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Posted on December 21, 2012 by Moe Baron-Toaldo

MS eNews – Friday, December 21, 2012

Updated MS Calendar of upcoming events:

Monday, January 14

  • School opens for Semester 2

Thursday, January 17

  • MS Vocal Ensemble Auditions after school

Tuesday, January 22

  • MS Parent PTA Meeting at 9:30am
  • Early Dismissal at 1:00pm

Friday, January 25

  • MS Alternate Dress Day
  • MS Welcome Back Student Social

 

Happy Holidays!

It has been a busy, exciting, and productive semester full of learning.  On behalf of the MS Staff, we wish you a safe and relaxing holiday and hope you all enjoy a well-deserved break with family and friends!   See you on Monday, January 14th!

 

MS Semester 1 Report Cards

ISB will be closed during the week of December 24th to 28th.  As a result, report cards for all returning students will not be mailed home until after January 1st.   All information is available on PowerSchool.

It was just brought to our attention this morning that students with a dropped class and re-enrolled in same class but different section, final standards grades are appearing in PowerSchool for the dropped class also.  We are looking into solving this technical issue but wanted you to be aware if you see two of the same class listed, what it means.  It appears that the dropped class is appearing first.  The report card is the accurate one!  Apologies for any confusion this may cause.

For any student with overdue books or money owing, report cards are being held and PowerSchool will remain inaccessible until accounts are cleared.

 

Main Library Holiday Hours 

The Main Library will be closed for the holidays December 22nd – January 4th and open January 7th – 11th from 0700 – 1500 daily.

 

NO TECHNOLOGY DAY – Thank You Grade 7!

A giant thank you to everyone who supported our No Technology Day last week as a Grade 7 fundraiser for survivors of the tsunami in the area or Khao Lak, Thailand.  We raised just over 100,000 baht, which will be used to sponsor the ongoing education of children at R-35 school in Khao Lak and to provide some much needed ‘extras’ that the sponsorship does not cover.

Our students really bought into the day and took it all very seriously.  The concept of ‘going without’ even for one day, is not usual for many of them, nor was technology-free learning, as was made clear by them in our Socratic seminars the following day.  Many realized how much technology dominates their lives and they were reminded of alternatives. It was a great learning experience.  See some interesting comments here below that our students made reflecting upon their tech-free day:

  • It was really hard because I rely on it so much.  24 hours was a long time.
  • I found a really good place in my neighborhood to hang out and I explored around where I live
  • This might sound stupid but when I didn’t have anything to do I walked around my house and I actually discovered a whole new room I didn’t know existed.
  • I had more time to do other things.  It made me get out and play some sports.
  • We just had to go without things that help, but everyone can live without.  I am glad I have my family and I liked knowing that I was helping someone else by doing this.
  • I got all my homework done really quickly because I wasn’t multi tasking or procrastinating.
  • I biked all the way over to my friends and they weren’t there.  It is tiring not having a phone.
  • I missed it so much I thought I was going to die.
  • It’s really hard to let go of something we use every day.  I can’t go without it but I am going to make changes.
  • I realised how much I overuse technology when there are other ways to communicate that are more fun.
  • I really liked spending more time with my family.  They helped me go ‘device free’ and we all played games and talked.  We are going to do it again.
  • Class was a lot better today because it was kind of calmer in here and people talked to each other.
  • I was locked in my room, staring at the motionless laptop that basically had part of my DNA in it.
  • Every time I went into the little room where I keep my school stuff and my… laptop  – it was sitting on the couch ready for me to open it.  I went all night trying not to open it and I went all night without tech.  It was the longest night ever.
  • First, when I got home from school, it was like every day of my life. I sat down on the couch, grabbing the remote, then about to press the green button until I realized, I can’t watch TV! Then I went to my room, opened my laptop, about to press the power button, until I realized, I can’t play my laptop either! Argh! Is there ANYTHING I can do?
  • One thing I found though is that I kept getting up to do random stuff like walk around the room a little. I think this is because I have a shorter attention span than I used to.
  • I also finished my homework so much earlier that I didn’t know that it was finished. I had time left and it was amazing. I read one whole novel of three hundred or more pages before I went to bed but before I would have read that three hundred pages in a week or two.
  • I don’t consider myself as a electronic addict but with the thought of that constant feed of Facebook and chats I was out of my mind.  I learned from this that I should be spending less time on the computer and more in school or on other things that are productive. I will remember this forever!
  • I was really tempted to go on my BBM because the whole time I could hear the noises. I went down and played football with my friends. I hadn’t done that for 2 weeks and I realized how much fun it was.
  • I learned that not being distracted by unhelpful things like the internet can leave me more time to do the other things I enjoy, such as running.
  • After hanging out with my friend outside I realized that it is twice as much fun actually doing stuff outside and talking face to face. So my no tech day was good and I learned that hanging out outside is just as fun as playing online.
  • Sometimes we need to talk to people or ask help for homework so we chat somebody but then we get distracted with other things and it ends up being a conversation about Justin Bieber’s hair.
  • I go on Facebook to see what other people are doing and sometimes it just makes a small part of me jealous when I see I wasn’t invited.
  • Now, you may think that watching videos isn’t being social, but it my mind it is, because I am watching other people talking, and it feels as though I am with them.
  • It starts to be less of something you think about doing and becomes more like an instinctive decision (in reference to being ‘plugged in’).
  • Many of us have been born into a world of technology and when you think about it, we are the technology.
  • We students are still young, making it easier to get swallowed by the web, so my thought is that we should postpone the electronics, just a little?
  • So I’m not sure if computers are good for kids in middle school. It’s like we know and we don’t know when to stop. High schoolers might be able to stop, and elementary simply don’t know. So middle school is trapped in the middle.
  • The computer is bad for you, even when you are working. The only difference between games and work on the computer is that work is mandatory!
  • When my parents say “You have to spend much time playing sports, as much time you play on the computer,” I follow that rule but every time I come back home I see my parents on the ipad and on the computer mailing and on Facebook. That really makes me mad because they made the rule and they should follow it too.

