Spirit Night – This Friday, Sept. 23
By: Derrick Quinet, Athletics Director
derrickq@isb.ac.th
This Friday is Black & Gold Day and Spirit Night at ISB. Don’t miss all the fun and competitions, beginning at 4pm and running into the evening. 26 teams will participate in annual volleyball and soccer invitational tournaments, including UNIS, CMIS, Prem, BS-Phuket, and Grace. All our favorite food vendors will be on site and the Boosters will be slinging spirit gear and selling pretzels, so bring the whole family for dinner and unmatched ISB community spirit!
Bangkok International Strings Festival Concert: Sat Sep 24th
By: Todd Weinhold, Director, Panther Orchestras
toddw@isb.ac.th
Join us for the festival’s final concert at ISB’s Cultural Center Theater at 2:00pm on Saturday, September 24.
ISB is once again hosting the sixth annual Bangkok International Strings Festival this September 23-24! Soon, 75 high school orchestra students from international schools in Bangkok and Phuket will be coming together at ISB for 2 days of excellent music. The students get to work with a very accomplished guest conductor who will be flying to Bangkok from Minnesota, USA for the occasion.
The guest conductor, Mary Sorlie, was awarded the 2011 Minnesota String Orchestra Teachers Association’s Master Teacher Award. Ms. Sorlie is a frequent guest conductor and string clinician in the Midwest and is a member of WolfGang, a sextet which performs music of the 18th century. She resides in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband Chuck and wonder dog, Lacie.
The festival orchestra will be performing a varied concert program, including works by Percy Fletcher, Antoinin Dvorak, and 20th century composer Norman Dello Joio.
This is going to be a great experience for Bangkok-area high school strings musicians and an excellent performance! Join us for the festival’s final concert at ISB’s Cultural Center Theater at 2:00pm on Saturday, September 24. Hope to see you there!
Todd Weinhold
Director, Panther Orchestras
International School Bangkok
Board of Trustees Vacant Positions
By: Eric Ma, BOT Chair
The ISB Board of Trustees wishes to announce two vacant positions on the Board, which formerly were occupied by Marc De Vries and Nisha Westerman. We invite applications from members of the ISA community to be considered for these positions. The successful candidates will serve until the next AGM. If you are interested, please complete the attached Board of Trustees Candidate CV and send it to the Committee on Trustees, c/o Elizabeth Bredin, at esbredin@gmail.com. The deadline for the submission of CVs is 12:00 noon, September 29, 2016.
Booster Club Meeting Monday September 26th at 11:00 a.m.
By: Laura Sadowski
lsadowski65@yahoo.com
Booster Club Meeting Monday September 26th at 11:00 a.m.
All are welcome! Join us in the MPB and learn more about the important things our students are doing in Athletics, Arts, and Academics, and how you can help us support them!
The Booster Hut is open every Friday!
By: Laura Sadowski, Booster President
lsadowski65@yahoo.com
New travel coffee mugs have arrived! New sweatshirts and T-shirts are coming soon! Shop every Friday for ISB spirit items, caps, bags, gifts, water bottles, and more! We are located next to the MS/HS cafeteria and we are open from 8:45am-2:45pm on Fridays. Volunteer for a shift by clicking here: Booster Hut Volunteer
Reminder: Later bus times on Friday
By: Suthida (Pu) Jiravichai, Transportation Supervisor
suthidaj@isb.ac.th
Dear all,
Please be reminded of the revised school bus times on Fridays:
First bus: departs at 2:35 pm.
Second bus: departs at 3:50 pm.
Third bus: departs at 4:35 pm
Health Clinic: Mosquitoes and Disease
By: Sally Plomley, ISB Health Clinic
nurse@isb.ac.th
Mosquito bites can be annoying due to local itchiness and swelling. We also need to think about diseases that are spread to us through mosquito bites. In Thailand, there are several diseases that can be spread by mosquitoes.
Dengue Fever
- Spread by Aedes mosquito.
- 4 different types of virus cause it so you can get the disease more than once (and tends to be worse each time you get it).
- Symptoms include fevers, headache, muscle aches and pains, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea, rash, bleeding from gums and nose.
- Can develop Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever as you get better where you bleed excessively and this can be fatal.
- Can not be spread directly human to human. Spread by human to mosquito to human.
- Diagnosed by symptoms and can be detected on a blood test.
- Treatment is for symptom relief only. There are no antiviral medications that are effective.
- Dengue fever illness tends to be more severe each time you get exposed to a strain of the virus so if you have had it in the past you must take extra precautions to prevent getting it again.
- Prevention is by mosquito avoidance (see below). A vaccine is being developed but is not currently available in Thailand.
Zika
- Spread by the Aedes mosquito.
- Caused by a virus.
- Cases have occurred in Thailand since 2012. There has been a recent increase in the number of cases but this may be due to increased testing due to public awareness of the virus. There have been on average 20 new cases a week according to Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health.
- Spread through mosquitos and can also be sexually transmitted.
- Symptoms are usually mild and include low grade fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle aches, joint pains, fatigue and headaches.
- It has now been found to be associated with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (where the immune system attacks the nerves) and birth abnormalities in babies born to women who were infected whilst pregnant (microcephaly or small heads). None of these complications have been reported in Thailand, however, extra precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitos should be taken by women (and their partners) who are pregnant or trying to conceive (see below). If a pregnant woman is concerned she has Zika she should contact her doctor for further advice.
