ISB Communication Single Page View

Outdoor/Environmental Education Campus

Dear ISB Community,

Outdoor/Environmental Education Campus

On Tuesday last week, the Board of Trustees approved a proposal from the school administration to acquire a plot of land within a three hour driving distance from ISB to develop an outdoor/environmental education campus.

The administration will next work with the Business Committee of the Board on a more specific proposal that will include land & facility details in addition to appropriate due diligence for cost, legality, and safety. The Board of Trustees will be asked to give final approval to the specifics later this school year.

The leadership team conducted a visioning exercise two years ago and determined that outdoor education skills, social/emotional competencies, and character development represented the most significant learning gaps in the ISB experience. While we have some outdoor and environmental education opportunities for our students, these are largely optional with something of a reliance on third party providers.

Our leadership team included the study of outdoor education in the school’s Strategic Learning Plan, reviewed research (see some links at the end of this message), and made visits last year to view outdoor education programs and facilities at three schools in Australia (Geelong Grammar School – Timbertop Campus, Methodist Ladies College Melbourne – Banksia Campus, and Lauriston Girls’ School – Howqua Campus).

Elliott Bowyer has been hired to direct ISB’s outdoor education program starting August 2016. Elliott is currently the Director of Outdoor Education at the Western Academy Beijing (WAB) and was instrumental in setting up the hugely successful WAB Wild outdoor education campus. Mr. Bowyer has also worked in the outdoor education field at other international schools and in his native New Zealand.

In 2015, Mr. Bowyer accompanied ISB personnel on a review of potential areas to assess suitability for an outdoor education campus. Four locations in particular were examined in detail – Kanchanaburi, Chon Buri, Khao Yai and Kaeng Krachan. We will be continuing our search for the most appropriate location in the coming months.

Initially, the outdoor/environmental curriculum will be geared toward middle school and upper elementary age children. In the HS, IB sciences and other subjects will use the facility for field studies and one or two GCW activities will probably take place there. Other potential uses include “writers in residence”, the Duke of Edinburgh Award program, Boy & Girl Scouts, geography field trips, community service, Green Panthers, summer camps, sports team retreats and many more.

Given our commitment to providing more authentic learning experiences, students will also be involved in the design process.

As we make progress we will communicate further with the ISB community on this exciting new development. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Dr. Andrew Davies
andrewd@isb.ac.th

Research LInks to Learning

https://www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/Values_and_benefits.htm

https://www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/research.in.outdoor.learning.html

https://www.outdoor-learning.org/Default.aspx?tabid=213

https://www.academia.edu/288162/A_Review_of_Research_on_Outdoor_Learning

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

by Sally PLOMLEY
sallyp@isb.ac.th

It has come to our attention that there is an outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Bangkok. Most children get exposed to this disease whilst they are young but outbreaks do occur in schools. Please read the information below and keep your child at home if they have any of the symptoms. We want to prevent any outbreaks in the school and if we have too many cases in a class we may need to close that class (as per the Thailand Health Recommendations).

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral infection.

The virus can spread from an infected person via contact with the fluid in the blisters, by coughing and sneezing, by contact with faeces and by contact with contaminated objects or surfaces. A person will take 3-5 days to get symptoms and will be contagious whilst there is fluid in the blisters (the faeces can remain infectious for several weeks).

Symptoms

• fever
• tiredness
• loss of appetite
• blisters in the mouth and on the hands and feet
• a sore mouth for a few days before the ulcers or blisters appear.

Children may refuse to eat or drink due to the pain.

Diagnosis is usually made by clinical presentation.

Treatment

Usually none is required. Use of paracetamol/acetaminophen or ibuprofen for the fever and any discomfort may be indicated. Aspirin should not be given to children under 12 years of age.

The blisters should not be deliberately pierced or broken because the fluid within the blisters is infectious. The blisters will dry naturally.

If your child is diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease please notify the Health Clinic and they need to present a medical certificate to the Health Clinic stating they are fit to return to school and no longer contagious prior to going to class.

