Dolphin Dispatch

Dolphin Dispatch 

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PANAMA March 18, 2016 ISSUE 28 

Dear ISP Parents, 

Re-Inscription for SY2016-2017 is now open. The due date is April 15 th , 2016. 

To start the Re-Inscription process, please click on the following link: http:// 

www.isp.edu.pa/Reinscriptions and follow the instructions carefully. Please note that 

the process will not be completed if you do not send the corresponding forms (3 

forms), duly completed in hardcopy to the Admissions & Records Office. This 

applies to all ISP families. 

For non-institutional students, the Reinscription Fee is US$ 1,000.00 per student. 

For institutional students, the Reinscription Fee is US$ 1,000.00 per student with the 

Institutional Corporate fee $2,700.00. 

If payment is made by wire transfer or direct deposit to our accounts, please send 

us bank confirmation to the email reinscription@isp.edu.pa. 

If your family is leaving ISP at the end of the school year, please complete the 

withdrawal form (which was sent to your registered email). This form must be sent 

to the Admissions & Records Department as soon as possible to make sure we will 

have your child(ren)'s records on time. For more information you may contact 

Nilsa Arenas at narenas@isp.edu.pa 

In This Issue 

 

Alumni Profile 

 

Falling in Arts 

 

Reinscription Reminder 

 

PTA THANK YOU 

 

Athletics GO DOLPHINS! 

 

Health week recap 

 

Elementary news and events 

Menu and Calendar March 2016 

 

Destination imagination 

 

Middle School news and events 

 

TECHSHOWCASE 

 

High School news and events 

ISP’s WEEKLY NEWSLETTER #thereisnoplacelikeisp www.isp.edu.pa Issue 28

ANNOUNCEMENTS: HEALTH&WELLNESS WEEK March 18, 2016 ISSUE 28 

REFLECTING ON HEALTH&WELLENSS WEEK 

“Wellness Week was an opportunity for each one of us (students, parents, and staff) to stop and focus on our physical, 

mental, and emotional health. When we are truly mindful and aware of the present moment, we can fully give of ourselves in 

school, on the field, at home, on stage, at work, etc. In the high school, students heard talks about mindfulness, positive body 

image, and drug/alcohol prevention from guest speakers. Wellness Week was an opportunity for everyone to think about the 

daily decisions we make and how sometimes we need to slow down and take better care of ourselves.” Nina Kuziel HS 

Counselor 

“Elementary School had a lot of fun celebrating Wellness Week last week (March 7 th -11 th ). Students enjoyed activities during Art, 

Music and PE that focused on their physical and mental wellness. During lunch and recesses kids were invited to try something new; 

healthy snacks, green smoothies or fun physical challenges! And in classrooms we welcomed special guests, Lauren Spicer and Brenda 

Lyons to try yoga or Qigong Storytelling. All activities helped to broaden our understanding of what “wellness” is. It isn’t just 

physical, it is also emotional and mental. Students deepened their understanding of mindfulness and even how nutrition can affect their 

mood! We look forward to celebrating Wellness Week again next year. Although it’s a focus for one week, we hoped to give 

experiences and information that can guide healthy changes kids can make throughout the whole year!” -Chrissie Serafin ES 

Counselor 

"Wellness Week for me was an opportunity to think about myself and my own health; it was an opportunity and a reminder to take care 

of myself and be present, which are both very important to me." 

"Throughout the week we went through talks and activities that helped stop and take a moment to ourselves, like Qigong, Yoga, and 

talks about self esteem and self image. These contributed to reminding us of loving ourselves, taking care of ourselves, and being aware 

of your body and mind." 

"Crossfit was painful, but it made me realize how impactful fitness exercises are on the strength of the muscles." TF 

"Yoga mixed many elements of both relaxation and strength." TF 

"Learning about nutrition with Lauren Spicer was extremely helpful, and I learned about many things that I should start adding to my 

daily meals." TF 

"Health and wellness week taught me more than doing exercise and how to take care of my body, it taught me how take care of my 

mind and what decisions are the best for me." FS 

"Never forget that week, YOU make your OWN healthy choices!" GH 

“You are what you eat- This is what I learned during wellness week. During wellness week I participated in two activities, one of the 

activities was yoga which made me feel relaxed and the other was CrossFit which made me feel really soar the next day. Being healthy 

means eating well, exercising, living a social life, and mental health. "FD 

"Being healthy does not only mean exercising but having a good social life and having good mental health." I really enjoyed this 

experiences because they made me feel my muscles. I only got to do CrossFit but it was so fun." GB 



As part of our health education program and ongoing commitment to prevention and wellness an 

FCD Prevention Specialists from FCD Educational Services visited ISP March 10th and 11th. 

