next we went to a beautiful bamboo forest where we had lunch and had some great pillow fights and fun games with the local kids. The last day at Inle Lake. Time had passed so quickly! On our way to the airport we went to visit a silk factory. Watching the people work there was awesome. They totally knew their craft and they were very skilled artisans. Next we went to a blacksmith where we saw how some of Inle’s traditional handicrafts were made. It was time to go to the airport. We thanked all the boat drivers for their help and, with that; we took off for the airport. Inle Lake was a great experience for all of us. On behalf of all the 8

th graders who went on the trip, I

would like to thank everyone who made this trip happen. ~ Shreya Trehon , Gr 8 ~

Upcoming Events for MARCH 2011

2 Last day of Clubs 4 HS Morning Assembly @ Gym MS Morning Assembly @ Auditorium 7 Dept. Meeting 10 Band Concert @ Inya Lake 11 End of 3rd Quarter Whole Scholol Assebly Staff Party 14 4th Quarter Begins Staff Meeting 17 MS Parent Teacher Conference 18 MS/HS Parent Teacher Conference 21 WASC Meeting 21-22 Michael Roberts visits 21-25 ES Book Week 23 Clubs Begin 24 MS Honor Roll 25 HS Honor Roll ES Book Week Assembly ES Twins Day 28 ISM Holiday 30 ES Student of the Month