Debbie McDowell
debbiem@isb.ac.th
Finals are quickly approaching. Now’s the time to encourage your child to organize his/her notes, handouts and assessments in order to begin preparation for the final exams. This is a good time to remind your child about stress reduction. Proper nutrition and adequate sleep (8 to 9 hours) will help keep stress levels lower. Studying over an extended period of time rather than cramming the night before always proves to be more successful. Studying with a group of friends (who share similar academic goals) often helps reduce the stress and allows for more productivity. If your child is stressed about the final exams, please encourage him/her to see his counselor.
Are you Moving? If you know that your family will be moving after the end of the school year, please contact your child’s counselor and the HS registrar. There are several forms that must be completed before the child can be checked out of school. The check out must be completed before final transcripts can be sent to you and/or receiving schools.
Seniors: All those who plan to attend university in the US should have already submitted their deposits to the university of their choice. Seniors who were on campus on Tuesday, met with their counselor to confirm all their university decisions.
Waitlists: Some students have been placed on a waitlist for admissions. This means that currently, the university has admitted all of the students it can, but your son/daughter is eligible for admissions. If after the May 1 deadline, the university may find that it can admit more students and your student might get an offer. If a student is still interested in staying on the waitlist, he/she should contact the university.
Transition is just around the corner: Seniors – there are two days of transitions activities, May 23 and June 6. On May 23rd, students will arrive at 7:20 and have planned activities during the day. This is a wonderful opportunity for Seniors to have a stress-free fun day at school where they learn about what to expect in the next phase of their lives. The June 6th is for Senior Breakfast, Grad Panel and graduation practice. Both days should prove to be fun and exciting and perhaps a little bit sad as they realize that high school has almost come to an end.
Seniors: Seniors applying to universities in Japan, Korea, Australia, South Africa etc. with late deadlines, PLEASE be aware of those deadlines. They can vary from university to university!! See your counselor if you have any questions.
Juniors:
Junior Seminar #4: Next week the grade 11 students will be attending Junior Seminar #4 on Wednesday and Thursday. This is an important session about university selection and applications. Please remind your child that he/she must attend during his/her free period or during flex if there’s is no free period in the schedule .
Change in university application process: There will be a change in the university application submission procedures next year in order to protect ISB students and ensure that the applications from ISB are viewed by universities as authentic and accurate. More details will be announced soon.
Junior Conferences: Junior Conferences should have been completed by this time. Juniors should be doing their research to find the schools that they feel most fit their needs for further education. Some students will be going on university visits this summer and should check information in their University Application Handbook to maximize their experience during a visit.
SAT preparation: Remember, Juniors may practice for the SAT for FREE using Prep-Me on Naviance. The directions for that (which you may want to share with your son/daughter) are:
Click on the PrepMe icon on the home page of Naviance to access the steps PrepMe will guide you through:
Step 1: Complete your diagnostic tests
Step 2: Select your test date
Step 3: Begin your studying
Step 4: Connect with Tutors for Q & A (through live chat or email)
Change in university application process: There will be a change in the university application submission procedures next year in order to protect ISB students and ensure that the applications from ISB are viewed by universities as authentic and accurate. More details will be announced soon.
Freshman: Each grade 9 student met with his/her counselor on Thursday or Friday to review the year by looking back at goals set at the beginning of the school year. Counselors spoke with the students about their current progress in their classes as well as preparation for the upcoming final exams.