Again – thank you!

Team 7 Teachers

 

Reminder:  Student Laptops During the Winter Break

This Winter Break, we won’t be collecting student laptop computers. Students will be able to bring their school laptop computer home.  Please click on the following link for some information that should be helpful:  Winter Break – Laptop Recommendations for Students and Parents

 

Cafeteria News…Did You Know…?

Every holiday and special occasion has a foundation built on traditions.  The majority of these traditions are centered around food.  Especially when we think of a New Years Eve Celebration, many traditions around the world include food which symbolizes Luck, Prosperity, Health and Good Fortune.  A few examples of items on the Menu may be:  Pork– it brings good luck and possibly fortune. If you are not a meat eater, any other treat in the shape of a pig may do the same thing; Fish Scales or any dish with fish symbolizes Silver, a precious metal; Bread or Cakes with trinkets baked inside, those who are lucky enough to end up with the trinket are the recipient of good fortune; Eating 12 Grapes at the stroke of midnight is a good luck forecast grape for each month; Eating long, uncut noodles on New Years equals a long life.  Epicure Catering wishes you wonderful Holidays and a Fantastic New Years Celebration which will bring you into the new year with all the well wishes you desire, whatever your Menu may be.  Enjoy.

Michelle Ihrig

Epicure Catering

Manager of Operations @ ISB

cafeteria@isb.ac.th

Tel. 02-963-5800 ext. 7728

M: 082-322-7531

 

eNewsletter Guidelines

By Tony Arnold
anthonya@isb.ac.th

ISB eNewsletters provide a valuable avenue for communication within the ISB parent community. For your convenience we have provided you with our eNewsletter guidelines below.

  • Submitting an announcement for publication
ISB accepts announcements from ISB families for potential publication in our eNewsletters. The announcements are generally intended to highlight events that occur at ISB and/or highlight information about ISB.
  • What to include in the announcement
• A title for your announcement
• An email contact for further information
  • Where to submit your announcement

Your announcement will be submitted to the appropriate Principal and/or to our Marketing Director for review. ISB reserves the right to determine which announcements will and will not be published, and to edit announcements that are approved for publication.

  • Frequency of eNewsletter mailings
    • The ISB eNewsletter that is for the entire community is sent out on Thursdays. Announcements for potential publication in this newsletter must be received by noon on Thursdays.
    • The ES, MS, and HS eNewsletters are sent out on Fridays. Announcements for potential publication in these newsletters must be received by noon on Fridays.
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