NEWSFLASH
The Weekly Newsletter of Cebu International School
Friday, May 29, 2015
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of CIS is to recognize and nurture potential,
and empower all members of its community to have a positive
impact on our changing world.
Together we are Responsible, Respectful, Prepared.
Cebu International School
Pit-os, Cebu City
Tel no. (6332) 261-0CIS or 261-0247
Fax no. (6332) 261-0247 ext 217
Connecting ALL Departments
www.cis.edu.ph
CONTENTS

Board of Trustees’ News
Dear CIS Community,
As our Superintendent Tony Harduar once
said, "This school year, 2014-15 has been
a relatively quiet year for us all, as
compared to what we went through in the
last two previous school years. Quiet is
good."
 Board of Trustees’ News
 Superintendent’s News
 Middle/High School News
 Elementary School News
 IBDP & College News
 Athletics & Activities Director’s News
 Other News
> Parent Teacher Association(PTA) News
> Middle/High School Exam Schedule
UPCOMING EVENTS
 29 May (Friday)
> Graduation Day, Radisson Blu
 30 - 31 May (Saturday - Sunday)
> Kick 4 Kathmandu Soccer
Tournament
 3 June (Wednesday)
> End of Year Assembly
> Grade 5 and 8 Moving-Up
Ceremony - CIS Dragon’s Dome
ROTATION DAYS
1 June (Monday)
- Day C
2 June (Tuesday)
- Day D
3 June (Wednesday) End of year Assembly
The quiet time actually gave us the
opportunity to do what we love doing
most - building a better school for the kids
by improving our school standards,
services and facilities. We've been
recruiting new expat teachers to
compliment our existing teaching talents
and subsequently bringing up our expatto-local teaching staff ratio to 1:1 from 1:2
a couple of years ago. Last summer we
did some school building improvements
to complete the repair works on the
damages we sustained during the
earthquake and typhoon Yolanda in
2013. As you may have noticed, we've
already started construction work on
more building improvements for this
summer break. If everything goes
according to plan, we should open the
new school year with a larger and better
consolidated library, a parents' lounge,
better and bigger pre-school and
elementary school classrooms, an
expanded art room, separate toilet
facilities for adults on the ground floor of
the main building and, hopefully, a nice
outdoor deck extending our canteen out
to
the
soccer
field.
Providing a safe and conducive learning
environment for both our students and
school staff is very important to us. This is
why we've invested in better security
CCTV systems all around the campus to
upgrade our old and outdated ones. We
are in the process of reviewing all our
security
protocols
as
well.
Recently, we've engaged the services of
SGV (a renowned audit firm) to assist us in
by: Mr. Charlie Liu, Board Chair
reviewing, upgrading and documenting all
our financial and business processes in
our school's business operations. This will
ensure better transparency, control and
governance regardless of changes in
personalities on the School Board and/or
Administrative
Leadership.
My father has taught and constantly
reminded me, "To always give over 100%
to whatever tasks we've accepted or
committed to do and to just let the results
speak for themselves. Never to take
myself or people for granted, and to be
always thankful, especially to those who
helped you in your journey." On behalf of
the Board of Trustees, I'd just like to thank
you, all the wonderful men and women in
the CIS community for the great things
you've done for our school this year. We
are so blessed to have such a fantastic,
talented and dedicated teaching and
school staff at CIS. They are our true super
heroes. Educators have a gift to inspire
hope, ignite creativity and instill the love
and culture for learning. Please continue
the good work that you do. We are
likewise blessed to have such a great
leadership team spearheaded by our
superintendent and together with his
school principals
and
heads of
departments. You all have been the rock
and the light to our CIS community. We
are also lucky to have such an engaged
parent community, led by the very
hardworking and dedicated PTA Board
officers. Your selfless actions and support
have been a great inspiration to everyone.
Often times in our lives, we encounter
setbacks and discouragements. As a
result, our inner fire sometimes fades. But
just as quickly as it wanes, it suddenly
bursts into flames once again when we
encounter special people who embolden
us to forge on. I am especially referring to
the wonderful students of CIS whose lives
and growth has been the single greatest
motivator for us. Thank you for never
Continued on page 2
CIS Newsflash
Page 2 of 11
Board of Trustees’ News
from page1
failing to rekindle our inner spirits. On a personal note, this has been an extra special school year for me. I have had the privilege to
witness how my eldest son, Kyle, grew from a toddler to a fine young gentleman who will finally be graduating high school this school
year. I am very proud of what he has accomplished and extremely grateful to CIS for helping him shape the man he has become today.
