High School Upcoming events (Please click):
https://inside.isb.ac.th/parentportal/?p=25965
Message from Principal
Philip Bradley
philipb@isb.ac.th
After much anticipation GCW is upon us with the first students about to leave – listening to the noise in school this morning you can tell something different is about to happen! As you will be aware our students are heading in many directions, some local and some intercontinental. Wherever they are heading I know that GCW is a highlight for students offering great learnings that stay with them a lifetime. GCW is also a massive logistical undertaking and I would like to thank all who are involved and wish them all well – especially our overnighters.
GCW is here!
Peter Roback
peterro@isb.ac.th
As students head out for Global Citizenship Week in the coming days, please know that our sponsors will do their best to look after them, ensure their safety, and provide a fun learning environment. Part of that learning centers around the students taking on some independence and responsibility away from home, yet in safe settings. For this reason, we ask that you let them go a little this week so they can fully immerse themselves in a new culture, habitat, and overall experience. In cases of emergency, please contact me (at any hour) and I will reach the group and put you in contact with your child. They are off to wonderful experiences and will return with stories, memories, and a new outlook on friends, themselves, and the world.
For those students in local (non-overnight) courses, please remember to sign their provided Gate Pass (will be sent home with students on Monday) if you give permission for them to leave campus before 2:05pm – students will not be allowed to leave campus for lunch. Please remember that 5:00pm buses will not be running during GCW.
My contact information:
Pete Roback
peterro@isb.ac.th
Mob: +66 81 827 2742
Work: + 66 2 963 5800 ext.3304
Grade 10 Course Selection Evening – Monday 2nd March 6:30pm MPB
Philip Rogers
philr@isb.ac.th
Please save the evening to come along with your grade 10 child to speak with grade 11 course teachers about the different options available in grade 11.
The transition from grade 10 to 11 is the time when students have the most choice available about what course they can study. It can prove to be hard to make these choices and we hope that having the opportunity to talk to teachers will help that decision to be an informed one.
GPA reporting on Powerschool
Philip Rogers
philr@isb.ac.th
For several years now ISB has been reviewing our practices in assessment, grading, feedback and reporting. We want these important aspects of school life to best support learning and consequently help our students reach their full academic potential.
Last semester we instituted a practice whereby the teachers provided “face to face feedback first”. This means grades and scores are only published on Powerschool after a student has received feedback on the assessment during class or on an individual basis. Research is conclusive that this promotes greater engagement, understanding and learning. This complements the practice that has been in place for the last two years whereby after the end of semester examinations there is an opportunity for immediate feedback to promote learning.
This semester we are no longer making GPA available 24/7 through Powerschool. (Of course the calculation of GPA from current grades is a very simple mathematical task.) This move follows much discussion and will help students gain a healthier perspective towards GPA and discourage the sometimes obsessive ‘minute by minute’ tracking of GPA. Our research showed us that after Facebook, Powerschool was the website our students visited the most. To provide a better balance, GPA to date will be available on Powerschool in the week following grade checks, that is:
- Monday 2nd March to Sunday 8th March
- Monday 26th April to Sunday 3rd May
- Monday 25th May to Sunday 1st May
The cumulative semester GPA will appear on the end of semester report card as normal and the cumulative ISB semesters GPA on a student’s transcript.
Here are some reminders concerning GPA:
- The single most important factor universities take into account is the rigour of courses a student has followed during their High School years
- GPA is almost always recalculated/adjusted by US universities based a number of factors including school weighting policies and course rigour
- GPA is only one of the factors for admission to university
- GPA does not define who you are
- GPA does not help students find their passions and interests
- Different countries use GPA in different ways and some do not use it at all
Grade 12 Exam Schedules for May 2015
Philip Rogers
philr@isb.ac.th
The Grade 12 students will all finish formal classes on Wednesday 29th April and start study leave the following day. The exams start on Monday 4th May and go through to Friday 22nd May.
Individual IB and ISB exam schedules can now be found on PowerSchool. They are located on the top right corner of the quick lookup page. Please check them carefully and record the dates in family calendar. All exams are in MPB with AM (mornings) starting at 7:30am and PM (afternoon) starting at 12noon.
