MS eNews – Friday, November 13th, 2015
Our MS Principal’s Forum this week
by Dennis Harter
dennish@isb.ac.th
Thank you to all the parents who attended the MS Principal’s Forum on Thursday morning. We recorded the audio from the event and are preparing for upload in next week’s eNews along with written answers for the questions that we did not get to and more. Please be on the lookout for those next week.
We appreciated the open communication at the forum and hope that the combination of our reflection and candor along with your questions and support are indicative of the healthy partnership between home and school that we know is so valuable. The event ended abruptly as you know, and I would add that the show of understanding, care and support of fellow parents as well as our medical staff made me proud of our community. We look after each other – which is the same thing we want of our learners.
During our presentation we shared a quote from educator, Rita Pierson. Her TED Talk is worth a watch.
New Guide to Managing Media for Tweens and Teens from Common Sense Media
Here are four tips for parents from Common Sense Media that can help support kids in using media and tech in healthy, productive, and responsible ways:
- Parents should feel empowered to set limits on screens of all sizes
- Encourage your kids to be creative, responsible consumers, not just passive users
- Help kids understand the effects of multitasking
- Talk the talk, walk the walk
For more information please visit: https://bit.ly/newguidecsm
Passion Day Update
With much excitement students from Grades 4 – 12 received an email regarding their Passion Day activity for the 1st of December. If your child is involved in an off – campus event you should have received an electronic parent consent form via email on the 10th of November. Can you please complete this form to ensure your child is able to participate in this fantastic opportunity that is aligned to their passion, area of interest or curiosity.
Students will shortly be receiving an email from their activity leader welcoming them to their group. Please encourage your child to check their email regularly regarding Passion Day communications.
MS & HS Choir Concert, Monday Nov. 30th
Come join us for an evening of joy, beautiful music and community! The Middle Choirs will be presenting a Thailand premiere of Sarah Quartel’s Snow Angel with string players from Mr. Weinhold’s classes. The High School classes will be performing a diverse selection of choral music weaving together stories of family, home and our connections to each other. The concert is at 6:30pm in the Chevron theatre. Admission is free. Click here to see the poster.
Leaving ISB at the End of the First Semester?
If your child is not returning to ISB after semester 1, please complete the Notice of Withdrawal from ISB Form and email it to Khun Natt at natthapc@isb.ac.th in the MS Office as soon as possible so she can process your child’s school records for their next school.
(Repeat) Educating Students About Safety
Dear Parents
This month in Wellness lessons in Middle School the Counselors will be teaching lessons about personal safety. This includes learning about:
- Identifying safe and unsafe situations to include emotional and physical safety
- Learning how to access support structures
- Learning how to act to stay safe
- Learning how to value themselves and others
These lessons support and complement our child safeguarding policy that is being implemented this year. Throughout November, students will become familiar with identifying situations that can make them feel safe or unsafe and learn how to respond by using safety steps to protect from harm.
The safety steps being taught include:
- Trusting your instincts around personal safety and becoming aware of your environment and the people in it that make it safe or unsafe
- Helping students learn assertiveness skills to keep them safe
- Report to a trusted adult and know how to seek help to protect them
We encourage you to chat with your child about keeping safe at school, in the community and online as well as at home. Please give them the important message that if someone has hurt them or made them feel uncomfortable, that they are not to blame and that as a young person they have right to be free from verbal and physical harm. It is never too late to share with a caring adult, so that a child feels heard, understood and protected.
To find out more please do attend our important parent workshop that will cover our child safeguarding board policy and procedures.
Parent Safeguarding Workshop: November 18th facilitated by K12 Psychologist and Counselors
Morning Session 8:00 until 9:00am and Evening 6:30 until 7:30pm.
Thank you for collaborating with us, together we can strive to keep your children safe and happy.
Carmel Kean Janel Wilder Jackie Greenwood
Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8
(Repeat) Boarding School and Summer School Applications
Dear Parents,
If you are considering applying for boarding and summer schools for 2016, please do contact our Counseling Secretary Khun Natt natthapc@isb.ac.th at your earliest convenience. It is important that we have sufficient time to prepare reports and recommendations and these are best attended to in November and early December. Applications for schools are normally made by early January but with Winter break, it is vital that these requests are made before the end of this semester.
Please contact Jackie Greenwood (jackieg@isb.ac.th) grade 8 Counselor if you have any queries or concerns about boarding and summer school applications.
(Repeat) 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.
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.