FCD is a non-profit organization that provides substance abuse prevention education for schools. 

Since 1976, they have taught over a million students of all ages. Their mission is to: 

* Encourage and support the non-use of alcohol and other illegal or illicit drugs during the growing 

years. 

* Empower young people to make healthy, responsible choices regarding alcohol and other drug 

use 

* Teach students and adults how to recognize the early warning signs of substance abuse and to 

intervene appropriately 

* Educate students, parents, teachers, and administrators on the physiological and psychological 

effects of alcohol and other drugs 

* Promote awareness of drug addiction, including alcoholism, as a progressive, chronic, and often 

fatal disease 

* Provide educational communities with the guidance and training necessary to implement comprehensive, 

effective approaches to substance abuse prevention 

FCD Prevention Specialists are highly trained professionals who have achieved long-term recovery 

from alcohol or other drug addictions. This unique perspective enhances the credibility of their 

message and provides students with role models for happy, healthy, drug-free living. 



The FCD program presents a perfect opportunity for discussing alcohol and other drug-related issues with your children. Parental 

involvement is crucial to our efforts to reduce the risks teenagers face. We want our students to hear from both school and home that we 

are concerned about alcohol, tobacco and other drug use by adolescents, and that we are committed to keeping our children safe. 

As a school, ISP is committed to educating the whole child, including providing guidance related to drugs and alcohol. ISP’s policy is both 

educational and disciplinary. Both approaches are in their different ways manifestations of our desire to care for students as well as 

reassure parents and community that we are doing everything possible to create a drug free environment which prevents students from 

engaging in drug use. 

ISP’s substance abuse policy is aimed at providing a firm disciplinary framework for dealing with students who engage in using or 

distributing controlled substances while on campus or at a school sponsored event or activity off campus. ISP reserves the right to suspend, 

expel or ask the parents to withdraw, within the framework of the applicable law. 

Any student in possession of, under the influence of, or using or selling any kind of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, narcotics or other psychotropic 

substances or prescription medicine used as intoxicants, will be subject to disciplinary action. 

If there is ever a situation where it has been determined that an action must be taken, ISP will be guided by the applicable law and the ISP 

Student Handbook, which provides rules and guidelines as well as outlines specific behaviors and possible consequences associated with 

non-compliance. 

ISP will continue to provide education as part of a broader health education program that will be comprehensive covering grades K-12. 

The educational program will offer a balance of information, attitudes and skills, facilitated by outside agencies such as FCD (Freedom 

from Chemical Dependence) and other outside experts. 

We ask that you please take time to review the student handbook for information about discipline procedures. If you have any questions 

or concerns please contact your division principal. 

Click this link to see all the 

pictures from our Health and Wellness 

Week 2016 https://www.flickr.com/gp/ 

internationalschoolofpanama/76K248 

https://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=iFIzwJe6Ujg 


ANNOUNCEMENTS: Destination Imagination March 18, 2016 ISSUE 28 

Let’s salute our creative Destination Imagination teams for their hardwork and dedication to creative problem 

solving. In its 3rd year of participation, ISP sent its largest group of students (22), parents and staff members to 

the regional Celebration of creativity tournament. The event took place at the Colegio Panamericano school in 

Bucaramanga, Colombia this past weekend March 11th - 14th. Each team did a phenomenal job and all came 

home with an award! 

DI is an innovative non-profit educational program that invites student teams from all over the world to solve 

mind-bending challenges. These challenges are aligned with the National, Common Core and STEM standards 

which encourage team members to further enhance invaluable skills and incorporate them through experiencing 

the creative learning process. 

Throughout the weekend, the teams worked together to solve intriguing challenges and present interesting and 

creative solutions to a group of appraisers. There are 6 different challenges that teams choose to solve. The ISP 

teams presented their solutions to the following challenge: 

Fine Arts Whodunnit? Reach back in time to get a clue! Points of Interest - Present a mystery 

story set on Earth in a team-chosen time period before 1990. -Discover, live on stage, which of 

the three suspect characters is responsible for the mystery. -Include a Techniclue that helps solve 

the mystery. -Present in the style of traverse staging. -Create and present two Team Choice 

Elements that show off the team's interests, skills, areas of strength, and talents. 

Out of 7 teams and first time participating in the DI tournament, our elementary teams brought 

home 2nd and 3rd place. 2nd - DI of the Tiger - Josefina Dodero, Daniel de Beer, Matias Gerlie, Simon Kappeli, 

Ali Yaafar, and Team Managers Jeny Buchanan & Donna Finlason 

3rd - DI Warriors - Melody Buchanan, Martin Camargo, Luiza Duarte, Maria Belen Mora, Anna Nellie 

Rodriguez, Flaminia Zito and Team Manager Sonia Sasso This is the third year that we have sent a middle 

school team to participate in this tournament. Each year they amaze everyone with their creativity, team work 

and problem solving skills. Once gain our MS teams came home with a1st and 3rd place win!!!! 


