MS eNews – Thursday, February 18th, 2016
Always Getting Better
by Dennis Harter
As we head into this long, “Activity-Free,” weekend, I wanted to share some of the areas at which we are directing our focus. This Friday, while students have a rest break from school, ISB faculty will be engaged in professional development. In particular, our middle school teachers will be focusing on developing our Culture of Care, through one lens of a Home Base (or Advisory) program. Much more about this new program will be shared with you in the near future. Some of you may have attended the parent session we held this past week.
Getting better continues to be a theme of our day-to-day practice and our engagement in our work. This year we have worked on building our Social Emotional Learning curriculum, developed our learning focused leadership, and will dig deeper into better math and literacy practices in the next few weeks. All of this is in addition to the regular assessment and curriculum work our teachers do throughout the year.
At the start of the year, I shared with new parents how proud we were of the school they were joining. We are a caring community, we are passionate about learning, and we want all students to experience success and happiness. I also offered that we knew we weren’t perfect and that our best quality was that we continue to try and get better.
We wish you all a good long weekend and hope that you are able to enjoy some quality family time on this Activity Free Weekend.
AMIS MS Honor Music Festivals
Dear MS Parents,
Over the next two weeks, a total of 31 MS music students will be participating in three AMIS Honor Music Festivals.
From Wednesday, February 17 to Sunday, February 21, Mrs. Mann, Mr. Poling, Mr. Udagawa, and Khun Meaw and 29 students will be traveling to Yangon, Myanmar for the AMIS Asian MS Honor Band Festival at the International School Yangon and the AMIS Asian Honor Girls’ Choir Festival at Yangon International School in Myanmar.
From Wednesday, February 24 to Sunday, February 28, Mr. Weinhold and 2 students will be traveling to the AMIS Asian MS Honor Orchestra Festival, at Shanghai American School Pudong Campus, in China.
These festivals are an amazing opportunity for our students to extend their learning and be challenged!
The students attending the festivals are followings:
AMIS Asian MS Honor Girl’s Choir Festival
Wednesday, February 17 to Sunday, February 21
Nolie Giles (Grade 8, Alto)
Ying Ying Huang (Grade 8, Soprano 2)
Reika Herman (Grade 8, Soprano 2)
Leah Scranton (Grade 7, Soprano 1)
Sydney Martin (Grade 8, Alto)
Kira De Oliveira (Grade 7, Soprano 1)
AMIS Asian MS Honor Band Festival
Wednesday, February 17 to Sunday, February 21
Keene Boondichachern (Grade, 8 French Horn)
Charan Chansrichawla (Grade, 8 Euphonium)
Anne Chomtin (Grade, 8 Clarinet)
Gaelle D’Hoore (Grade, 8 Alto Saxophone)
Ben Edison (Grade, 8 Baritone Saxophone)
Sajid Farook (Grade, 8 Trombone)
Ashley Kim (Grade, 8 Clarinet)
Akira Kubo (Grade, 8) Alto Saxophone)
Xuan Fan Loo (Grade, 8 Clarinet)
Kannna Matsumoto (Grade, 8 Flute)
Daniel Namatinia (Grade, 7 Euphonium)
Yuika Nishitani (Grade, 8 Trumpet)
Wendy O-Charoenrat (Grade, 8 Percussion)
Justin Omland (Grade, 8 Trombone)
Sally Park (Grade, 8 Flute)
Jill Payackapan (Grade, 8 Oboe)
Paulo Quicho (Grade, 8 Tuba)
PJ Sethbhakdi (Grade, 8) Alto Saxophone)
Vishnu Susheer (Grade, 8 Euphonium)
Candy Tantichirasakul (Grade, 8 Flute)
Jingmin Wang (Grade, 7 Clarinet)
Mod Yensuang (Grade, 8 Tenor Saxophone)
Natalie Zhu (Grade, 7 Trombone)
AMIS Asian MS Honor Orchestra Festival
Wednesday, February 24 to Sunday, February 28
Madison Mehta (Grade 8, Viola)
Yui Musha (Grade 8, Violin1)
Congratulations MS Robotics Club Teams!