High School Counseling Newsletter
Jennifer Melton
jenniferm@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
With Global Citizenship Week next week, we wish all students a safe journey and hopefully some personal growth as they see and experience new worlds and cultures. Can’t wait to hear about the adventures next week.
Grade 12 –US Passport holders applying for any type of financial assistance or scholarships at US Universities may have already started completing the FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Here are a few tips to help in that process:
- You first need to apply for a PIN before you can begin completing the FAFSA.
- Be sure to use the correct website: https://fafsa.ed.gov/.
- Parents will need tax information.
- The sooner you apply, the better.
- When listing universities on the application, list them in ABC order, not in order of preference or priority.
Grade 11 – Junior Parent Night last week was a success as well as Junior Seminar with students. If you weren’t able to attend the evening event for parents officially kicking off the university application process, you can access the presentation here.
The Junior Packet assignment was due last week and now students can begin scheduling the Junior Conference (meeting with Student, Parents, & Counselor) now through March 20.
A reminder for 11th graders who plan to take the SAT, there is a free SAT online preparation tool in Naviance called PrepMe. Once students log in, a link is on the left hand side under resources.
Grade 10 – Almost all the sophomores have finished exploring what their strengths are, what people like them do for a living, and how to put those two things together to think about what they might like to study in the future. This will be useful in our next meeting with the sophomores, February 25/26, when they will begin to tentatively choose their classes for the coming school year. Have a chat with your son or daughter to make sure that you are “on the same page” as them for their plans for the rest of high school. And have a safe and productive GCW everyone!
Grade 9– Freshman and their families are encouraged to re-visit results from their personal strengths exploration and learning style inventory which they completed in Freshman Seminar last semester. A good conversation may be about how the student plans to utilize his or her strengths this semester, while also taking into consideration learning environments that will serve the student well in his / her studies.
At this point students are settled into their schedules and starting to establish routine. Students and families are reminded to take advantage of the flex time in high school. This is between 2:10 and 3:10 Monday through Thursday. It is a great opportunity for students to check in with their teachers, work in study groups with their peers, access the library for resources. Nearly all activities and sports do not start till 3:15 as to keep this time open for these type of purposes.
It is also encouraged with Freshmen to try and complete homework assignments / activities the night that they are set. This allows students to check in with the teacher the next day if they still have have questions on the assignment. It also gives students time to possibly review and polish an assignment the next day if need be.
Upcoming College/University Visits
No visits February 9 – 13 due to GCW.
Please see Naviance for the extensive list of colleges/universities that will be visiting ISB.
The HS Counseling Department
2015 High School Graduation Announcements
Kevin Sypolt
kevinjan@optonline.net
ksypolt@gmail.com
+66-84-388-7715
Hard to believe, but our High School seniors will graduate in just over 3 months. Graduation is on Wednesday, June 10th, so mark your calendars. In preparation, the Graduation Committee will be taking orders for formal graduation announcements and invitations. These can be sent to your friends and relatives. Announcement cards are a tradition in North America. We encourage all the parents to come and see the cards. The cards are mailed to family and friends to let them know that the International School of Bangkok will have a graduation ceremony on June 10, 2015 and that your child participating in the commencement exercises.
Orders for the announcements will be taken each Thursday and Friday in the HS cafeteria from 10:00AM – 11:30AM, starting March 5th. The price per graduation announcement is THB 60. You can order as few or as many as you want.
No orders will be accepted after March 20th. The printer will have the graduation announcements back to parents by April 7th (before Songkran) so there will be time to mail them to overseas guests. Don’t wait. Order yours right away so you are not disappointed. You can also go to this google document for the order form – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ImCcU4BRuQOR3B2PCIF_j39ZMx7XenbLopUhVF5dNT8/viewform
See the below files for an example of what the graduation announcements look like.
eNewsletter Guidelines
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
4publish@isb.ac.th is for announcements of interest to the entire ISB community.
tinaratr@isb.ac.th is for Elementary School (ES) announcements of interest to ES families.
maurilib@isb.ac.th is for Middle School (MS) announcements of interest to MS families.
vijitl@isb.ac.th is for High School (HS) announcements of interest to HS families.
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.