A Welcome Message from the Head of School

by Dr. Andrew Davies
andrewd@isb.ac.th

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the 2013/14 school year and a very special welcome to those new to ISB and our school community.

The Leadership Team, faculty and support staff have been busy preparing for the start of school and we are all really looking forward to seeing the campus full of children again.

Enrollment remains strong and we expect a record number of students for ISB on this campus. Unfortunately, we are full in some grade levels and regretfully have some students on waiting lists.

The IB results for our juniors and seniors were again very impressive and ISB has been consistently achieving between 93% and 100% over a long period. Highlights from the May 2013 examinations are:

• 58 IB Diplomas awarded = 94% pass rate (world average 78.5%)
• Average points scored 35  (world average 29.8)
• Average score per IB course = 5.49
• 23% scored more than 39 points (among top 5% in the world)
• 75% of scores were in the 5 – 7 range
• One student scored 44 points and two students scored 43 out of a maximum 45

As long-term ISB parents know, ISB is a very learning-focused school and most of our time and energies go into efforts to improve learning for our students.  To this end we have been updating our Strategic Learning Plan and deciding our priorities for this year.

We believe that a deep focus on the following two areas will yield the most positive learning improvements for our students:

1. Assessment: Research consistently shows that students benefit most from useful feedback in both formative and summative assessments. Good quality assessments also challenge students appropriately and allow them to demonstrate thinking skills.
2. Challenge: our aim here is to better challenge all students and also begin our work in meeting the needs of our most highly able students.

Moving to facilities, we are pleased to announce that our new gym and pool are fully operational. Regretfully, the new tennis courts will not be ready for a few weeks as we seek to improve the quality of the surface. In progress is the construction of a covered pathway connecting the main building to the new sports facility.

We have made a firm commitment to improving safety for our students, staff and parents on campus and I strongly urge parents to read the safety message included in today’s parent communication.

We are looking forward to welcoming you very soon and to a wonderful 2013/14 school year. If we can help you in any way, please feel free to contact us (Leadership Team contact details copied below).

Sincerely,

Dr. Andrew Davies

Head of School

Leadership Team