Dear MS Parents,
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Thailand 2015 is finally over. After weeks of preparation, we reached the summit of the Trash Trek competition this past weekend, Saturday, February 13th, 2016. The Head Referee of Robot Performance and Head Judge of the competition, Khun Yosawinn Fagpan, sent us an email with the results, recognizing our students’ outstanding energy and competitiveness. GAMMACO, the organizers of the event in Thailand have presented the following awards to both ISB teams:
In the category of Project Awards: Research Award for team Tech No Log!c
This award recognizes a team that utilizes diverse resources to formulate an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the problem they have identified.
Team members:
- Tong Nueng Sanguansin
- Daniel Lewis
- Mackenzie Clary
- Meg Sriprasert
- Lyan Dominic Millana
- Asad Imran Ali
- Heather June
In the category of Core Values Awards: Inspiration Award for team Code Masters
This award celebrates a team that is empowered by their FLL experience and displays extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit.
Team members:
- William Xu – Grade 6
- Noah Van Maare – Grade 6
- Rory Switala – Grade 6
- Caden Schuler – Grade 6
- Aadit Sood – Grade 6
- Jayger Kunakorn – Grade 6
- Isaac McPherson – Grade 6
- Pun Danchaivichit – Grade 6
Congratulations to all these students for their hard work and dedication. They truly enjoyed every step of the way. It was rewarding to see them working as a team, learning from each other while creating their presentations, as well as designing and programming their robots. The competition has been a great opportunity for them to learn from other participants and be judged by a panel of professionals in various aspects like the Project, Robot Design, Robot Game, and Core Values of FLL.
We want to reiterate our thanks to all the parents who supported us with the t-shirts and snacks during the preparation period, the competition day, and final club meeting. All our gratitude goes to our dear moms Jay Jay, Thon, and Cheryl. Also, a big Thank You to all the parents who took the time to attend on Saturday to support their children. Finally, all this would not have been possible if it weren’t for the unconditional support of the Middle School Administration. The kids, parents, and coaches will always be grateful for all that you have done to help us.
To end, we truly hope to see these familiar faces and any other interested students when ISB begins its preparation for the next challenge: “Animal Allies“.
https://www.firstlegoleague.org/2016-animal-allies-challenge
Best wishes to all and see you next year,
Mr. Miguel Zambrano and Mr. Matt McGovern
Last Minute Call – Less than a week to go… Have you submitted your photo yet?!
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
NBBL Scorekeeping/Timekeeping Opportunity for Students in Grades 7-12
By: Kevin Sypolt
As we have in past years, NBBL (North Bangkok Basketball League) will hire Grade 7-12 students to be scorekeepers and timekeepers for NBBL games.
The games will take place Saturdays at the ISB gyms. This is a great opportunity for Grade 7-12 students to earn their own money and learn the responsibility of a work situation. The students will earn between THB 200 and 300 per game. In order for the students to be eligible to work at these games, all students (including those who have been scorekeepers/timekeepers in the past) must register. Click here to access the registration form.
There is a MANDATORY training session for any student who did NOT work as a scorekeeper/timekeeper last season. This training will take place either on Sunday, March 6th at 5:00PM in the Health Room above Rajendra Hall or on Tuesday, March 8th at 7:00PM in MPB Room 2. The sessions will last about an hour. Students are only required to attend one of the sessions.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. As always, please consult our NBBL website at https://www.isb.ac.th/basketball for information. This is where we will post calendar information, schedules, team listings, etc.
(Repeat Announcement) Middle School Art Exhibit
You are cordially invited to visit the Middle School Art Exhibit being held in the Main Library from Monday, 15 February – Friday, 11 March.
Welcome to the world of middle school students at ISB. Their works approach this theme in a variety of media and from numerous perspectives.
The next and final Middle School Art Exhibit will be held in the Chevron Theatre Foyer from 27 April – 12 May. Some of the works will be for sale at the MS Art Silent Auction on 27 April and 11 May.
(Repeat Announcement) A Parent’s Guide to Writing Instruction: Presented by Visiting Consultant, Carl Anderson
Writing instruction in schools today is very different from what parents experienced when they were children. In this parent workshop, Carl Anderson will explain the writing workshop approach to teaching writing that is used at ISB. He will also give parents suggestions for ways they can support their children’s growth as writers at home. Carl is the author of How’s It Going? and Assessing Writers and will be visiting ISB the week of February 23rd.
When: Thursday, February 25th at 7:30 – 8:30am
Where: MPB 1
Suggested Target Audience: Parents of children in grades 3-8
(Repeat Announcement) eNewsletter Guidelines
by: Tony Arnold
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.