MS eNews – Friday, December 4th, 2015
No School…
Reminder, ISB will be closed on Monday, December 7th as we celebrate the H.M. King’s Birthday with a holiday. On Friday, December 11th, students will be dismissed at 10:20am and school closed remainder of the day due to the expected traffic for the Bike for Dad event.
Parent Volunteers Requested for MS Olympics Day
Dear Parents,
The MS is looking for many volunteers to help out with OLYMPICS on Thursday December 17th. Please contact us if you are able to help with games or track and field events. You can sign up for a block of time or simply stay for the day. The day will start at 7.20am with an Olympic Opening Celebration in Rajendra Hall and close with a Tug-o-War in Rajendra from 1.20 to 2.05 pm.
Please contact Christy Warren to sign up for volunteering.
christywarrennz@gmail.com
0950258755
Parent and Student Access to PowerSchool Turned Off
Dear MS Parents and Students,
Your access to grades and assignments posted in PowerSchool were turned off at 3:00pm today for the next two weeks while teachers are finalizing MS semester 1 report cards. Your access will be reactivated at 12:00pm on Friday, December 18th. You will still be able to access attendance record and student schedule during this time however. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Haiku, Conferences and carrying laptops
by Dennis Harter
This week, we continue with specific questions from parents not covered in last month’s Principal’s Forum.
Use of Haiku
Haiku is an online learning platform that works in conjunction with Google Docs. For the most part, Haiku is used by teachers to communicate class information, provide resources, and support the learning happening in the classroom. In the rare event of the school needing to support online learning for a short time, Haiku would be the format students would continue to use.
Middle School is a transition time for students as they develop independence in organizing their time, learning, and work completion. We know that the adolescent brain is not fully wired for students to be great at this and teachers and parents alike look for ways that we can support them in their executive functioning. At the same time, we look for structured ways in which to engage students in being independent and developing those skills before they leave middle school. Using Haiku helps students know where to look for assignments, find resources that may have been shared in class, and organize their short-term and long-term expectations.
Parents and students have asked why isn’t every class required to use Haiku – thus allowing parents and students a one-stop shop to know what their child is doing. The simple answer to this is that in some courses a different online tool may be better set up for the learning in that subject. Science is a good example of this – with their program developed and organized on a different platform. In order to still provide students and parents with that one-stop location, this year, we developed expectations for all teachers on posting home learning assignments.
All teachers are expected to use the Haiku calendar to post home learning assignments according to the due dates. Even if the class doesn’t use Haiku as it’s main online tool, the teacher still posts assignments there. At this time, we are trialing a required 1:20 pm posting deadline and we will review this at the start of the semester to see if it needs adjustment. Parents and students on any given evening should be able to see all home learning expectations simply by logging into Haiku and seeing what’s posted on the calendar.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
I received some concerning accounts of long waiting times and poor organization after our last Parent-Teacher Conferences in October. There were some conferences that went over time, or some parents did not attend their scheduled session and that put everyone behind. After seeing the conferences in action, this is an area for us to do better and we will have a tighter adherence to scheduling at the Spring conferences.
Parents have wondered “why don’t we have individual private conferences in the classrooms?” The main reasons we don’t are simply time and parent convenience. Many of our teachers teach 70-90 students. If we allocated 10 minutes per conference, for example, we would need up to 15 hours of conference time, completely filled up. The booking of appointments would not guarantee that parents would have teachers they wanted to see in consecutive appointments, so a parent could have a 10 minute conference with the math teacher and then wait for 40 minutes before their appointment with the science teacher and then wait again for a Humanities or PE or Language teacher.
We place the Core teachers in a single room in bookable 30 minute blocks in order to allow parents to book one 30 minute session (maximum 4 parents per block) and see the three Core teachers without long gaps between appointments. Obviously, this relies on the time in the room being well monitored so that conversations don’t stretch too long (which we need teachers and parents to be mindful of). We are looking at ways to help with this, like timers and chimes in the locations.
Finally, a key component is ensuring that the only parents in the rooms are the ones for that scheduled block. If parents are late, they may not join another session without there being available room. This is something we can do a better job of monitoring to ensure the rooms aren’t too full and privacy is better maintained.
We hope with some better management in place, we will have a much better conference experience in the Spring.
Student Laptops
A few parents have asked why the student laptops are so heavy when there are lighter models on the market. It is important to remember the logistical constraints of a 1:1 laptop program. When purchased, laptop need to serve us for several years before being replaced in order for them to be cost effective. In fact, ISB maintains a relatively short replacement cycle, keeping our technology up to date. Lighter smaller computers are always being considered, but when purchasing was made, many of the current models and their specifications were not available. Additionally, the robustness of a machine is also important and the lighter they are, sometimes the more fragile they are. If you’ve ever seen a middle school student handle their laptop, you know the machines better be pretty durable.
Ultimately, ISB strives to have the best quality machines considering cost, durability, size and weight, impact on learning, and timing. The laptop choice always goes through a thorough vetting process to choose the best-fit machine for over 1000 students. Technology changes rapidly and there will always be something better, newer, lighter, smaller, faster, etc within a few months. Our Educational Technology department continues to keep in mind the health and well being, along with the technology learning needs of our students as they select the best machines to put in their hands for several years.
