Middle School ISM

September 23, 2015

BALITANG BAMBOO
The Bamboo News
Bamboozled
The Bamboozled Column will
be a weekly edition to the
Balitang Bamboo that includes
a collection the weeks best
jokes and funnies. The column
will also eventually include
advice and suggestions for any
problems that readers write in
about.

Jokes of the Week

Q. What do you call a tiny
phsycic that just escaped from
prison?
A. A small medium at large!
- Alicia Forsythe
Q. What should a person get
who tells knock-knock jokes?
A. A No-Bell Prize!
- Bettina Catoto
Q. Why couldnt the bike stand
up on its own?
A. It was TWO-TIRED!
- Max Ritchie
Q. What did the alpaca say
when he was getting ready for
a journey?
A. An adventure? Alpaca my
bags!
- Lucas Batungbacal
I wondered why the baseball
was getting bigger. Then it hit
me!
- Gregory Pruss
Middle School ISM

Photo by Natalie Gleyze, Grade 7

A Pathway Is Built For MS

Journalism: Balitang Bamboo
By: Bettina Catoto
Elementary School has Bamboo Shoots, and High School has
two publications: Bamboo Telegraph and Newsflash. So, why
isnt there a school-wide publication for MS students? For the
first time, we will be creating our own MS publication.
Inspired by Mr. Burkes Journalism blogs, Mr Willeys
Journalism class wanted to expand viewership on the student's
work. Bamboo Telegraph, a prominent website edited by
ISMs HS students, has received contributions from MS
students. Irene Lee, an eighth grader, said, Their articles are
interesting, and a good way to keep up in school events.
Even if we are starting small, it would be a great way to work
our way up! says Liz Sunga, our current editor-in-chief.
Bamboo Telegraph started as a semesterly or quarterly printed
newsletter, and was upgraded in SY 2012 - 2013, by Daniel
Um, Mia Kawazu, and Andie Ayala (Class of 2014) to an
online publication.

Middle School ISM

September 15, 2015

Who Will Kick Off the First

Richo Cup?
By Gaby Anugraha

Photo from ISM HS Flickr

The Great Works

Concert 2015
By Irene Lee
The Great Works Concert is one
of the most anticipated concerts
every year. Music performance
classes along with individual
soloists work together to present
significant works of a variety of
composers. Opening its curtains
on the Tuesday of September 22
at 5:30 pm, students will line up
outside; eager to see the
performances. Gaby Anugraha, a
middle school participant in the
concert, says, It is interesting to
see how high schoolers and
middle schoolers collaborate on
a single performance. This year,
the groups will be performing
two famous pieces: John Rutters
Magnificat and George
Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue,
with guest artists from the Manila
Symphony Orchestra. Rhapsody
in Blue is a 1924 musical piece
that was composed for a jazz
band and solo piano. Rutters
Magnificat is an extended
composition of seven
movements based on the biblical
canticle, Magnificat. ISM is
featuring soloist Lisa Zheng, who
is a senior at ISM known as one of
the top talents for piano in
Manila.

Middle School ISM

September 15 was the start to the first ever Richo Cup in Mr.
Richardson B block PE class that took place in the MS gym.
This year, the new coming teacher, Mr. Richardson, joined in
with the PE fun by creating a tournament. This year, Mr.
Richardson kicked o the Richo Cup with Volleyball. The
winning team was Team B, which included the following
students: Bianca McKeown, Rohan Tulshyan, Ethan Douglas,
Maanya Chaturvedi and Gregory Pruss. In an interview with
Mr. Richardson, he says that a good strategy, good
communication, good teamwork and a high work skill led
them to victory. He tried his best to evenly distribute the
dierent students into teams, which varied in skill, so that
they could work together and use the dierent techniques for
the game. From the beginning of the unit, Mr. Richardson
could feel the excitement and build-up, so much that it was
palpable. The winning team won games with the scores of
20-8, 22-5, 15-10 and 15-9; winning all 4 games.