Prevention

• Exclude people with hand, foot and mouth disease from school until all blisters have dried.
• Wash hands with soap and water after toileting
• Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and soiled items, including toys.
• Avoiding close contact such as kissing, hugging, or sharing eating utensils or cups with people with hand, foot, and mouth disease.

ISB is committed to your child’s overall development, both educationally and health related. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your healthcare provider or the ISB Health Clinic (nurse@isb.ac.th).

 

 

ISB Vehicle Stickers

Rick Nelson, ISB Safety Manager
rickn@isb.ac.th

In the past couple weeks, ISB vehicle stickers on golf carts were taken while parking in the Central Mall Chaengwattana Parking Lot.  In the event of lost, stolen or missing vehicle stickers, please contact our security manager, Khun Ratthavit Techapattanapan, at ratthavi@isb.ac.th.  Theft of any ISB vehicle sticker creates a security concern for our campus.  As a general point of information, Golf Carts are not recognized as legal vehicles on Thai roadways and golf cart drivers could be stopped outside of Nichada Thani.

In addition, if you currently have old ISB vehicle stickers on your vehicle (any color but the current yellow), please remove and drop off with our security guards at the main gate.  All purple vehicle stickers expire the end of this month.  If you need a new vehicle sticker, please see the ISB Transportation office at the back of the main parking lot.  Thank you!

Spirit Night / Black & Gold Day / Friendship Tournament

It’s Time to Roar!

by ISB Booster Club
isbbooster@isb.ac.th

 

Bangkok International String Festival Information

by Anthony Giles
K-12 Arts and Activities Director
anthonyg@isb.ac.th

ISB is once again hosting the annual Bangkok International Strings Festival this September 24-26! Soon, 75 high school strings musicians from international schools in Bangkok and Osaka, Japan will be coming together at ISB for 3 days of excellent music. The students get to work with a very accomplished guest conductor, who will be flying to Bangkok from Missouri, USA just for this occasion. The guest conductor, Kirt Mosier, the director of the Lee’s Summit High School orchestra program, is a nationally-recognised composer in the USA. He has won the 2 most prestigious pedagogical composition contests: The Merle Isaac Composition Contest, and the National School Orchestra Association Composition Contest. Three of his award-winning original works, will be performed at this year’s festival. He has also been invited to conduct two concerts during the 2016 concert season at Carnegie Hall. This is going to be a great experience for Bangkok-area high school strings musicians! Join us for the festival’s final concert at ISB’s Cultural Center Theater at 2:00pm on Saturday, September 26. Hope to see you there!

 

The ES Book Fair is back!

by Nat Whitman
natw@isb.ac.th

Come to the ES HUB and MPR on October 1 and 2 to browse thousands of books from vendors including: Asia Books, Kinokuniya, Scholastic and others.  Our gigantic selection fills the ES HUB and ES MPR!   7:30-3:30 October 1 and 2.

A Learning Opportunity for ISB Parents – October 7th

by Bronwyn Weale
bronwynw@isb.ac.th

Using the Science of a Meaningful Life To Cultivate Social and Emotional Well-being in Children

An ISB parent workshop presented by Vicki Zakrzewski, Ph.D. Education Director, Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, USA

October 7th @ 12:30 in MPB 1

For full details please click  HERE

 

New Parent Portal login

 

Booster Club Needs Spirit Crew and a Co-Vice President

by  ISB Booster Club
isbbooster@isb.ac.th

Here’s an exciting opportunity to support our students and be a part of a crew that is in charge of setting up/running/breaking down our Spirit Tents which sell concessions and Spirit Gear to support the students involved in athletics and the fine arts. It is a great way to stay involved and be an active part of ISB’s community. Training and laughs provided and 100% guaranteed fun. Interested in a challenging and rewarding position as a VP? Please contact Lynn Jones at lynnandaj@icloud.com with questions regarding any of these opportunities to join!

 

eNewsletter Guidelines

by Tony Arnold
anthonya@isb.ac.th

ISB eNewsletters provide a valuable avenue for communication within the ISB parent community. Please see our eNewsletter guidelines below.

Submitting an announcement for publication
ISB accepts announcements from ISB families and ISB staff 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
• An image or photo (optional)

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.
dennish@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.