Passionate about Learning – Learning about Passions
by Dennis Harter
This past Tuesday, ISB had it’s second ever Passion Day. I was fortunate to be able to move between the many amazing learning opportunities kids were engaged in throughout the day. I saw students learning to rock climb, cartoon, dance, DJ, code programming, cook, do magic, learn psychology, make prints, play sports, learn gymnastics, build robots, and craft jewelry. And that’s just some of what I saw on campus. Off campus, students were camping, recording music in a studio, learning about DJ-ing at a radio station, ziplining, fishing, wakeboarding, ice skating, and so much more.
Students and teachers interacted in new and different ways and engaged in learning connected to their interests and passions. We talk about and celebrate learning often at ISB. We are truly passionate about learning. It was terrific to have day for our students to learn about their passions.
We continue to compile and collect photos from the various learning experiences. Please “like” and follow our ISB Middle School Facebook page to see these celebrations of learning as well as others throughout the year.
PTA Meeting in January on Class Trips
by Dennis Harter
When the new semester starts up in January, we will be gearing up for our grade level, Class Trips in the first week of February. All students are expected to participate on these trips. Information has been and will be sent out by the grade level coordinators. We also host a PTA meeting on January 21, 2016 which will allow for presentations on the Class Trips by the grade level advisors. Please hold that date in your calendars so that you can learn more about the experiential learning that will be coming in February.
MS Counselor Corner – Wellness In December
We have been working on personal safety lessons during the month of November and we will finish off this unit of work in the next few weeks. In the lessons we have been reviewing personal safety with an emphasis on the potential risks that can affect us – physical, emotional, mental and sexual. Students have been encouraged to understand these risks and their right to be safe. One area of discussion that was challenging for students was to identify the difference between physical discipline and physical harm. We have been using scenarios to encourage the students to identify the factors that may make a situation unsafe. Situations are discussed and students are encouraged to:
- Trust – your feelings, your thoughts and your experience
- Talk – to a trusted adult or friend (if possible)
- Take Control – act to keep yourself safe.
We are hoping that students will gain the confidence to identify when they are unsafe and be able to put in a plan to keep themselves safe.
In second semester we will begin our units of study on human growth and development and relationship and sexual health education. Before we begin this topic we will invite parents to a meeting so that you can see what it is we will be covering. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and share your concerns. Please keep an eye out for this invitation in the New Year.
We wish you all the best for a safe and happy holiday. We look forward to working with you in the new semester.
Warm Regards,
Carmel (Gr 6 counselor), Janel (Gr 7 counselor) and Jackie (Gr 8 counselor)
Upcoming Middle School’s Got Talent Show
Dear Parents,
Instead of a Drama and Dance Assembly this year, we, in the middle School, have decided to run a Middle School’s Got Talent Show. This will take place on Tuesday, Dec 15 and Wednesday Dec 16 in the CCT Theatre. We will run two shows; one for Grade 6 and 7 at 1:00pm on the Tuesday, and the other for Grade 8 and interested parents on the Wednesday at 1:00pm. Auditions for the show have been happening this week and there are some wonderful acts that will be performed in the show, including a couple of dances by the MSDT Dance troupe. This is not a competition, but more a celebration of all the wonderful talent we have in Middle School!
Upcoming MS Olympic Biathlon
This year the M.S. Olympic Biathlon will be held on Monday, 14 December commencing at 1.25p.m. at the 50m (newer) swimming pool. The Biathlon event sees participants swim 200m and then complete a 1.2km run with each participate earning at least 10 points for their Olympic team. Parents are cordially invited to watch their child participate.
MS P.E. team – Peter Johnson, Lien Indigne, Dave Ducharme and Maureen Johnson
Upcoming MS Olympic Mile Runs
This year the M.S. Olympic Mile runs will be held preceding Olympic Day to enable all athletes who wish to participate in this event the opportunity to do so. Entries are being taken this week in P.E. classes.
The Mile run class schedule is as follows:
PE Encore 782 – Friday, 4 December commencing at 7:55a.m.
PE Encore 82 – Friday, 4 December commencing at 8:35a.m.
PE Encore 671 – Monday December 14 at 7:35a.m.
PE Encore 672 – Tuesday December 15 at 7:35a.m.
PE Encore 781 – Wednesday December 16 at 7:35a.m.
PE Encore 81 – Wednesday December 16 at 8:35a.m.
PE Encore 61 – Monday December 14 at 8:35a.m.
PE Encore 62 – Tuesday December 15 at 8:35a.m.
Parents are cordially invited to watch their child participate.
MS P.E. team – Peter Johnson, Lien Indigne, Dave Ducharme and Maureen Johnson
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) Hour of Code
Please encourage your children to participate in the Hour of Code, a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. It is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. Here at ISB, we will participate by adding up the lunch times during the week of December 7 – 13. We will be meeting in the Greene room (Main Library). Students will eat lunch first and then head to the library with their computer. They will have a chance to try any of the levels offered by Code.org and choose from new tutorials for every age and every device (featuring Minecraft and Star Wars!) It’ll be fun!
If you ever wonder why we do this, the answer is because we want to enable all children to become creators, not just consumers (read more about this here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/avidlarizadeh/2014/03/03/hour-of-code-lets-enable-all-children-to-become-creators-not-just-consumers/)
For more information about the Hour of Code and an intro video to one of the tutorials please visit these two links:
- Learn an hour of code: https://code.org/learn
- Star Wars with Blockly – Hour of Code: Introduction – https://youtu.be/v7jSy_yE9U0
Thanks for your support,
Mr. Miguel Zambrano
(Repeat) Learn to Sail During the Holidays
Click here to see the poster advertisement for more information.
(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) Newsletter 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.