Upper School Event Calendar

Monday, 15 March
Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, 18 March
Dordt College Visit

Thursday-Sat., 18-20 March
ISAC Boys Basketball and Girls Soccer

Friday, 19 March
Science Internal Assessment Due

Friday-Sunday, 19-21 March
GIN Conference

Tuesday-Wednesday, 23-24 March
SAT 9 Testing Grades 9-10

Friday, 26 March
No Classes/ Inservice Day

Saturday, 27 March - Sunday, 4 April
Easter Break

Reflections: Success in business is often closely associated with a person?s courage and ability to recover from his or her most recent failure!

He will constantly look after my safety and success.
–2 Samuel 23:5

Upper School Office


Mr. Jason Atkins Principal	Mr. Joseph Levno Asst. Principal

Mrs. Carrie Levno Guidance Counselor	Mr. Benjamin Compton Guidance Counselor

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Counter Reset on 1 August 2009

Vol. XII • Issue 25 • March 12, 2010 | Subscribe

Parent Teacher Conferences – Midterm Progress Reports

Second semester Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for all day on Monday, 15 March in Gym 1. Sign-up sheets are posted in the Atrium starting Monday, 1 March. There are three ways parents can make appointments with our teachers. You may call the Upper School Office, drop by the school and sign up for yourself, or have your Upper School student sign up for you. All reservations are made on a first-come, first served basis.

We will also be collecting student progress information from every teacher effective Friday, 5 March, collating it, and then sending home Midterm Progress Reports hopefully by Wednesday, 10 March. A copy will also be given to your child during Contact Time on Friday, 12 March. The information contained in these reports will help focus the discussions during Parent Teacher Conferences on 15 March.

Step Workshop

Starting on Thursday, April 8, Upper School Guidance Counselor Mrs. Carrie Levno will be offering the STEP (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) workshops for parents of teenagers. The five sessions will be weekly over the course of the month of April and first week in May. The workshop costs P 1,000 for the workbook and supplies. Interested parents are encouraged to see Mrs. Levno or sign up with Mrs. Borja, the US Guidance Secretary.

Pre‑Registration Course Selection

We have now introduced to all Grade 10 students the course options available to them within the framework of the International Baccalaureate Program for Grades 11 and 12. Students and interested parents who attended the 18 February meeting were also given a copy of our 2010‑2011 Course Offerings booklet in addition to their Pre-Registration Form.

Grade 10 students need to think seriously about which six or seven courses they will take over the next two years. We expect students to complete the Pre-Registration form and make their course selections by Friday, 12 March. Please ask questions because the more students and parents know about their course choices, the more accurate those choices will be.

Course selections also need to be made considering where the student might want to attend college or university and what they may wish to study while there. Parent thinking and input are important parts of this process. As always, all of us in the Upper School are prepared to help students and parents better understand the program and make appropriate selections. Parents, you may also wish to check the IB section on our school website, click here, for more specific information about our IB Program, our inclusive philosophy, student success rates, teacher training, preparation and retention, and class sizes.

Parents and students, the single most important point we continue to make is that everyone needs to ask questions and keep asking questions until you understand what courses you are selecting and why! We are here to help and look forward to helping you make informed and wise decisions regarding your course selection options for the next two years.

Grade 9 Course Selections

Our current Grade 9 students were given their copies of the 2010-2011 Course Offerings booklet on Friday February 26 during Contact Time together with their Pre-Registration Form for next school year. Parents, ask your Grade 9 student to show you these materials because your signature is also needed on the form. Students need to select courses, complete the form, and turn it in to the Guidance Office by Friday, 12 March.

First Semester Honor Roll Students

Linked to this page is a list of those Upper School students who earned Honor Roll status for the first semester of this school year. Students were awarded their certificates during Contact Time. Those making the Bishop Brent Scholar’s List earned a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.00 and above. The Headmaster’s List is for students earning a GPA of 3.50 to 3.99, and the Honor’s List is for students whose GPA was 3.00 to 3.49. Our sincere congratulations to all first semester Honor Roll students!

College and University Acceptances

Also linked to this page is a list of our Grade 12 students and the colleges and universities into which they have already been accepted for their tertiary education. Congratulation, Grade 12 students!

Download the list of College and University Acceptances here.

College Planning – Grade 11

Brent International School Manila is a college preparatory institution. Completing applications and being accepted into the appropriate college or university after graduation is both an involved process and most definitely a family undertaking. We started to define that process further on Monday, 25 January when all Grade 11 students attended a College Admissions Seminar organized by our Guidance Counselors. A number of parents also attended, and we are most appreciative! Grade 11 students and parents are asked to look closely at our College Planning Handbook online at www.brent.edu.ph/usguidance . This document contains valuable information and timelines for colleges and universities both here in the Philippines and around the world. We will emphasize time and again that getting into the appropriate college or university is most definitely a process - a joint family and school process, and not a single event.

We suggest that all Grade 11 students start working now on the following four assignments:

Become familiar with and use your Naviance account! Your current GPA information will be entered soon, however you can already add your PSAT scores. Together with your career interests, possible college program goals, and the region of the world in which you would like to study, now is the time to start to identify those colleges and universities that might meet your needs. Naviance can help you do just that. Need some help with your account? See Mrs. Levno in our College Counseling and Guidance Office.
We suggest students identify and research roughly eight target schools. The basic rule of thumb is three or four should be “ideal” matches or “target” schools that you would be pleased to attend if accepted. For every three target schools, identify one “reach” school where it would be an honor to attend and two “backup” or “safety net” schools, where the admissions standards are not as stringent as the schools in the other two categories. When you have your list of schools, you also have a summer visit itinerary.
For those students planning to attend schools in America, now is the time to strengthen those areas of the SAT needing attention. Many of you were able to take the SAT exam last Saturday, here at Brent, for the first time. Look at your SAT results and compare your scores with those needed to gain admissions to your target schools identified above. Go on line at http://www.collegeboard.com and check out practice programs. Visit our Media Center or our College Information Room and check out SAT practice and review books. Many of the same books are available for purchase at the major bookstores in the Metro Manila area. Practice and familiarity are the key concepts in improving your SAT scores.

