MS eNews – Friday, March 18th, 2016
2016/17 COURSE REGISTRATIONS – OPEN NOW
Philip Rogers
philr@isb.ac.th
Students in grades 8 -11 are currently signing up for next year courses via Powerschool. ALL students in these grade levels need to complete this by Tuesday 3pm. Even if students may be leaving ISB at the end of the current school year, they still need to select their courses.
ISB Holiday on Monday, March 21st
A reminder that next Monday is an ISB holiday and the school will be closed. Best wishes to all for a great long weekend and see you on Tuesday, March 22nd.
Safety Online – Sexting
Safeguarding students is an important priority for ISB and any school. Like many schools, we are seeing concerns surface around students actions on line that place both themselves and others at risk. Online awareness and safety issues are critically important. Sexting and pornography are two areas that are harmful for teens as they are developing.
What is sexting?
Sexting is the sending of sexually explicit messages or images via social media such as snapchat, messenger, skype or email. More often than not this is done via mobile devices. Teens are increasingly engaging in this behavior, although many make choices not to.
The consequences for sexting can have limited but also very serious consequences. Internationally, images of young people below age 18, constitute child pornography. Receiving and sending sexually explicit images of a minor is viewed as a criminal offence, and therefore young people need to be made aware of the serious ramifications.
Another major consequence is that in the digital world, it is impossible to fully control where these images may go. Of concern is that these images can identify young people, and their photos may make their way to illegal websites resulting in potential threats from predators. Often the young person who has shared the image has no idea that their photo has been distributed. This public shaming, can lead to further harassment and increasing distress for the person concerned.
So why do teens engage in sexting?
In some ways it has become the modern day flirting, and for some it is viewed as a way of boosting popularity and social status, however in some cases it is as a result of sexual peer pressure and harassment.
What can parents do?
- Work on the relationship with your child. Keep communication open and direct. The more meaningful your relationship, the more influence you have over social media and peer pressure.
- Talk honestly and openly and frequently about the legal, social and ethical obligations they have in relationships with others.
- Know your child’s friends and activities. Be aware of the peer pressure that may be happening in their relationships.
- Monitor and support them making respectful, responsible choices online.
- If your child is uncomfortable or needs support to discuss any issues connected to this issue. Please encourage them to speak to their counselor.
Jackie, Carmel, and Janel
MS Counselors
After the Wave Faculty Recital and Art Show Benefit
This event is scheduled for next week on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 in the CCT. The Faculty Art Show and Silent Auction begin at 6:00pm in the CCT Gallery with the Faculty Recital starting at 6:30pm in the CCT. Tickets will be on sale daily during MS and HS lunch breaks in the main cafeteria and in front of the Business Office before and after school. All proceeds go to the After the Wave Foundation in support of ISB’s long term commitment to the R-35 School following the 2004 Tsunami. Hope to see you there.
Anthony Giles
JOIN US IN THE CIRCLE OF LIFE!
Announcing ISB Summer School’s 5th annual Panther Musical Theatre Camp featuring music from The Lion King. As in years past, high school students with a passion for musical theatre will serve as camp counselors for students who will be in grade 4 – 8 in August. The camp itself will run for one week on June 13 – 17, with a public performance at 11:00am on Friday, June 17th. Past productions have included School House Rock, Guys and Dolls, and Hairspray. Application form can be found here.
For complete information on our website about our ISB Summer Program, please click here. Registration is now open with an Early Bird special expiring on Friday, April 29th.
For any questions, please email sumdir16@isb.ac.th
Best Regards,
Maurilio Baron-Toaldo
Summer School Director
International School Bangkok
(Repeat Announcement) Upcoming Parent Sessions
by Dennis Harter
dennish@isb.ac.th
In the coming weeks and month, there will be several of parent sessions specifically targeted for certain purposes, so please be on the lookout for these.
MS Principal’s Forum
Our next Middle School Principal’s Forum will take place on March 29th, 9-11 AM. MS PTA reps will communicate with parents about submitting concerns or questions to be addressed on that day. Please be on the lookout for that communication from them.
Growing our Culture of Care
Throughout the school, we are invested in the social and emotional development of our students. More and more, this is becoming the focus of schools as they prepare young people for success, not just academically, but in life. Once thought of as “soft skills,” in fact, resilience, empathy, collaboration, communication, and responsibility are fundamental to both academic success and long-term happiness. In the coming year, the ISB Middle School will be implementing an Advisory program, which will focus on kids feeling cared for (important if we expect them to learn) and social and emotional development. This semester we are preparing for this implementation, including training, curriculum development, and scheduling. At a future PTA meeting, we will share some of the tenets of the program, along with our hopes for how the students’ experiences will be impacted.
What’s the IB Program?
In grades 11 & 12, students may elect to take courses within or the full IB Diploma Program. That is a long way off for our MS students, but there are still some elements of the program worth knowing even during middle school. In April (date to be determined) we will provide general information sessions for parents on what the program entails, what options there are for students down the road, and what students could or should be doing in the years leading up to grade 11 (as well as the things they don’t need to worry about).
(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.