MS eNews – Thursday, February 13, 2014
Updated MS Calendar of upcoming events:
Thursday – Saturday, February 13-15
- MS AMIS Band Trip to Shanghai
Friday, February 14
- Maka Bucha Day Holiday – No School
Friday – Sunday, February 14-16
- MS GIN Conference at JIS
- ISB Activity Free Weekend
Monday, February 17
- Season 3 U13 Boys and Girls/U15 Girls Tryouts After School – Softball
Wednesday, February 19
- Season 3 U13 Boys and Girls/U15 Girls Tryouts After School – Softball
Wednesday – Sunday, February 19-23
- MS AMIS Honor Girl’s Choir (HKIS)
Friday, February 21
- MS Alternate Dress Day
- MS Student Social at 3:00pm
Monday, February 24
- Season 3 U15 Boys Tryouts After School – Softball
Wednesday, February 26
- Season 3 U15 Boys Tryouts After School – Softball
Friday, February 28
- MS Parent Walkabout at 9:50am – 12:00pm in the MS Skybox (Room 4-309)
Friday, March 7
- Professional Day – No school for students
Tuesday, March 11
- Grade 8 Student Information Meeting Re: Grade 9, 1:20 – 2:05pm in MPB1
- Grade 8 Parent Information Meeting Re: Grade 9, 6:30pm in MPB
Thursday, March 13
- MS PTA Meeting at 11:00am – 12:30pm in MPB1
Thursday – Sunday, March 13 – 16
- MS SEA Choir and Orchestra at ASG
MS Activities and Athletics Weekly Update
Check out some of the highlights that have happened, or will happen soon. For the most up-to-date information, click on the following link: Link to MS Activities and Athletics
Next MS Parent Walkabout for 2013-2014 Coming February 28th!
Dear MS Parents, you are invited to come see learning in the MS in action! Our next MS Parent Walkabout of the school year will be on Friday, February 28th at 9:50am – 12:00pm. We will begin in the MS Skybox (room 4-309) at 9:50am for the first 10 minutes for an introduction going over our expectations for parents visiting classrooms. Parents are then welcome to visit classrooms. At 11:30am we will reconvene in the MS Skybox and have an opportunity for a follow-up discussion with the MS Administrators about the MS programs.
Grade 8 HS Course Registration Parent Information Session
On Tuesday 11th March at 6:30pm in the MPB the HS will be hosting a grade 8 parent information session about the on-line registration process for High School courses for next year. All grade 8 parents are welcome to attend. Earlier on the same day a similar session will be held for all grade 8 students.
Grade 3 and 7 students raise over 500,000 for After the Wave!
A HUGE thank you to Grade 3, Grade 7 and the entire ISB community for their continued support of After The Wave. The Grade 3 Read-A-Thon raised 335,867 baht and the Grade 7 Technology Free Day raised 203,240 baht!
For those of you new to the community, teachers at ISB established After The Wave, a registered Thai foundation, in response to the 2004 tsunami.
Our mission is to assist children and their families with the basic needs and expenses of school. Our focus is the Phang-Nga region of Southern Thailand, primarily at the R 35 School. ATW supports children who do not have the basic necessities for school. We also have an emergency medical fund as well as a scholarship fund for students who need support to attend University or vocational training after they graduate from R 35.
One of the students we sponsored recently graduated from university (our first). His thank you letter follows.
Dear After the Wave Foundation and sponsors,
My name is Tanongsak Timpo, nick name “Toe”. Thanks to the generosity of After The Wave Foundation, I was able to graduate from Prince of Songkla University and obtain my dream job as an engineer. This letter is to express my gratitude and appreciation for all that After The Wave has done for me.
Following graduation from R 35 in Phang Nga I was accepted to study engineering at Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai campus. I was thrilled but also unsure that I would be able to attend university because my family and I could not afford the high tuition and dues. ATW’s scholarship helped me afford books and other necessary school supplies and day-to-day necessities (like food). Without the scholarship I simply would have not been able to attend university.
Following graduation I am working as a production engineer for a factory in Saraburi; a job I have always dreamed of. It is my hope and promise that I will give back to the program and help future disadvantaged students like myself accomplish their dreams for a higher education and a better life.
No words describe my appreciation. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
Tanongsak Timpo
Again, Thanks to the entire ISB community for your continued support for After the Wave.
Ask.fm: a particularly nasty website
By Mr. Bates
ISB IT Director
Up until recently the choice social media sites of our students have been Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. A relatively new player in the market is “Ask.fm”, a question and answer site that allows people to post anonymous comments and questions to a person’s profile page. The anonymity part is what sets this site apart from the more traditional social networking sites, while Facebook gathers as much information as they can about their users; Ask.fm prides itself on the anonymity of its users. Perceived anonymity sadly brings out the worst traits and behaviors of people e.g. bullying and harassment.
Why is Ask.fm proving so popular with our MS and HS students? Adolescence is an age where students are trying to fit in, they want to be popular, they want to know what others think of them, and they like to know people are interested in them. Ask.fm checks all these boxes. Many of the questions and comments posted are harmless and mundane, however because of the anonymous option on the site, some will use the site to post nasty, hurtful questions often of a sexual nature. For a student using Ask.fm to seek positive affirmation from their peers, the resultant abusive comments can be particularly destructive to the individual’s self esteem.
How would I know if my child has an Ask.fm account? While question and answer sites like Ask.fm continue to allow anonymity, there is very little good that can come out of using it. Students should delete their Ask.fm account. Evidence of Ask.fm use can be found in a student’s Facebook timeline, they post links to Ask.fm inviting their Facebook friends to comment.
What can I do as a parent? The most important piece of advice I can offer to any parent is to have conversations with your child. Conversations should include discussions about:
- The importance of presenting your best self-online.
- Do not share private information about yourself with strangers. Watch this video
- What to do if they are a victim of online bullying, or witness to bullying.
- Online is permanent, don’t post things you may regret later.
The following post shares some of our worries, the terms of service of ask.fm, and how to protect yourself.
BISAC SEASON 3 Upcoming Tryouts
By Mr. Dyke, kerryd@isb.ac.th
Please note:
- U15 means you were 13 or 14 years old on August 1, 2013
- U13 means you were 10, 11 or 12 years old on August 1, 2013
- On Monday and Wednesday, tryouts and practices go from 2:10-3:40pm. We will provide a van going from ISB to Emporium at 4:00pm for these athletes. If this is not convenient for you please arrange your own transportation.
Softball: Feb 17-19
- All 4 teams will start tryouts this week. However, U15 will not finalize the teams because 9th grade students will be away for GCW
- 9th graders should come the following Monday for tryouts
- Tryouts Monday (2:10-3:40pm), Tuesday (2:10-3:10pm), Wednesday (2:10-3:40pm)
- U13 boys – A field (inside the track)
- U15 girls – B field (far corner field)
- U15 boys – C field (infield is dirt)
- U13 girls – D field (artificial turf)