Plan on taking the SAT 1 exams again in May, June, and next October, and/or November. If you like your scores from the January sitting, then you can move on to the SAT 2 exams in May, June or next October, November and/or December.
Start now to fill out your Teacher Recommendation Worksheet, found online http://www.brent.edu.ph/usguidance/Forms.htm or in the Guidance Office. You will use the finished copy of this document when asking your teachers for letters of recommendation by the end of this semester.
And finally, start thinking about your personal statement for inclusion in your college applications. If you create a solid first draft in early April, revise it in May, and revise it again in August, you will start to have a polished statement by the time you begin submitting your applications in October and November.

All of the above listed “assignments” certainly emphasize the fact that applying to colleges and universities around the world is a process and not an event. Start that process now. Read the College Planning Handbook and become familiar with the different steps. Ask questions of our College Counselors and other professionals. Go for it and good luck!

My College QuickStart

My College QuickStart is an easy-to-use, online, personalized college and career planning kit available free of charge to all students who took the PSAT. The information and answers your student provided when they took the test are incorporated into this useful tool, and it presents their data back to them in four main parts:

My Online Score Report – an enhanced score report that allows students to review each test question, the student’s answer, and the correct answer with answer explanations;
My SAT Study Plan – a customized SAT study plan based on student PSAT/NMSQT test performance, highlighting skills for review and practice;
My College Matches – A starter list of colleges based on the student’s state and indicated choice of major;
My Major and Career Matches – Major and career matches that are compatible with the student’s general interests and personality type.

Access is available using the access code printed on the student’s paper score report, and the tool can be utilized throughout upper school. Using My College QuickStart together with your student is a great way to introduce and guide you both through important aspects of the college-admissions process. Visit www.collegeboard.com\quickstart http://www.collegeboard.com/quickstart for more information.

Grade 11 Responsibilities

We have a tradition at Brent where each year the grade 11 class raises money in order to plan a Prom for the Seniors. This involves a lot of work, and the entire class is expected to pitch in and help. At Food Fest in particular every Junior will be expected to help run booths and stay until everything is cleaned up. Last year we had 100% participation. Please encourage your Junior students to plan on and embrace these important responsibilities.

Junior Interview

Starting in February, the Guidance Department will meet with Grade 11 students to begin the Junior Interview process. Forms will be distributed that need to be filled out by students and parents. Once those forms have been returned, the counselors will be meeting personally with parents and students to identify which schools would be the best choices for students, and how to go about applying to those schools. We will discuss the admissions procedure as well as identify for parents your child’s strengths and how to transfer those strengths into an eventual career.

Now Accepting Applications for New Students

For The 2010-2011 School Year

If you have other children not currently attending Brent that you wish to enroll for the 2010‑2011 school year, please submit an application to the Admissions Office as soon as possible.

Application documents can be printed from Brent’s website. See the Admissions tab at www.brent.edu.ph. The documents can also be picked up directly from the Admissions Office.

Once our office receives the complete application, a day can be scheduled for your child to take Brent’s entrance exams and be interviewed.

You are encouraged to start the process as soon as possible. The consequence of waiting might be finding a grade level already full. If you have any questions, please let us know how we can assist you with the Admissions process.

Skirt Length

Girls’ skirt lengths have been slowly shrinking, or perhaps the girls have been growing. Whichever is the case, there are now many girls who need to buy new LONGER skirts in order to be appropriately attired. Please support our efforts at home by encouraging your daughters to keep their skirt length no shorter than two inches above the middle of the knee. Two inches above the middle of the knee really means about the top of the knee.

College and University Acceptances

IB / Pre‑IB Summer Program

On its third summer session, Brent International School Manila will be offering a three-week, intensive summer course program geared to help students prepare for the challenges and rigors of a college preparatory course. Summer school students participate in a compulsory core course that focuses on time management and study skills, test-taking skills, and research techniques. They will also participate in an academic course of their choice. Please consider sending your grades 10 and 11 students to this college prep summer school on 31 May to 18 June 2010. Brochures, letters of invitation, and promotional materials will be available soon. Please mark the dates, 31 May to 18 June (including the 14 June holiday).

Important Events In The Upper School

Meetings and Special Events: Please be reminded of the following:

Friday March 12 Course Selections Forms are due!
Grade 11 EE Workshop is MARCH 12 from 2:45-8:45 p.m.
Monday March 15 Parent Teacher Conferences

College Visits: The following are dates when admissions officers from different colleges and universities around the world will be visiting our campus. Parents are invited and always welcome to attend any of these sessions:

Dordt College will present in the Upper School Faculty Workroom on March 18 at 1:30 p.m.
Fordham, Loyola Chicago University and Loyola University New Oleans will present in the Upper School Faculty Workroom on April 14 at 9:00 a.m.

Reading The Newsletter On Line

Thank you, parents, guardians and caregivers, for reading our Newsletter online. The website address is: http://www.brent.edu.ph/newsletter/upper_school.aspx. In order to read the most recent version, you may have to refresh your browser once you have logged on to the site. If you would still like a hard copy, we would be more than pleased to send one home with your Upper School student. Kindly let us know. Thanks for your comments, your support and your understanding.

Communicating With Home

Also check out our guidance web site http://www.brent.edu.ph/usguidance/. It is full of useful information about our course offerings and college admissions.