ANNOUNCEMENTS: Destination Imagination March 18, 2016 ISSUE 28 

1st Place – Fantastic Four – Akira Clark, Natalia Deutsch, Waily Hackin, Meher Shiva and Team Manager 

Priyanka Jethani 

3rd - Little DInsteins – Adithi Bhat, Raquel Cardenas, Patrick Dolum, Gabriela Edwards, Camila Kristiansen, 

Philip Lundkvist, Miguel Royo and Team Manager Laura Arias Also, It was such an honor and surprise for DI 

Coordinator, Renee Foster to be recognized and to be the recipient of one of the highest awards in DI - the 

"Above and Beyond" award. The Above and Beyond award recognizes an individual or group that stands out 

in a crowd of volunteers and young people. The recipient of this annual award represents the ultimate spirt of 

creative problem solving by always sharing ideas, generating options, formulating solutions and getting things 

done. Colombia DI proudly presented this award to that person or group that truly made a difference in the 

program this year. 

As a result of these tremendous efforts and accolades accomplished by all, Team Fantastic Four are now eligible 

to participate in DI Global Finals, the world’s largest celebration of creativity. Global finals is the culminating 

event for the DI season were more than 1300 teams from 45 US states, 7 Canadian provinces and 13+ 

countries send teams to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to showcase the solution to their central 

challenge. This event brings together more 

than 16,000 people for creativity and fun! 

Each team also looks forward to presenting 

their solutions to the ISP community during 

the ArtsFest in May. 

Here is a link to recap the highlights of the 

tournament. 

https://youtu.be/EfM4MvVhdfM 

CHECK OUT OUR FLICKR ALBUM! 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/internationalschoolofpanama/ETc89N 


ANNOUNCEMENTS: TECHSHOWCASE March 18, 2016 ISSUE 28 



“Once a Dolphin. Always a Dolphin.” 

How did you end up at Google? 

I decided to pursue my Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of 

Technology (Georgia Tech) upon graduation. I spent a year at Georgia Tech taking the 

introductory courses and getting to know my way around their Computer Science program. 

That summer, I participated in a study abroad program in Barcelona, Spain that the 

university offered where professors and students from Georgia Tech would travel together 

and spend the summer abroad. I got to know one of the professors that was teaching my 

course, Dr. Irfan Essa, and he invited me to come research for his laboratory once we 

returned to Georgia Tech in the Fall. I followed through on that offer and eventually he 

recommended I apply for a summer internship program at Google that summer. I got 

accepted to the program, and I've been interning there pretty much every summer since, and 

now I work there part-time during some Fall and Spring semesters as well (as needed)! 

What inspires you in your work? 

This is a fairly difficult / extensive question for me but I'll try to keep it succinct. More than 

anything, an undying curiosity to learn. There are few greater things that I value in my life 

than realizing that there is something that I currently do not understand but with enough 

discipline and effort could become an expert in. That fascinates me and continues to motivate 

me when I come into work every day. I am often inspired by the human inability to tire, no 

matter what field. I find myself watching highlight reels from the greats, no matter what 

discipline (I'll go from Bill Gates to Steph Curry to Messi or Ronaldo in one sitting) simply 

because their level of dedication is simply breathtaking. That's what inspires me on a very 

high level, on a more research-specific level I constantly read new research papers in search 

of new ideas that I could potentially apply to my work -- its an endless source of inspiration. 

Oh and lastly, none of this would be possible without copious amounts of coffee. 

How did ISP help prepare you for your education at Georgia Tech and later your work at Google? 

Daniel Castro Class 

of 2009, IB Diploma 

Bachelor's Degree in 

Computer Science 

from the Georgia 

Institute 

of 

Technology 

Cultural sensitivity and understanding. The level of empathy that I developed from having friends from around the world at 

ISP was by far the most rewarding experience of my high school years -- keeping in mind that I admire our academic 

curriculum tremendously. This worldly environment inspired a desire in me to travel the world and better understand other 

cultures and it helped me collaborate with people of all backgrounds with little to no trouble. I cherish the level of empathy I 

developed at ISP because it was an environment of growth, you rose together with your peers, not at the expense of their 

failure. In addition to this, I developed a tremendous work ethic and level of discipline at ISP through its top-tier IB curriculum 

that would prepare me for the incredibly arduous academic courses at Georgia Tech. A very specific example came from my 

Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course taught by Mrs. Rosalee Pang. In this course, we would have to write various practice 

essays in preparation for the final TOK essay for our diploma. I distinctly remember Mrs. Pang warning us in advance that we 

should expect to fail our first essay -- a statement which I seem to have taken as a life challenge. It burst my bubble of belief 

that I would excel with just a moderate amount of effort. It helped me push my own boundaries of what I thought I could do 

and helped me grow every week I was in that class. For the record, I got a C in that first essay -- I'll never forget that since I 

didn't fail. 

