Cathy Curtis
cathyc@isb.ac.th
Final Exams around the corner:
Although it is difficult to believe, final exams start very soon. All students have received their schedules for the exams so now planning ahead, getting prepared early and feeling confident are the important tasks to help students be relaxed during the exams and are definitely keys to having successful exams. Putting final exam preparation off to the last minute can not only add to student stress but can make the exams less productive in evaluating student knowledge. Any encouragement you can give to help students to start planning their study program early will be helpful.
University Visits next week:
We’re coming towards the end of our universities visits for the Fall Semester and next week, we will only be hosting one university on Monday.
Monday – November 25 at lunch
New York University – Abu Dhabi; this is a branch of NYU which is a separate highly competitive, highly selective liberal arts program. Many full scholarships are awarded to talented students.
This week ISB hosted a very successful Summer Programs Fair for those students who would like to attend summer programs in the US. Some of these programs were for the study of English language and some were academic. A few of the programs also offered activity based programs. Brochures are available in the counseling office. The counselors recommend, of course, that students follow their passions during the summer and enjoy exploring new options and opportunities.
College Spotlight (managed and maintained by parent volunteers!)
Check out the College Spotlight bulletin board – this week the College Spotlight is the University of Virginia.
Freshmen – After they recently took a V.I.A. strengths assessment, Freshmen were given several activities to help optimize their strengths. In addition, there have been activities that foster positive emotions and engagement; these activities focus on ways to maintain and enhance segments of well-being.
Sophomore – With very few exceptions, all of the Sophomore students have completed Sophomore Seminar assignment on their personalities. It is time for them to begin to concentrate on studying for their final exams. They now have their schedule and should begin to consider their study plan.
Juniors-Juniors will be having their second Junior Seminar Flex on November 28th (Tuesday). They will be getting a packet during this session as well as help on how to research universities (world wide) as well as an invitation to you (so don’t forget to ask about it!) to attend the Parent Night.
Seniors – Seniors continue to come in to submit their university applications in a timely manner and the process is going smoothly. Seniors must remember, though, to get as many applications submitted before December 6th as possible, as they don’t want university applications to interfere with their final exams. To be sure that students have as many opportunities to send off their exams as possible, counselors will again be available on specific evenings (5:00 – 8:00pm) by appointment only the week of December 2. Please remember that December 5th, though, is a national holiday and ISB will be closed.
Counselors presented at the PTA Meeting this month: On Thursday’s PTA meeting three counselors made presentations on topics requested by parents. Kevin Davy spoke about the Freshman Seminar beginning of considering career options and then Andy Weiser followed with the Career Exploration in Sophomore Seminars with the use of the PLAN, Personality Inventory, Myers Briggs type questionnaire and the connection with career interest and university search. Cathy Curtis presented a brief look at Merit Based Scholarships.
Counselors spreading the word about ISB
This week, Debbie McDowell, Kevin Callahan and Ryan Haynes will be at the CIS (Council of International Schools) forum representing ISB. Approximately 300 universities coming from all corners of the world attend this forum, which will give our counselors ample opportunities to highlight our ISB students. A few days prior to the CIS forum, Kevin also visited six UK universities.