Photo by Mr. Richardson

Middle School ISM

September 15, 2015

Smash and
Loop for your
Victory
By Ian Barton

Students in the school of ISM

were at the table tennis court on
Friday afternoon. They were
practicing doubles strategies for
their tournament that would be
starting in couple of minutes.
After their practice, the coach
started the tournament and
watched the students battling for
their victory, the tournament, and
for the prize. To win the
tournament, you had to win three
of five games. There was brutal
rivalry matches, especially
between the 7th and 6th graders.
In one furious game, a pair of 7th
graders battled a pair of 6th
graders, ending in a 3-2 win to
the 7th grade pair. During the
game, the students were
smashing with all of their power
attempting to save the other
teams horrendous smashes and
hits. The coach said the players
will continue the tournament the
next time they meet again, so the

Photo from
www.tabletennisvic.org.au

Middle School ISM

Photo from www.clearlypositive.co.uk

Extra Elective: More Choices

and Freedom in MS
By Max Ritchie
This year ISM replaced 7th and 8th grade COW and Ideas
classes with a new elective space for students to engage in. I
believe in giving students choice, said Mr. St. Laurent when
asked about the change. A survey that had been sent out
shows that an overwhelming percentage of students enjoy the
new elective space. Mr. St. Laurent says that students are now
more motivated and that their enjoyment in class has
increased. Based on survey results, over 75 percent of students
believe that the new elective space helps them learn more
eectively. He also says that ISM has tried to fit the concepts
of Ideas and COW into Science and Social Studies
curriculums. The ISM program guide places emphasis on
giving 7th and 8th graders the opportunity to continue classes
that they enjoyed in their earlier middle school years. With
the new elective space expansion, Mr. St. Laurent also said
that now students wanted to take band or strings but also
have an additional elective are no longer missing out.

Middle School ISM

September 15, 2015

Get Your Mouth Out

of Your Computer
By Maryam Imran, Columnist

Photo from www.pokemon.com

Pokemon GO!
By Lucas Batungbacal and Trevor Yu
A new game has struck the internet, Pokemon Go, a virtual reality
game that brings our beloved Pokemon series into the real world
using state of the art technology that spawns Pokemon randomly on
the camera screen of your device, area exclusive, along with the
Pokemon Go Plus Watch that alerts you when in the presence of
wild Pokemon and other trainers are in your premises. Now, you
can see a Magikarp in your local pool, capture a Charizard on the
beach, or battle a Mewtwo in Times Square. Contrary to popular
belief, this app was made to encourage the young Poke-trainers of
our generation to go outside and discover Pokemon while
recognizing the beauty of nature outside our doors. The gameplay
of this application is eortlessly straightforward. This application is
the second of two virtual reality games from the same company, the
first AR being Ingress, an alien invasion game for adults. This is
basically an open world game that builds friendship and teamwork.
The dierent aspects of the game are essentially trading, battling,
and capturing Pokemon. This allows children to interact with each
other in the real world. Opinions vary on this particular topic, but
most suggest that it will be a distraction, or hindrance to normal
life, explicitly contradicting the purposes of this game. Also, based
on first hand information, most middle school students have played
Pokemon, some even playing in class. On the other hand, based on
previous observations of past AR games and user forums, this game
is predicted to be successful on a worldwide scale. Watch out for its
release in 2016, and remember, you gotta catchem all!

Middle School ISM

I was initially going to set my

fingers on my keyboard and
write an article advocating
strongly against this rule of a
device-free lunch. This was
until I had spoken to Ms. Pekin.
Ms. Pekin, Ms. Harrington, and
program leaders felt that our
school needed a sacred time
in which students leave their
screen to spend time with
others. Out of a total of 1440
minutes in a day, 45 minutes to
leave your computer alone is
definitely not too much to ask.
As said to me by Ms. Van Der
Merwe and Ms. Pekin, students
use their devices as blankets to
secure themselves in from the
outside world. Students find it
much easier to communicate
with others through the
internet, than to do it face to
face. Behind their computers,
their vulnerability is shielded
with a glass screen and if they
are not pushed out of their
comfort zone soon enough,
their ability to interact socially
will get even worse. These
skills are very important to
have and develop, especially
in middle school. Overall, I do
feel as if this new rule is a
necessary one. A reason why
people would feel negatively
about it is because it was a
privilege that we always had
but never valued, until it was
taken away.In conclusion, I do
feel as though we we do need
to value this rule because it is
much more important than we
think.