Seeing Kyle so happy, motivated and challenged in school and about life itself ever since he entered CIS four years ago has made us
realize that moving him here was the best decision that Susan and I have made. For this alone, we are eternally grateful to CIS!
Here's wishing you all a great and relaxing summer break and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again in August!
Superintendent’s News
End of Year Procedures
Parents, as you know we have made some
changes in the end of year procedures.
Please note:
 Graduation is this afternoon,
Friday, May 29, at the Radisson
Blu Hotel.
 The Moving-up Ceremony for
Grades 5 and 8 is on June 3 at
11:00 am in the Dragon’s Dome.
Students in Grades 3-11 will
attend this ceremony.
 Except for PS, which will be
dismissed at the normal time,
Grades K-11 students will be
dismissed at 12:15 pm. Parents
are welcome to pick up their K Grade 2 children early.
by: Mr. Tony Harduar, Superintendent
2.
Kevin Hale (US)
Grade 5
Saigon South International
School, Vietnam
3.
Emilia Ricardo (Colombia)
Spanish
Colegio Britanico - British School
Of Cartagena, Colombia
4.
Sara Reicke (US)
Band/ General Music
South Middle School, USA
5.
Joe Murphy (Canadian)
Learning Needs Coordinator
Concordian International School,
Thailand
School Offices Closed June 25 and 26
6.
Please note that the school offices will be
closed on Thursday and Friday, June 25
and 26 to allow time for some
professional development for our staff.
The offices will reopen on June 29.
Patrick Klocek (US)
Business/Social Studies
Oberoi International School,
India
7.
Daniel Keller (US)
Psycholgy/ Social Studies
Math and Science Academy, USA
8.
Jessica Holloway (US)
English
Escuela Americana de Pachuca,
Mexico
9.
Daniel Monfre (US)
Math
Ronald Reagan IB High School,
USA
Art Works, Projects, Lockers
Please remind your children to take their
art works and projects home so they may
enjoy them. Unfortunately, if they are left
at school we will have to dispose of them.
Also during the summer break, all lockers
will be cleared out and cleaned, so please
remind students not to leave any items in
their lockers. Thank you!
Welcome New Faculty
Last week we said goodbye to our
departing faculty and staff who were
moving on from CIS. Below are the names
of the new hires we will welcome in midJuly for the 2015-2016 school year. They
come to us with a variety of experiences
from all over the world. We look forward
to their arrival in July and to working with
them next year.
1.
Madeline Lynch (US)
Grade 1
American School of Yaoundé,
Cameroon
Thank You for a Great School Year
Another school year has ended and it is
time to say goodbye for the summer
break. It has been an exciting year of
learning and growing. There are many
wonderful success stories from Pre-school
to Grade 12. Parents, thank you for
sharing your children with us. We know
we are fortunate to work with them.
Thank you also for all you did this year in
support of the school. We couldn’t have
done it without you and, for that, we are
truly grateful!
To those of you who will be departing
Cebu and moving on to other locations in
the world, I wish you the very best and
trust that CIS offered your children an
excellent education during their time with
us. For those of you returning to CIS for
the coming school year, I wish you a very
pleasant vacation. I look forward to seeing
you and your children back at school on
Tuesday, August 4. I know next year will
be another active and exciting school
year.
Last Newsflash for SY2014-2015
10. Steffany Hermias (Philippines)
PE/Filipino
University of San Carlos, Cebu,
Philippines
11. Mario
Arana
(Guatemala)
Spanish
American International School of
Bucharest, Romania
12. Cynthia Sicilia (US)
Elementary School Principal
Ferndale School District
USA
This will be the last newsflash this school
year. If you have questions, please call
the office.
First Day of School for 2015-2016
The first day of school for SY 2015-2016 is
Tuesday, August 4. Please see the CIS
Master Calendar on our website for more
details.
CIS Newsflash
Page 3 of 11
Middle & High School News
Wow! It’s my last Newsflash! It seems like
just yesterday that I was starting at CIS,
full of anticipation and excitement. It has
been an amazing four years filled with
challenges, successes and wonderful
memories. Cebu and CIS will always hold a
special place in my heart and I will miss it
dearly. Most of all, I will miss working with
the incredible students. They are the best!