We are now starting an innovation certificate at ISP and increasing our focus on science engineering technology and 

math. What of your experience would you use to give advice to students? 

Persevere through those who do not believe you are capable of succeeding in the things that you love. Welcome any and all 

discouragement or disbelief as motivation for your success. When I graduated ISP my technological ability was largely selftaught. 

I learned everything through the wonders of the Internet and the accessibility of information. I came into a program at 

Georgia Tech where some of my peers had taken computer science courses before -- I didn't have that benefit. However, I 

find myself working for arguably the best tech company in the world. It was all because of the belief that I was just as 

capable as anyone else, and I was willing to put in the work. It won't be easy, but it certainly won't be impossible. Lastly, don't 

take the fact that you have access to any and all information for granted. You could literally teach yourself anything you 

wanted at any instant. Take advantage of this every day of your life. 



“Once a Dolphin. Always a Dolphin.” 

Here is what I have worked on at Google so far: 

Video Stabilization: The premise of this is simple, take a 

video that is shaky, and make it look stable. The way we do it 

is by building a model that predicts the shake of your camera, 

so we know in what directions it was moving to produce that 

shake. After that we crop the video to be smaller, and just 

move that crop window in the same motion as your camera 

shake (thus eliminating the shake). This was a huge team effort 

in which I was fortunate to help with as an undergraduate student 

back in like 2011. 

Egocentric Vacation Video: This idea came up after my 

friend went on vacation and decided to wear a camera on his 

head for the entirety of the trip. He would turn it on whenever 

it wasn't recharging, and was able to capture a total of 26 

hours of video. From there, he had no way of actually enjoying 

what he captured on that vacation, so we built an algorithm 

that went through all the videos and was able to produce a 

~1 minute summary of it for him to watch. The algorithm 

looked at a number of things, including GPS information (in 

order to see if the video was recorded in a "good location" by 

viewing Google Maps + Yelp reviews of the area), the color 

vibrancy, composition and symmetry of the scene. From there 

we use those metrics to pick the best K moments (however 

many you want) of your vacation. We ran some studies asking 

people what they thought of the images we picked compared 

to randomly sampled ones and it seemed the top 20 were 

really good and the quality of the algorithm degraded down 

to about 50% saying yes vs no after the top 100. 

http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2012/05/videostabilization-on-youtube.html 

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/novel-techniques-revealpicturesque-video-highlights 

What has your career experience taught you? 

The biggest thing I have learned in industry is that you should tell everyone what you don't know and what you don't understand immediately. 

It is often intimidating in a class to ask a question for fear of sounding incompetent. You don't want to be that person. However, 

it is that person who learns the most. Never stop asking questions no matter how stupid you may think they are. I say this because my 

career experience has taught me that once you are in industry, the quicker you ask the stupid questions the quicker you get things done 

and that is what actually matters. It's not about trying to be smarter than your coworkers, it's about getting things done as quickly as 

possible with them. 

What would your message be to a student interested in pursuing the type of work you do? 

There are a lot of people in the field (I assume this is the case of other fields too) who will glorify the things they have done and make 

them sound tremendously complicated, they will make it sound as if it's something you could never do. Ignore their boastfulness and remember 

to always be modest about what you know. I always value being the dumbest person in the room because it means I have the 

most opportunity to experience and learn. On that note, continue to surround yourself with those who you think are brilliant (and ideally 

equally modest about it). These are the people who will happily answer your silly questions and help you continue to grow -- and soon 

enough you'll find yourself teaching others in the same type of role. It's always wonderful when I'm sitting in a room meeting with peers 

and someone uses an acronym that obviously no one knows, and not a single person says anything for fear that they should know. In 

short, be modest, ask stupid questions, and never stop learning. 