Middle School ISM

8th Grade
CWW: A Huge
Success
By Sang Yun Jee
Eigth grade ISM students recently
went on a trip to Caliraya for their
CWW. Students say Caliraya and
giving back to the community
was an amazing experience.
Classroom Without Walls, or
CWW, is an opportunity for
students to get out of the
classroom and take time to serve
less fortunate communities to
show their gratitude for what they
have. As one ISM student says,
Its like all of us were hit with this
Reality Truck that was screaming,
Hey, the rest of the world isnt as
fortunate as you folks. It was
hard for us to say goodbye, says
another. The 8th graders spent
most of their time participating in
two different activities. The first
was to teach younger students at
a local elementary school. The
second was to work with local
villagers and experience their
daily work, which include
painting different crafts. There
will be another CWW trip later on
on February. Students eagerly
wait for this time to come!

Photo by Mr. Hamlin

Middle School ISM

September 15, 2015

Do Counselors Care About

Kiera Cass?
By Alicia Forsythe
On Wednesday
morning of
September 16th,
legendary author
Kiera Cass
selected ISM to
visit. To better
understand the
audiences
perspective on
her and her
Selection series,
I interviewed Mr.
St. Laurent and
Miss Bliss from
the MS Oce.

Photo from www.ronreads.com

Alicia: So, how do you feel towards the time we get to spend
with visiting authors?
Saint Laurent: Good. I feel good.
Bliss: Well, I find it so cool. I love the Q and A set up, and its
really great to finally put a name to the face. Its absolutely
fascinating to see how human they are.
Alicia: If the Selections Series became a reality, who in the
faculty would you love to see fight for the crown?
B: To be honest, I think it would be very interesting to see
Mr. Saint Laurent versus anyone.
SL: Oh, and definitely Lacson versus everyone. Especially
Allen.
Alicia: And, how about the ladies?
SL: Because theyre fighting for the crown, I think Ms Relf
would be best. Shed get us all motivated, wed dominate in
everything: from sports to happiness.
*Mrs Hagedorn entered the room.*
B: Oh, how about this lady? Shes absolutely splendid.
Alicia: Perfect!

Middle School ISM

September 15, 2015

Photo of the Issue:

Photo by Mr. Hamlin

Teambuilding at Lake Taal: Grade 7 CWW

By Henri Milvid
On Thursday, September 17th, Grade 7 students went to
Club Balai Isabel in Batangas for their CWW trip. We
expect kids to be open minded, and students should get
to know each other, get to know themselves better, get
to see other parts of the Philippines, make new friends,
and build social skills, said Ms. Bliss. Additionally, Ms.
Villanueva said that she expects kids to have fun and
have a good time. Students left ISM at 8:00am on
Photo by Kimaya Ghoge
Thursday and returned the next day at 3:45pm. Some of
the activities students did were swimming in the pool,
skits for their advisory, kayaking, and slip and slide. Grade 7 students also had an option of going hiking up the
Taal Volcano, but there were only 65 slots for hiking students. While everyone was on hiking, other students
would do various activities at the resort. Seventh Grader, Ian Barton, said he really enjoyed grade 7 CWW.
Middle School ISM

Middle School ISM

September 15, 2015

CWW: What Did We Learn?