They are the heart and soul of the school
and make every day I come to work
worthwhile. I have been truly blessed to
have been a part of such a warm and
supportive community and I would like to
take this opportunity to thank all of you
for everything you’ve done to make my
time here so wonderful. It is hard to leave
something so special but I will take with
me the very best of memories and the
knowledge that I have many lifetime
friends here. My best wishes to you all but
above all, THANK YOU!
We also have several colleagues who are
moving on to new challenges and
adventures. I would like to thank them all
Elementary School News
by: Mr. Neil Walton, MHS Principal
for their contributions to CIS and wish
them well for the future. With this
transition, we are also excited to be
welcoming some new and equally
talented teachers to our school next year.
It will be another exciting year and I know
that CIS will continue to flourish!
However, before we finish we still have
several important End-of-Year Activities to
look forward to. This evening is our
Graduation ceremony for 2015 where we
will honor our current class of High School
graduates. The programme begins at 5:00
pm in the Santa Maria Ballroom at the
Radisson Blu hotel. I hope to see you
there to celebrate the achievements of
our college-bound Grade 12 students and
give them a great send-off.
On campus, we are still running our endof-semester exams and make-up activities
on Monday, 1st and Tuesday, 2nd of June.
Then we have our last school day on
Wednesday, 3rd of June when we will
begin the day with our Final Awards
Then, of course don’t forget our grand
finale to this school year, the Grade 5 & 8
Moving-Up Ceremony here at the
Dragon’s Dome at 11:00 am on
Wednesday. I look forward to seeing you
there for this special culminating event of
the year, where we honor our students
moving from Elementary School to Middle
School and from Middle School to High
School.
So, it’s goodbye for now. I wish you a
pleasant weekend and a wonderful
future! I hope our paths will cross again.
MHS Exam Schedules
on pages 9 - 11
by: Mr. Ted Mockrish, ES Principal
Congratulations on another wonderful
year of learning! This is my last newsflash
of the year, and my final one as
elementary principal. While I am excited
for the new challenges of the Middle and
High School, these last three years with all
of the elementary students, faculty and
parents has been the most wonderful
experience for me as an educator! I have
said this before and will say it again…we
have the nicest, best students in the
world! Thank you for all of your support,
feedback and guidance over the last three
years.
classroom, thinking about what is needed
to make a community function smoothly.
During this process the students
developed building units made of boxes
and paper rolls to construct sturdy walls
and roofing. There was an incredible
amount of problem solving, math,
engineering,
civil
planning
and
collaboration involved in creating the
village, the puppet show and the unit as a
whole. Look for their efforts on the latest
Learning Story on our Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/CebuInternat
ionalSchool?fref=ts
It is amazing to see our students working
hard right to the last day of school. It’s as
if the children don’t know summer break
is coming and it is business as usual in
classrooms. Earlier this week, our Kinders
put together a puppet show on friendship
and asked for donations from audience
members to support earthquake victims
in Nepal. After hearing about how many
people lost their homes in Nepal, the
Kinders really wanted to help.
On Thursday, our Pre School 4s installed
ecology signs at the Mactan Shrine, after
learning about how pollution affects sea
creatures. Our Grade 2s just finished
amazing published books that they
delivered this morning to a group of
children in Bacayan. The class went down
this morning, read their books aloud and
handed over the books they made from
scratch, from writing, to publishing to
professional printing and binding! This is
part of an ongoing project of supporting
literacy in the neighborhood, in which our
students continue to participate. Inspired
by the Kinder Puppet Show, the Grade 2s
are performing the stories from their
books at school on Monday morning with
a suggested donation going to
They are completing their unit on the
transdisciplinary theme of, Where We are
in Place and Time, specifically studying
how people build homes according to
their needs and abilities. Starting with
investigations into the past and
constructions of caves and tents, the
Kinders then worked together to plan,
design and build a Kinder Village in their
Assembly, which should be both
entertaining and a wonderful opportunity
to honor some of the special efforts of our
students over the course of this year.
earthquake victims in Nepal! Well done
Pre School 4 and Grade 2s for all of your
efforts.
Our Grade 5s are preparing for their
Moving Up Ceremony on Wednesday at
11 am in the Dragon’s Dome, but they are
not too busy to continue their learning
straight through next week. On Monday,
they will hold a final performance in their
classroom related to their unit, Where We
are in Place and Time, by presenting a
living museum on their investigations into
ancient civilizations. We are so proud of
all the work and collaboration our Grade
5s have demonstrated over the course of
this year. They have elevated our service
work in the Elementary School through
their continued, compassionate efforts.
Well done!
Finally, I would like to thank each and
every teacher who has made this year
possible.