ANNOUNCEMENTS: March 18, 2016 ISSUE 28 

WATCH THE 

FAMILY FUN FAIR 

VIDEO HERE! 

https://youtu.be/ 

bf5mvFWewH4 

Last Saturday, the ISP-PTA held our annual Family Fun Fair (FFF). We are ecstatic to report that we 

had another record breaking year in participation and funds raised. First and foremost, the FFF is a 

community building event. We are humbled by the tremendous turnout from the ISP 

Community. Thank you for coming and bringing the whole family, your friends, and neighbors to enjoy 

the FFF. We, especially, thank our ISP-PTA partners-- the gracious company sponsors, tireless school 

staff, and student, teacher and Parent volunteers. We had even more volunteers than ever. Almost 

400 people came together to produce the much loved FFF that all the children enjoy and anticipate all 

year long. Their smiling faces and laughter make the tremendous effort that it takes to produce this one 

day event all worth it. 

The FFF secondly is the ISP-PTA's largest fundraiser of the year. What do we do with the funds? The 

ISP-PTA contributes on the Community's behalf back to the ISP Community. All year long, we make 

sure the heart warming details are covered for our children, teachers and staff, like snacks and drinks 

during events like Panamun and ES Sports Day. We host events like the two BBQs, so that we can 

meet each other, break bread and have fun together as families. We host the weekly language 

workshops that help new families transition into ISP and Panama. Our primary mission is to connect all 

the Parents together with each other, so that we can build something greater and special for our 

children at ISP. 

We invite you to be part of the ISP-PTA. 

E-mail pta@isp.edu.pa, 

 

come by our office located in the HS Cafeteria, or 

contact any of the PTA Officers or School Representatives. 

We welcome your energy and drive. 

#theresnoplacelikeISP 

Keene Korinth, PTA President 2015-2016 

CHECK OUT MORE PICTURES 

HERE: 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/ 

internationalschoolofpanam 

a/9x518V 


ANNOUNCEMENTS: March 18, 2016 ISSUE 28 

NOW AVAILABLE AT THE PTA 

OFFICE ISP DOLPHIN FAN SHIRTS 

$8 - cotton t-shirts sizes 2-4, 6-8, 10-12, 14-16 

$10 - dry-fit t-shirts size 18, 20 

PTA LANGUAGE 

WORKSHOPS 

When? On Wednesdays 8 to 10am 

Where? At the ISP Performing Arts 

Center's Lobby 

Everyday Spanish Conversational Skills 

For intermediate and advanced levels 

Activities to practice all four language skills: reading comprehension, writing, listening, and speaking 

* Introduce yourself 

* Ask basic questions 

* Conduct a brief conversation 

* Cultural notes 

At the Performing Arts Lobby, on Wednesdays 8-10am 

We are also offering English for Spanish speakers, same place, same time. 

Join us! 

We are looking for Country Representatives liaisons @ISP! 

Join to the PTA Welcome Committee to share your culture and traditions, and mentor your 

compatriots in their transition in Panama 

Contact name: Graciela Bareiro pta@isp.edu.pa 

$12 - adult dry-fit polo sizes S, M, L, XL and 2XL 


Elementary School 

Becky Jobes, PhD—Elementary Principal—bjobes@isp.edu.pa 

ROCKETS AWAY!!! 

For the past month ISP’s Grade 3 classes have been extending their classroom studies through project based 

learning. Tasked with a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) based challenge, students researched, 

brainstormed, designed, tested and reflected upon their creations, documenting each step of the engineering/ 

creative design process. Their challenge was to design and create a rocket made from recycled materials that 

would launch from a soda pop bottle launcher. Throughout this process they explored how gravity, thrust, air 

resistance, and friction effect their designs. The results were explosive! 

Check out all of our pictures by clicking this Flickr 

l i n k : h t t p s : / / w w w . f l i c k r . c o m / g p / 

internationalschoolofpanama/a10736 

https://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=vWwMbuNmxDA 




Lit to Life Parade 

Thanks to our students, teachers, and parents who made our Literature to Life Parade such a fun event! A parade of 

book characters smiled and laughed as they marched through the halls of our elementary school and it was truly a 

sight to behold! CHECK OUT THE PICTURES BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/internationalschoolofpanama/652j5T 

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES 

Upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences—coming April 6 and 7 

Our 2nd semester parent teacher conferences will be on Wednesday, April 6th from 12:45- 

3:30PM and on Thursday, April 7th from 7:30AM-3:15PM. Our conferences will have the 

following format: 

PK: traditional parent/teacher conference. Your child should not attend this conference. 

Kindergarten-5th grade: student-led conferences. Your child needs to attend this conference 

because he/she will be the one leading the conference. 

Each classroom will be set up so that the student walks his/her parent/s through some examples of work, some 

routines or games that are done in the classroom, and reflects on goals and growth throughout the year. The 

teacher in these conferences is there to listen and learn and support the student as the leader. You should be 

receiving a link to sign-up from your childs homeroom teachers. EAL, Specialist, LS, and Spanish teachers will 

also be available in their spaces throughout the school to speak with parents. 

We look forward to seeing you all on campus for our conferences. 

