ISM HS Guidance

What? A change in how I register for the SAT? Before you begin to panic, do not fret. This change in the registration process is only for ISM students and it helps to ensure that you will always be able to take the test at ISM.

Here is a step-by-step process of how to register for the SAT.

1. Go to www.collegeboard.com and click on the “Register for the SAT” link in the bottom right-hand corner.

2. Sign into the the “My Organizer” on the left-hand side of the screen. If you do not have an account, then create one. Be sure to use your legal name as it appears on your passport. It is very important to use the SAME collegeboard.com account for all SAT’s that you take.

3. Click on “Register Now.” You will be re-directed to a new screen where you will need to re-enter your password.

4. Work through each of the prompts to update your personal information. Be sure to enter ISM as your high school! A shortcut is to use ISM’s High School code: 705720. Enter this in the first box and click “Search for High School.” ISM will appear. Click the blue “Select” box.

5. Choose your score reporting option (we recommend the online score reports) and then click the blue “continue” box.

6. Complete the “College Profile.” You MUST select an answer next to the questions with a red *. This profile will take several screens. Eventually you will get to the “Select Test Center” tab.

7. Select the test type (SAT I or SAT II) , testing month and student answer service. Click continue.

8. Here is the tricky part. If it is two weeks before the registration deadline, then ISM will not appear as a testing center because it is reserved for ISM students. The only way to have select ISM is to get the test center number from your counselor. If it is less than two weeks before the registration deadline, then search for centers in the Philippines and select ISM. If you cannot see ISM listed, then go see your counselor.

9. Proceed to the payment screen (remember you’ll need a credit card) and pay. Congratulations, you are done! Now  you just need to review…

As a reminder here are the registration deadlines for the SAT:

G-Talks made its official debut this past Tuesday during the grade 9/10 homeroom advisory period. Based on feedback, our G-Talks Student reps overall has an excellent start facilitating discussion on the changes we face in our lives and how to best adapt to them.

If you recall, students were asked to accomplish some tasks including:

• listing their thoughts and feeling associated with the phrase “We’re going to be moving to another country.”
• taking a poll to find out who has moved and changed schools the most number of times in their life.
• discussing why change can be a negative experience for some and a positive one for others
• creating a list of 5 practical strategies/suggestions that your fellow classmates could use for combating any fear/worry/concern they might have with starting a new school (like ISM) and/or a new grade level.

While a lot of productive strategies/advice for combating the challenge of starting a new school/grade level were suggested, a few common ones appeared over and over again. Here are our top 5:

1.     “Don’t be afraid of people, they won’t bite you!”
2.     “Don’t overthink, stay optimistic.”
3.     “May sure to join some sports and/or after school clubs
4.     “Believe in yourself.”
5.     “Make use of what you have in the present, don’t dwell in the past.”

By the way students, if you have any other strategies for dealing effectively with change or if you have other related comments, feel free to post them here.

Also, don’t forget…our next G-Talks will be Monday September 6^th.

Remember, do your best to participate and try to help each other! Thanks for a great start everyone.

Hey Freshmen/Sophomores,

https://connection.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=ismanila

One VERY IMPORTNT educational resource for the entire ISM high school student body is Family Connection (A.K.A. Naviance). In short, it is an online website designed to help you establish meaningful post-secondary goals while giving you the tools necessary to connect those goals with your coursework and college planning activities. It is designed to help you determine your strengths/interests as a student and discover how those strengths and interests relate to areas of study/future careers. It is also the best place for you to begin the college research process.

REMEMBER – It is not a resource you start using as a senior here at ISM. Instead it is something to utilize for your ENTIRE high school career.

ALL Grade 9s and NEW Grade 10s

Mr. Ayling and I have registered all of you with Family Connection (Naviance) as of today. Please check your ISManila email account. You should have already received an email with a link to the Family Connection site and your login information. Mr. Ayling and I will be helping you to focus on this site with some small assignments in the near future. In the meantime, please make sure you can log on successfully and of course feel free to explore the site at your leisure!

The Rest of the Grade 10s

Most of your should already have your login information from last year when you were a grade 9 student at ISM. Therefore, you could log on at any time from now with the Family Connection (Naviance) site (see the link above). You probably already did some work on this site with Mr. Fast last year which is great! Mr. Ayling and I will be helping you to focus on this site a little more this year with some small assignments in the near future. In the meantime, please make sure you can still log on successfully and of course feel free to explore the site at your leisure!

Any Forgetful Grade 10s (you know who you are J)

If you have lost/forgotten your login information from last year, please send an email to Mr. Ayling or myself and let us know. We can reset your password for you. Once we do that, you will receive the login information via email to your ISManila account. Then, please take a moment to check that you can log in and then again explore the site at your leisure.

Remember, utilizing Family Connection (Naviance) now as a Freshman or Sophomore, will make your life soooooooooooooooooo much easier when you are a senior. Trust us.

Gr. 9 and 10 Parents

Family Connection (Naviance) will be a very important resource for your son/daughter to utilize during their ISM career. Please encourage them to explore and utilize all that it has to offer. Please also feel free to contact Mr. Ayling or myself (Mr. McQueen) if you have any questions about it. Further information on Family Connection (Naviance) will be given out on the HS Guidance Blog throughout the school year.

On Wednesday August 18th, freshmen and sophomores at ISM experienced the first Wednesday assembly held by their grade 9/10 counselors this year. While partly organized as an introduction for students to the 9/10 guidance program, one central theme running throughout the presentation was an important message about empowering our students to take an active “Guidance” role when it comes to the health and welfare of our student body at ISM. The 9/10 counseling team is excited and hopeful this empowerment will develop and grow throughout the school year as freshmen and sophomores take part in “G-Talks”. G-Talks is a brand new student led guidance initiative that promotes and gives weekly opportunities for students to help students through home room advisory period discussions.

In case you missed the assembly, please fee free to view the video (on how the 9/10 team has “intensely prepared” for their year in Guidance) and powerpoint that were presented that afternoon.