I would especially like to
highlight those teachers that will move on
from the CIS Community after this year
ends. Thank you for everything you have
done for us Claire Navarro (Grade 3),
Monique Donahue (Grade 4), Stephanie
Burress (Grade 5), Marcie Dunham (EAL),
Maria Menendez (WL-Spanish), Marijyl
Valendez (Music), and Akina Fuentes
(Teaching Assistant). We wish you all well
in your new adventures!
Continued on page 4
CISNewsflash
Newsflash
CIS
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Elementary School News
from page 3
Of course I would be remiss if I did not thank Mr. Neil Walton for his years of service to CIS. I could not imagine the last three years at
CIS without this compassionate, thoughtful, humorous, intelligent man guiding our Middle/High School faculty and students. Thank
you for everything you have done for our students and our school. God’s Speed!
Thank you all again for a fantastic year of learning! Have an amazing summer with friends and family. See you all in August!
IBDP & COLLEGE News
by: Ms. Jenny Basa, IBDP Coordinator/Dean of Student Services
University Acceptances as of 29 May 2015
Continued on page 5
CIS Newsflash
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IBDP & College News
from page 4
University Acceptances as of 29 May 2015
Continued on page 6
CIS Newsflash
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IBDP & College News
from page 5
University Acceptances as of 29 May 2015
CIS Newsflash
Athletics and Activities Director’s News
Page 7 of 11
by: Mr. Ace Pierra, Athletics & Activities Director
Register at CIS cashier on or before June 5, 2015.
Continued on page 8
CIS Newsflash
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Athletics and Activities Director’s News
from page 7
The schedule for ISAC next year will be:
1st Season
Southville International School and Colleges,
Las Piñas
Volleyball Boys and Volleyball Girls
October 7 - 11, 2015
2nd Season
British School Manila- BGC, Taguig City
Boys Soccer and Girls Basketball
January 20 - 24, 2016
3rd Season
Brent International School Subic- Subic
Boys Basketball and Girls Soccer
March 16 - 20, 2016
Other News
Parent Teacher Association (PTA) News
by: Mrs.Neeru Bhadwal, PTA Secretary SY2015-16
As we near the end of the 2014-15 academic year, I would like to thank each one of you for your interest and generosity in supporting
the PTA. We had a busy and a successful year that enabled us to contribute meaningfully towards our school and our community.
We would like to bid adieu to the outgoing MHS Principal Mr. Neil Walton. His contributions have made this school a better place.
Best wishes to Mr. Ted Mockrish as he now takes up the responsibilities of MH School.
PTA welcomes Ms. Cynthia Sicilia as the new ES Principal. Her vast experience will definitely benefit CIS.
Soon, the school website will have a PTA tab with web-pages outlining all the PTA related information in detail. This would enable us
to keep you informed about our social events, fund-raising efforts and other activities. It will be a wonderful tool to keep us better
connected!!
We are also trying to reach out to new parents by putting together a guidebook for them. It will contain information - tips to help
them learn more about the school routines and what’s available in the city. Your input will be of great help here. Therefore, we have
put a survey online to collect your comments. Please contribute to the guidebook by sharing any information you think would help
new parents to get started in the school and the city. The link is given below:
https://goo.gl/vlmrrN
Looking forward to your responses.
Continued on page 9
CIS Newsflash
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Middle/High School Department
2nd SEMESTER EXAMINATION AND FINAL WEEK SCHEDULE
May 28 - June 1, 2015
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Report to assigned HR/exam rooms before 7:30am.
2. Remain in the room until the exam period is completed
3. All school rules apply
4. Students are not required to attend school during a session if they do not have an exam scheduled
5. Length of exams by grade level: Gr. 6 – 1.0 hr Gr. 7 & 8 – 1.5 hrs Gr. 9 to 11 – 2.0 hrs
6. Students are to hand in relevant text books to Homeroom teachers at beginning of each exam.
(Students are in the classroom for the entire 2 hr. block and are expected to quietly review for the next exams during non-exam time.)