We Need Library Volunteers!!!! 

We are in the process of reorganizing our library to 

make it a more open learning space for our students. 

We need parent volunteers who can come in and 

help us review our book collection and work with 

the librarian to discard and replace our books that 

are ruined or out-dated. Our needs are flexible so we 

can have you come in around your schedule! If you 

are interested in volunteering, please email me at 

bjobes@isp.edu.pa. 





Middle School 

Diane Guevara Middle School Principal—dguevara@isp.edu.pa Vickie Swann Assistant Principal vswann@isp.edu.pa 

Parent-Teacher conference 

The end of the third quarter has arrived. It’s impossible to overstate how 

quickly time seems to pass when we are busy and engaged. It feels like just 

a couple of weeks ago we were welcoming everyone to a new school year. 

With one more quarter to go it’s important to pause and reflect on student 

progress and those specific areas in which we can support and encourage 

students to move forward. 

Middle School will hold Parent-Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, April 6th and Thursday, 

April 7. Both days are noon dismissal for students. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled only twice a year and these meetings are important to 

all of us. 

Our goal is to provide a format for parents to discuss the learning and progress of your sons and 

daughters with teachers. We also want to provide time for some conferences that may deal with 

specific concerns. We believe that these meetings are designed for all parents of all students. 

For Wednesday, April 6, we will set up appointments for parents with whom the teachers 

have requested to meet. These conferences will be for a 20-minute time period and will take 

place in the teacher’s classroom. 

Thursday, April 7, from 1:00 to 3:30, we invite all MS parents to an Open House style 

conference. The format will involve each of our Middle School teachers at his/her own table in the 

gym, with a chair for a parent to arrive, sit and have a five-minute chat with the teacher about the 

progress of the student. You will get updates on projects, assessments, recent achievements, any 

recent struggles, and the teacher’s insight into the student’s growth and development. You will also 

have a picture of what the next quarter of the school year will involve. 

We hope for a gym packed with parents! 

Please take the time and opportunity to meet with each of your child’s eight teachers that day. 

Should the time or date not be convenient for you, or you wish to have more time with the teachers 

we will be happy to set up appointments at your convenience. 


Middle School 


ISP FUN CAMP 2k16! 

Andrea Dugand, Jennifer Soto, and Mariana 

Garcia, eighth grade students from the Service 

Learning Wheel, created a project called “Fun 

Camp 2k16”. As a team, they worked hard and 

planned activities for our Dolphins´ children so 

that they could have fun and enjoy time on our 

campus. The two “Fun Camp 2k16” took place on 

February 27 th and March 5 th at our school. 

“We are very grateful for all the help and guidance 

given by Mrs. Restrepo, Mrs. Guevara and Ms. 

Sanchez. Without a doubt we want to also thank 

all the students who volunteered for the activity 

and helped to make no only possible but very 

successful, and made the children feel part of our 

community. One of our kids sent us a letter in 

which he thanked us for allowing him to spend 

such happy moments: “Gracias por tomar la 

iniciativa de compartir lo que Dios les ha dado a 

ustedes, con nosotros. We hope that this project 

will continue over the years.” 

CLICK THE LINK TO WATCH OUR VIDEO! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch? 

v=6vi6MIGe0_0 

ISP Middle School celebrated Pi Day on Monday, March 

14th (3.14) by playing a school-wide, all-day game of 

Pi bingo. 

Last week, in Math classes, students discussed vocabulary 

related to circles and the number Pi, and created bingo 

cards using those words. During Monday Flag Ceremony 

and subsequently after each academic block, three words 

were divulged. Students who completed a BINGO by the 

end of the day earned a slice of pizza (a circular food) on 

Tuesday. It was wonderful to see our MS students so 

interested in Math vocabulary. Happy Pi Day! 


Middle School 



High School 

John Shea, HS Principal—jshea@isp.edu.pa Eric Monson, Assistant Principal—emonson@isp.edu.pa 

ISP TO HOST GIN IN 2017 

The Global Issues Network (GIN) is an international organization that connects local service projects to global issues. Every year, GIN 

Conferences are held around the globe to promote the organization’s mission. These major events - usually including hundreds of 

students from many countries - are almost entirely student directed. 

Recently, a team of ISP high school student leaders began organizing Panama’s first GIN Conference. The international conference is to 

be held by ISP in the second semester of 2017, but local activities to build community and awareness have already begun. 

