WEEKLY NEWS BRIEF FOR
MONDAY, MAY 9, 2005

Welcome to ISM's weekly newsletter for the week May 9 - 13, 2005. Please note that the ISM news brief is now distributed to ISM families primarily via email, unless otherwise requested, thereby saving time and money. We appreciate your continued diligence in accessing the information contained in this document. To request hardcopy notification, please contact editor Lisa Griffin Burns at lburns@ismonterey.org or call at 583-2165.

1.BELATED HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY WISHES! The faculty and staff of ISM wish all of our incredible Moms a belated Happy Mother's Day! We thought we would share some special moments experienced by our staff yesterday: One mom was greeted by her son first thing in the morning with a massive bear hug and three renditions of Spanish songs, featuring the ABC's, months of the year, and rounding off the performance with the days of the week while another enjoyed a tasty breakfast in bed wholly created by her eight year old emerging chef. Our whole-child approach to educating ISM students is really working! We hope that your day was also made extra special by the loved ones in your family!

2.SPRING FLING A ROCKIN' SUCCESS At last Friday's Middle School Spring Dance, ISM 6th and 7th graders and Chartwell middle schoolers rocked to a great and varied selection of music provided by DJ and Chartwell alum Vince Giammanco. ISM 7th grader Cherish dela Victoria was a winner of the dance-off, along with a Chartwell student, against some talented competition. Earlier that day, ISM had invited the Chartwell students for some outdoor "icebreaker" activities, conducted by Chartwell's outreach coordinator, Kristen Atkins. The whole package was a fun way to unwind after a whole week of STAR testing!

3. PREMIER OF YEH-SHEN PERFORMANCE Mr. Spedding's Grades 2/3 class proudly announce their performance of Yeh-Shen, the Chinese Cinderella story, premiering on Tuesday, May 10th during the morning school assembly. Inspired by traditional Chinese opera, Yeh-Shen will be performed in full make-up, lavish costumes, and live music, featuring the renowned ISM Chinese Orchestra. We welcome parent visitors to our assembly to enjoy this special dramatic event.

4. PARENT MEETING 5/12/05 The next in our ongoing series of school-wide parent meetings will be held this coming Thursday, May 12th (last week's email incorrectly listed April 12th) at 6:30 p.m. Based on feedback from the Parent Survey conducted earlier this year, a presentation detailing ISM's Spanish program will be highlighted during this evening meeting. At ISM, we strive to provide an educational and organizational culture in which constructive feedback in not only welcome, but also highly encouraged; these parent meetings provide a great venue for capturing such feedback on a regular basis. For those parents who are unable to attend, please forward emails to cjahn@ismonterey.org or drop a note by the admin office prior to the meeting. Mrs. Jahn will then try her best to incorporate the related questions, comments, and/or concerns into the meeting discussion. We'll see you there!

5. SATURDAY WORK DAY 5/14/05 It's Spring Cleaning time again -- just in time for the May Saturday Work Day this coming Saturday, May 14th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.. In addition to campus clean up needs from weed-whacking to weeding to trash pick up and continuing to organize the large admin supply closet, parent volunteers are also needed to assist with registering new families incoming in Grades K, 1, and 2 for the 2005-06 school year. Saturday Work Days serve as a wonderful opportunity for families from throughout our student body to meet one another in a relaxed, convivial environment to complete those tasks nearly impossible to finish during the regular school day. Email your interest to Lisa Griffin Burns at lburns@ismonterey.org or just stop by.

6. BIG SUR 5K KUDOS In addition to the amazing turn-out of parent and student support for the Big Sur 5K fundraising event, we wanted to take a moment to congratulate three ISM students, Mackenzie Fuller (Grade 1), Riley Gaucher (Grade 2),and Alora Daunt (Grade 4) who together raised a combined total of $643 in 5K pledges benefiting ISM! So, to date, ISM's coffers expanded by $1643 from our involvement in this wonderful community event! Additionally, two 7th graders, Audrey Casey and Cameron Rodda, participated in the timed component of the 5K in the 12-14 age category and did very well. Cameron placed 5th overall with a time of 21:40 minutes, while Audrey crossed the finish line at 32 minutes. Congratulations to both students for their great performance!

7. SPRING ARTS CONCERT 5/26/05 The Spring Arts Concert entitled "Globetrotters" is just three weeks away, taking place on Thursday, May 26th at 6:30 p.m. in the multiuse room. In an exciting programmatic twist, this concert will showcase ISM's music and drama programs, under the superb direction of Mr. Michael Dvorak and Miss Annalisa Moore, respectively. Audience members will take an hour-long journey around the world via international music and an exploration of worldwide animal rights issues. If your child will not be attending this special event, please let Mr. D (mdvorak@ismonterey.org) or Ms. Anna (amoore@ismonterey.org) know immediately, so that any necessary changes in the program can be accommodated now. Thank you!

8. INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL DRAMA PERFORMANCES In a related topic, Ms. Anna will be leading Grades 1, 4, 5, and 2/3A in several drama performances during the International Festival on Sunday, June 5th (See Item 9 below). Grade 1 will be re-producing the "Gift From the Gods" drama which they debuted during the special Earth Day assembly; Grade 4 will be spotlighting "Globolinks" based on an modern Italian opera; Grade 5 the immensely creative and student researched "Protest Puppets"; and Grade 2/3A "The Seven Brothers" play - all in an effort to showcase our drama program to a wider community audience. Miss Anna has placed a sign up sheet on the door to the right of the stage (in the multiuse room) and she is requesting that parents initial next to their child's name to confirm that s/he will be present for the June 5th performance. An email providing the same information is also feasible. An event schedule listing exact performance times will be distributed shortly.

9. INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SET FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 5 Mark your calendars! The International Festival will be held on Sunday, June 5th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This year's event will feature a full program of ISM student performances (see item above), plus our very own custodian, Mr. Glen Baker, and his jazz group. Volunteers are needed to promote publicity, man booths, and help with set up and clean up. If you are able to help, please come to a meeting this Thursday, May 12th at 8:30 a.m. in the library. If you are unable to come to the meeting, please contact Development Director Erin Morita at 583-2168 or email her at (emorita@ismonterey.org) to express your skills and preferred role.

10. SUMMER CAMPS / PROGRAMS A. SUMMER FUN AT ISM: Reminder that we will be offering "Summer Fun at ISM" for the weeks of June 13 - 17: Kidlympics, June 20 - 24: Crazy Characters and Their Awesome Adventures, and June 27 - July 1: Road Trip USA. Camp will be offered Monday through Friday at 8:20 a.m. until 4:20 p.m. at a cost of $110 per week. There are still a limited number of spaces available and the deadline to register is Monday, May 30th. Camp fliers are available in the admin office, so sign up now!

B. KORYO TAEKWONDO AT ISM SUMMER DAY CAMP: Offered Monday through Friday July 25 - 29 at our Manzanita campus, the goal of this summer camp is to have fun while learning and practicing serious martial arts skills for students of all ages. The all-inclusive fee of $495 covers a summer taekwondo uniform, camp t-shirt, all lunches, snacks and drinks, and breaking boards. A multiple family member discount of $20 per person is available. Make checks payable to "Daniel Rogers" prior to the registration deadline of June 16th. Program fliers also available in admin office or contact Master Rogers at www.geocities.com/koryotkd99.

C. SUMMER PIANO INSTRUCTION: Provided by ISM parent Kathryn Sage, mother of 4th grader Elijah Sage, who currently offers the popular after-school piano lessons. The cost of the entire summer program is $250 per student with an additional $100 per sibling. Two levels of instruction will be offered: Intro to Piano and Music as well as a Performers Group. More details to follow.

This section is for news from the ISM Foundation.

1. BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION: WEEK 2 This is the second week of our "Box Tops for Education" drive. We will be collecting all this month, so gather yours up and bring them in! Our last collection brought in $250 for ISM. The class that brings in the most Box Tops will receive an ice cream party. Additionally, the teacher of the winning class will receive a gift card to Starbucks Coffee. So start clipping! Deadline for submitting your box tops will be Friday, May 27th. Please contact our Box top Coordinators, ISM parents Lisa Seva'aetasi and John Nahas, with any questions.

2. NEW HAIR STUDIO SUPPORTS ISM FUNDRAISER The new Amadeus Hair Studio, operated by ISM parent Laura Mauricio, mother of Jeffrey Paredes (Grade K) and Laura Paredes (Grade 1), located at 1102 Forest Avenue in Pacific Grove is kicking open its doors with a fundraiser in support of ISM. A portion of each shampoo and haircut for children, priced $15, and adults, priced $30, will be donated directly to ISM. Call Amadeus at 375-1696 for further information or just walk-in and mention this "ad".

This section is for non-ISM activities and events of interest to our school community. If you have an activity that you are supporting and wish to share with the ISM Community, please submit details on the news item to Erin by the Thursday prior to the week when you would like to see the item appear. You can bring your items into the office in hard copy, or you can email them to Erin at emorita@ismonterey.org.