NOTE: Semester summative assessments in specialist subjects (Music, PE, Art, I.T., etc.) may be given during regular class time during
the week of May 23rd – 25th, 2015
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015 -- School Starts – 7:30am, Dismissal – 12:15pm, Buses Leave -12:30pm
7:30 -7:40
Homeroom/Proctors
7:45 – 9:45
Break
9:45-10:15
10:15 – 12:15
6 - Mr. Burgos & Ms. Alguno
Science
World Languages
7A - Ms. Roble & Ms. Fussell
English
World Languages
7B – Ms. Hardy & Ms. Cuyno
English
World Languages
8A – Dr. Josol & Mr. Vega
Soc. Studies
English
8B – Ms. Sheffield, Ms. Laplana & Ms. Wiemann
Soc. Studies
English
9A – Ms. Castro & Ms. Kubicka
Math
Social Studies
9B –Ms. Medalla & Mr. Lawrence
Math
Social Studies
10A - Mr. Deitchmeister & Mr. Harris
Math
Science
10B - Ms. Chang & Mr. Tebbutt
Math
Science
Biology/Chemistry
English
11 - Mr. Donahue & Ms. Woodhouse
STUDY AFTERNOON AT HOME
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 -- School Starts – 7:30am, Dismissal – 12:15pm, Buses Leave -12:30pm
7:30 -7:40
Homeroom/Proctors
7:45 – 9:45
Break
9:45-10:15
10:15 – 12:15
6 - Mr. Burgos & Ms. Alguno
Math
Social Studies
7A - Ms. Roble & Ms. Fussell
Science
Math
7B – Ms. Hardy & Ms. Cuyno
Science
Math
8A – Dr. Josol & Mr. Vega
Science
World Languages
8B – Ms. Sheffield, Ms. Laplana & Ms. Wiemann
Science
World Languages
Continued on page 10
CIS Newsflash
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FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 -- School Starts – 7:30am, Dismissal – 12:15pm, Buses Leave -12:30pm
7:30 -7:40
Homeroom/Proctors
7:45 – 9:45
Break
9:45-10:15
10:15 – 12:15
9A – Ms. Castro & Ms. Kubicka
English
World Languages
9B –Ms. Medalla & Mr. Lawrence
English
World Languages
10A - Mr. Deitchmeister & Mr. Harris
English
Psychology/Business
10B - Ms. Chang & Mr. Tebbutt
English
Psychology/Business
Business
Math
11 - Mr. Donahue & Ms. Woodhouse
STUDY AFTERNOON AT HOME
MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2015 -- School Starts – 7:30am, Dismissal – 12:15pm, Buses Leave -12:30pm
7:30 -7:40
Homeroom/Proctors
7:45 – 9:45
Break
9:45-10:15
10:15 – 12:15
6 - Mr. Burgos & Ms. Alguno
English
Make-ups or dismissal
7A - Ms. Roble & Ms. Fussell
Social Studies
Make-ups or dismissal
7B – Ms. Hardy & Ms. Cuyno
Social Studies
Make-ups or dismissal
8A – Dr. Josol & Mr. Vega
Math
Make-ups or dismissal
8B – Ms. Sheffield, Ms. Laplana & Ms. Wiemann
Math
Make-ups or dismissal
9A – Ms. Castro & Ms. Kubicka
Science
Make-ups or dismissal
9B –Ms. Medalla & Mr. Lawrence
Science
Make-ups or dismissal
10A - Mr. Deitchmeister & Mr. Harris
World Languages
Make-ups or dismissal
10B - Ms. Chang & Mr. Tebbutt
World Languages
Make-Ups or Dismissal
11 - Mr. Donahue & Ms. Woodhouse
World Languages
Psychology/History
Grade 8 students will have a Moving-Up Ceremony rehearsal at 10:00-12:00am followed by class parties.
STUDENTS MAY COMPLETE THEIR CLEARANCES IN THE AFTERNOON BEFORE LEAVING CAMPUS
TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015 -- School Starts – 7:30am, Dismissal – 12:15pm, Buses Leave -12:30pm
All Grades (except grade 12)
8:00 – 10:00
10:30 – 12:30
Make-up exams or summative
assignments
Make-up exams or summative assignments
Attendance only required if taking a make-up exam or assignment
Grade 8 students will have a Moving-Up Ceremony rehearsal at 8:00-10:00 am.
Continued on page 11
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CIS Newsflash
ALL STUDENTS MUST COMPLETE THEIR CLEARANCES BEFORE 1:00pm, TUESDAY, JUNE 2
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015
7:30 – 8:00am
Homeroom
8:00 – 9:15am (Approx.)
Awards/Final Assembly
Dragons’ Dome
9:15 – 10:45am
Class parties (this is also time for Gr 5 and 8
students to get ready for Moving-Up)
Homeroom Classes
11:00 – 12:15pm
Moving-Up Ceremony
Dragons’ Dome
12:15pm
Dismissal
BUSES LEAVE AT 12:30pm