Soon after receiving the news that ISP would host the 2017 conference, a Core Team immediately got into planning-mode and sent out 

application forms for 5 different planning committees in the hope of creating awareness and getting people interested in forming part of 

the “Behind the Scenes Journey” that would last up to our big days in the Spring of 2017. These committees and their respective leaders 

are: 

Conference Programme Committee: Orhan Cody & Elena Castro 

 

 

 

 

External Logistics Committee: Lucas Buscaglia 

Budget Committee: Gaston Arguindegui & Nico Bran 

Technology & Communications Committee: Isabel Pereira 

Student Leadership Committee: Valentina Alzate 

The GIN Team is pleased to announce that this past Tuesday marked our first large planning event, with more than 50 high-school 

students contributing to the process that will be ISP’s 2017 GIN Conference. After school, the group gathered for the first time in the 

library where they were introduced to GIN, thanked for taking the time to apply to help, and informed about their responsibilities their 

new teams. 

After a complete presentation reiterating these points, each student separated into their new team where they would fall into “icebreakers” 

to get to know each other and a more in-depth version of what exactly it is they would be doing. It was overall a greatly 

successful meeting. 

This was the first of many exciting events to come, including our first conference with local schools to be held on Saturday, May 21st! 

Soon enough, through planning and constant tasks revolving around what GIN is, not only will the people involved become more aware 

of the magnitude of the message and idea it represents, but a greater impact will be made as well as awareness to a larger community. 

There’s never a wrong reason to help! 

-Isabel Pereira on behalf of the GIN Core Team 


High School 

John Shea, HS Principal—jshea@isp.edu.pa Eric Monson, Assistant Principal—emonson@isp.edu.pa 

MID SEMESTER 

Friday, April 1 st – Marks middle of second semester. 

PROGRESS REPORTS 

Monday, April 4 th - progress reports will be sent electronically to parents. 

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES 

The afternoons of April 6 th and 7 th are set aside for parent Teacher Conferences. 

Wednesday, April 6 th – No appointments necessary. Teachers will be available in the gymnasium from 1:00-3:30pm 

for short (10-minute) conversations about individual student progress. 

Thursday, April 7 th – Teachers will be available from 1:00-3:30pm, by appointment, for longer conferences. Appointments 

NEED to be made in advance by contacting Brenda or Sharon in the High School Office. 

OUR SENIORS CELEBRATED THE LAST DAY OF MOCK EXAMS 

CONGRATULATIONS! Check out the pictures here. 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/internationalschoolofpanama/0L0D6v 

Let’s Stop Discrimination: On March 21, 

on the UN Day of "International Day for the 

Elimination of Racial Discrimination" let’s 

remember that we all need to contribute in 

order to remove discrimination (racial, 

xenophobia, etc.) from our communities. 

Meteorological Day: Next week on March 

23 will be the UN World Meteorological Day. 

The purpose of this day is to raise 

awareness about climate change as more 

heat-trapping greenhouse gases emitted by 

human activities accumulate in the 

atmosphere. The earth is HOTTER, DRIER 

and WETTER. Last year 2015 was the 

hottest year on record. 

You can learn more about this by reading 

the posters around school and also in the 

World Meteorological Day website http:// 

www.wmo.int/worldmetday/. 



Adam Herzig, Visual and Performing Arts Director—aherzig@isp.edu.pa 

ADVERTISING SPACE AVAILABLE 

IN THE MUSIC MAN JR. 

PROGRAM! 

A great opportunity to promote 

your business or send a 

congratulatory messages for our 

talented dolphins! 

We are proud to announce the 

upcoming Elementary Musical “The 

Music Man Jr. “ Our wonderful PTA 

will be helping produce the 

program for what is sure to be yet 

another memorable performance in 

our Performing Arts Center. 

Support the growing Visual and 

Performing Arts Program at ISP by 

placing an advertisement or 

message in our program. 

For further information please contact : 

Leslie Gross goleli@yahoo.com 




Are You a Creative Parent? Do you 

want to be part of a Creative Writing 

Community Connection? 

We are looking for parent volunteers in 

the 2016-2017 school year who have a 

creative instinct and have the ability to 

organize people, whether with painting, 

dancing, film-making, creative writing, 

graphic design, photography, poetry 

writing/appreciation, therapeutic 

writing, or any other type of creative 

skill, particularly those who are willing to 

work with students in afterschool 

workshops for creative writing or those 

who might want to help organize/paint 

murals with students. If you are interested 

in learning about how to infuse creative 

writing into the culture and community of 

ISP, please send an email to 

aayala@isp.edu.pa with your email 

address! #iamCreative #iamisp 




#IAMISP 

#IAMANARTIST 

CHECK OUT THE NEW MS FIELD MURAL. DRAWN BY MRS. FAULKNER’S 

ART CLASS. AT ISP ART HELPS US CELEBRATE THE THINGS WE LOVE 

ABOUT OUR SCHOOL, LIKE ALL THE FUN SPORTS WE GET TO PLAY ON 

OUR FIELD! #THEREISNOPLACELIKEISP. 