By Natalie Gleyze

Top to Bottom: Shain, Victor,

Colin, Ling, Mr. Freeman, Mr.
Cargile

Photos by Maryam Imran

Middle School ISM

Shain Poon (8): One thing I learned was that sometimes we don't
have to have a plan and prepare every single detail to make
something work. Sometimes just having a vague or the bluntest idea
of what's to come is better because it leaves room for fun and
unexpected surprises that might come along the way. Maybe
without a step by step plan, things could go better or have dierent
memories that we wouldn't have had if we would have a big plan.
Asia Benford (7): I think that CWW taught us how to work as a
team even though we do do that in class, this was a more interactive
experience. You also find out the true nature of people and how they
would act in a normal environment.
Victor Theisen (7): I learned how to become more of a social
person, which really helped me open up to all the academic aspects
of learning in school, which is probably the most important skill.
Valeria Rivera (6): I learned how to be more social and how to
approach people. I wouldnt have learned this in class because in
CWW we were forced to work together with people we usually
dont pair up with.
Colin Winton (5): I learned that people that aren't as fortunate as
us and don't have the things we have can still socialise and make
new friends that are from dierent places and from dierent
backgrounds.
Ling Hung-Le (5): I learned that you can progress more as a team
than alone, and that even if people make really bad mistakes, you
should always give them a second chance.
McElhinney, Joanna : During CWW I learned the importance of
communicating with others outside our school. It was a great
learning experience to begin to build a relationship with Papaya
Academy. Without CWW this never would have transpired.
Freeman, Neil : I learned a lot about my students in terms of their
interests, personalities, abilities, strengths, friendships and general
facts about them.
Cargile, Jack: This year at CWW I learned that the grade 7
students LOVE to play Capture the Flag! I was truly surprised with
the number of students who told me that playing Capture the Flag
was their favorite part of CWW this year. I thought our time at
CWW was well-spent because I could see students having fun and
interacting with one-another in happy, supportive ways. Meal times
were a primary example. When we were having a little fun by doing
the fashion runway for returning lost items, the whole grade-level
cheered in such a fun and supportive way, it made everyone feel a
part of something positive and special. Just thinking about it
makesme smile. I am proud to be a part of such a great grade 7
team!
7

Middle School ISM

September 15, 2015

The Balitang Bamboo

Team - Reporters and
Board of Editors
Reporters:
Gabriella Anugraha
Aldrin Aujero
Ian Barton
Lucas Batungbacal
Bettina Catoto

Photo from www.projectinspired.com

Alicia Forsythe
Maryam Imran

Do We Need Dating In Our

Middle School?

Sang Yun Jee

Irene Lee
Henri Milvid

Editorial Written by Liz Sunga

Dating, what is it? Ask a 5th grader and maybe theyll say that its having
someone to call your girlfriend or boyfriend. Ask an 8th grader and they
will probably sco at you or squeal in excitement. The thing is, dating is so
overrated. From all the teen chick flicks with perfect high school
sweethearts to love stories you hear around the halls, it can seem as if the
entire school is love sick. But actually, if you think about it, a lot of us
students actually think dating is ridiculous. For the few of us who are
dating, sometimes it can seem as if your relationship means the whole
world, and thats normal! At this age, its true that our hormones are going
wild. Meaning, a lot of our actions are actually being controlled by our
emotions rather than our rational thinking. Dating can be fun because it
means you have someone to talk to, but dating isnt fun when youre crying
over someone who asked you out on Gmail. Dating is unavoidable in
Middle School, and its not as if its going to ruin your life, but sometimes
we just need to take a step back and assess our lives. Dating is said to be
driven not only by hormones, but by peer pressure. If your friends pressure
you to have a relationship with someone and date them, you probably will,
just from the standpoint that you dont want to disappoint or even lose
your friends. Bottom line is, dating is simply an inevitable factor in Middle
School drama and how you handle and perceive it will determine how
much it will aect you and how you work. Just always remember, just
because youre dating someone today, doesnt mean youll be marrying
them in the next twenty years--but then again, that could happen!

Middle School ISM

Max Ritchie
Trevor Yu
Editorial Team:
Editor-In Chief:
Liz Sunga
Copy Editor:
India Stephenson
Design Editor:
Elena Dickinson
News Editor:
Martina Qua
Feature Editor:
Gregory Pruss
Art/Music/Sports Editor:
Soung Ill Yang