MS eNews – Friday, January 29th, 2016
Upcoming Class Trips
by Dennis Harter
Our school community is excited and looking forward to our upcoming class trips. You will have received communication from our trip leaders and your children should know all about what they need to bring and what the trip will be like. We understand that for many parents, this time away from your children can be difficult and cause for worry. Please know that we take the responsibility of their care very seriously and we have your children’s safety and happiness at the front of our minds throughout the trip. That said, we hope that students will use these opportunities to stretch their comfort zones, take risks within the safe structure we provide, learn new things and make new connections and friends.
Part of their developing independence starts with safe opportunities like this, to leave the home and family, knowing they are safe and cared for. Please allow them to be a little “uncomfortable” and develop their independence and self-reliance, by refraining from calling or texting your children too frequently (or at all, if you can), unless it’s an emergency. Even in emergencies it is usually best to contact the school or the lead teacher so that we can be part of helping your child.
Your children will grow from these experiences and we know that they will have a wonderful time.
MS COUNSELOR CORNER
In the news this week:
- Mark your Calendar for a Parent Education session on ‘Keeping Your Children Safe in Bangkok’ Friday March 4th 7:30 – 8:45am. More information to follow in February.
- Information about upcoming Freedom from Chemical Dependency Visit
- Wellness focus on Relationship and Sexual Health Program for Gr. 6, 7, and 8
MS FCD March 1 – 4th Visit to our MS
Dear MS Parents,
As part of our Wellness Program, a visiting consultant Eduardo Torres from the Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD) organization will meet with students in grades 6 – 8 on March 1 – 4th.
- 6th graders will meet for a one-hour session during one of their science classes this week.
- 7th graders will all meet via a 7th grade one-hour assembly and a one-hour session during one of their science classes this week.
- 8th graders will all meet via an 8th grade one-hour assembly and two 55-minute sessions this week, one session during one of their math classes and the other during one of their science classes.
A native Spanish speaker and fluent English speaker, Eduardo Torres joined FCD as a Prevention Specialist in 2012 and currently also holds the position of Regional Officer. He has a BA in Addiction Counseling with an emphasis in Chemical Dependency from Grand Canyon University. He has worked as a mentor and teacher of at-risk teenagers and as an addiction and prevention counselor. Eduardo volunteers for a nonprofit organization which serves people with severe physical and mental impairments and was a Central American champion in Karate.
The sessions will focus on positive discussions on the health risks of alcohol and substance use to the developing teenage brain, possible long term addiction problems tied to early use, social norms and the misconceptions about teenage behavior, and strategies for maintaining healthy choices.
WELLNESS – Adolescent development and sexual health curriculum
Yesterday the wellness teachers and school counselors met with parents from Grades 6, 7 and 8 to share and discuss the Adolescent Development and Sexual Health curriculum. Approximately 30 parents joined us to understand what is going to be taught in this curriculum and to share with us their concerns and hopes for this program of study.
The parents from many diverse cultures and backgrounds all shared a common concern that their children be informed and confident about the changes they will be experiencing. They all expressed an appreciation that these lessons will include both content but discussions on values and encouragement to talk at home with parents about the values their family holds in regard to relationships, their growth and development and emerging sexual behavior as they grow up. We want to partner with parents in this vital area of growth for adolescents and the presentation provided many helpful hints about how to talk about these matters that can cause discomfort.
Parents overwhelmingly want to be available and eager to answer the concerns and questions their children come to them with. We encourage parents to take advantage of this time when you know we are teaching this curriculum to open these conversations.
Parents expressed that they were encouraged by the thoughtfulness of the curriculum, they are concerned by the degree of influence peers and the media will have on their children’s behavior and they continue to wonder about the best way to support and talk with their children.
Over the coming weeks as we teach our units of study on development, relationships and sexual behavior we will be sending home more information so parents can see what is being covered in class and hopefully this will assist parents to have those conversations with their children.
If you missed the presentation here is the link should you have any concerns or questions about this program please feel free to email your grade level counselor.
We hope you find the information helpful.
Carmel (Gr 6) carmelk@isb.ac.th
Janel (Gr 7 ) janelw@isb.ac.th
Jackie (Gr 8) jackieg@isb.ac.th
International Family Fair – MS Photography Competition
Inviting all MS students to take part in this fun photography competition!
THEME: Living in Thailand
DEADLINE: Monday, February 22nd – 8:00am
Click here for more information
(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.