P.T.A. GALLERY EXHIBIT 

Francis Bacon inner struggles 

Deconstructing the image 

(Exhibit will be open until the end of March) 

Students in the Painting 1 Elective Class- Prof. 

Faulkner have been studying the abstract 

expressionist style of 20 th century Irish born British 

artist Francis Bacon (1909-1992), descendent of 

Sir Francis Bacon (Jan 1561-April 1626), English 

Philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator and 

author. 

His powerful pieces depict figures in a wellconstructed 

and designed two dimensional spaces. 

These spaces are beautifully portrayed, yet the 

expressions of the sitters show more than a likeness 

of the sitters. Bacons presets us deconstructed 

facial features which intrigue us, the viewers of his 

world. 

Students had the difficult task of depicting figures 

in extreme situations, struggles of our faulted 

humanity: female gender issues, including sexism 

presented in Gallery 1 and the struggle to cope 

with peer pressure, prejudice, sexism, racism, social 

inequality, addictions and illnesses produced by 

them, presented in Gallery 2. 

The show will run until the end of March. 


Athletics: #GOISPDOLPHINS! 

Peter Smyth, Athletic Director—psmyth@isp.edu.pa 

#GOISPDOLPHINS! 

Flag Football 

The Flag Football girls play their first game of the new 

season this Sunday at the Balboa Stadium at the base of 

Ancon Hill. The game start at 9:30am. Please come on 

out and show your Dolphin Pride! 

AASCA Middle School Festival 

20 Middle school athletes travelled to Costa Rica 

with Mr. and Mrs. Smyth and Ms. Swann to 

participate in the first ever AASCA Middle School 

Sportsmanship Festival. Over 3 days the teams 

(comprised of 6, 7 and 8 graders) played the 

team sports of soccer, basketball and volleyball. 

Some individuals also represented ISP in the 3km 

run and 60 m sprint. The goal of the tournament 

was to promote sportsmanship and encourage 

athletes to participate in multiple sports. Wins and 

losses were not recorded but instead teams were 

graded on their sportsmanship by match officials 

and representatives using a rubric devised by 

AASCA Athletic Directors. 

Both the boys and girls represented ISP 

exceptionally well in both sportsmanship and 

effort on the court/field. The boys were very 

successful in the soccer part of the tournament, 

battled well in basketball and made tremendous 

improvements in volleyball (winning their final 

game in style). The girls came together as team in 

the volleyball tournament, excelled on the soccer 

field and finished the basketball tournament with 

a well-earned win. 

Io Binder and Jamie Wildemans ran great races 

in the 3km coming in 3 rd and 7 th respectively from 

a large field of 24. Ronni Agmoni, Alexa Tabash, 

Luca Norena and Sebastian Martinez were ISP’s 

ALL STAR athletes and took the stage with others 

athletes from the participating schools. 

With ADECOP about to start it is exciting to have 

so many new athletes competing for ISP in sports 

that they had never really considered pursuing 

before. 

Pool and tennis court use during break 

The pool and tennis courts will be open this weekend 19 

and 20 March, but be CLOSED on 26 and 27 of March. 

Tennis court etiquette and weekend use 

The Athletic Department is introducing a new weekend 

booking system. If you use the courts at the weekend 

we kindly ask that you register your name and email 

address with the Athletic Department so that we can 

grant you access to the online booking system. Those 

that have booked online will be given priority on the 

weekends. 

At busy times on Saturdays and Sundays we ask that you 

limit your court use to 90mins. Please ensure that you use 

appropriate language on the courts and if you have 

children in your group that they are supervised correctly. 

Remember, no bicycles, scooters or skates are allowed 

on the courts. 


Athletics: #GOISPDOLPHINS! 


During our Outdoor Education unit 7th and 9th grade students participate in a variety 

of physical activities that help them develop responsible personal and social behavior. 

They will apply best practices for participating safely in physical team building 

challenges. They will use a variety of communication skills and strategies to accomplish 

difficult team tasks that require planning and strategy. They will learn how to orientate 

a map and use it to navigate a simple course. They also get the opportunity to use a 

modern compound and try their hand at the Olympic sport of archery. 


Special Announcement 



WANT TO KNOW WHAT”S COOKING AT THE ISP CAFETERIA CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SEE MENU’S & 

NUTIRTIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.isp.edu.pa/Cafeteria 

Link to DOWNLOAD SCHOOL CALENDAR: http://www.isp.edu.pa/Calendar 

FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE CONTACT: ispcommunication@isp.edu.pa

Dolphin Dispatch

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