- Treatment is for symptom relief only. There are no antiviral medications that are effective.
- Prevention is by mosquito avoidance (see below) and safe sexual practices following infection (for 6 months for a male and 8 weeks for a female). There is no vaccine available.
Chikungunya
- Spread by Aedes mosquito.
- Caused by a virus.
- Can not be spread directly human to human. Spread by human to mosquito to human.
- Symptoms include high fever, joint pain and swelling, muscle pain, rash, headache, fatigue and nausea.
- Treatment is for symptom relief only. There are no antiviral medications that are effective.
- Prevention is by mosquito avoidance (see below)
Japanese Encephalitis
- Spread by the Culex mosquito.
- Caused by a virus.
- Most people will have no symptoms or very mild symptoms which include fever and headaches. 1 in 250 will get severe disease with inflammation of the brain which may cause permanent brain damage and/or death.
- Treatment is for symptom relief only. There are no antiviral medications that are effective.
- Prevention is by mosquito avoidance (see below). Vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis is recommended for people living in an endemic area (which includes Thailand).
Malaria
- Spread by the Anopheles mosquito.
- Caused by a parasite called Plasmodium (5 different species).
- Symptoms include fevers (which may go up and down), profuse sweating, chills, malaise, muscle aches, headache, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and cough.
- Treatable infection if diagnosed early and treated with appropriate antimalarial medications.
- Prevention is by mosquito avoidance (see below) and by taking antimalarial prophylaxis if travelling to a high risk area. Bangkok is considered a low risk area for malaria and mosquito avoidance is the recommended preventative measure whilst living here.
Mosquito Avoidance
As outlined above there are many diseases that can be spread by mosquitoes and mosquito avoidance is one of the main preventative measures that should be employed. This avoidance should be all day and night not just in the dusk and dawn period as some of the species carrying disease are active during the day and others at night.
Mosquito avoidance measures include:
- Wearing loose light coloured clothing that covers as much skin as possible.
- Using mosquito nets to sleep under (including daytime naps)
- Prevent mosquitoes entering the house with screens on door and windows and keeping doors closed.
- Use of insect repellant which contains DEET, IR3535 or icaridin.
- Eliminate stagnant water in which mosquitoes can breed from around the house.
- Consider the use of mosquito coils/fans outside doors that are frequently opened.
- Discuss with landlord use of insecticide sprays in the compound you live in.
ISB is committed to your child’s overall development, both educationally and health related. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your healthcare provider or the ISB Health Clinic (nurse@isb.ac.th).
Adult Education – Registration is Now Open!
By: Gabriela AF, ISB PTA Adult Education Coordinator
ISBAdultEd@gmail.com
(0907978728)
A wide variety of classes for all adults in our community are waiting for you!
Please have a look at the class catalogue by clicking here: https://inside.isb.ac.th/parentportal/files/2012/02/Class-Catalogue-Fall-2016-1.pdf
To sign up, for as many classes as you wish, please click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5msWLNOuY9Daa_ScPvnBPDG_VvY8fUpAWTzC8shDuv7db2A/viewform
The online registration and payment period is running now till the end of Monday 26th, don’t miss the chance to enjoy some of these great classes!
For further information, please go to the link below, where you will also find the class catalogue and the “Registration button”. https://inside.isb.ac.th/parentportal/adulteducation/
Thank you and enjoy the classes!
BBSA – Baseball and softball registration is now open for the 2016-17 season
By: Kevin Sypolt
ksypolt@gmail.com
Bangkok Baseball Softball Association (BBSA) has organized baseball/softball play for the past 56 years in Bangkok. There are leagues for boys and girls ages 4 yrs – 18 yrs. Please note registration is open from now until November 11th. We must register players now so we have time to hold player assessments, form teams and order player uniforms before play begins. Current fees per player are THB 3,600. Registration fees will increase to THB 4,100 on November 12th so be sure to register before that date.
You can make your payment at the Community Activity Office (CAO) or pay by Thai bank wire transfer. Cash, credit cards and Thai baht checks are accepted for payment at the CAO office. The CAO Office is open Monday – Friday, 7:00AM to 11:00AM and 12:00PM to 3:00PM.
Please note that BBSA is switching to fast pitch softball for the intermediate and senior girls softball leagues this year since ISB high school will begin playing fast pitch softball this year in IASAS competition.
Player assessment will be held on Sunday November 13th at the ISB fields. All players are strongly encouraged to attend their assessment sessions to allow the coaches to create fair and balanced teams. Parents will be contacted about the specific times for their player’s assessment session.
Practices will begin the week of Nov 14th with Opening Day for baseball/softball on Saturday, Nov 19th. All games are played on Friday evenings and Saturdays at ISB. Games will continue every weekend until the league championships the weekend of February 25th/26th. There will be no games during the winter break at ISB but we will continue play on Saturday, January 7th 2017. The game schedule will be published once we know how many players are registered.
All teams will practice once per week during the season as a weekly practice is important to skills development and to learn the fundamentals of teamwork, etc. Most practices will take place at the ISB fields on weekday evenings (Monday – Thursday). The team coach will determine when to have practice. We have arranged a downtown Bangkok location for an optional weekly practice. Parents will have to pay THB 500 for the season for this practice because of field charges. We are waiting to confirm which day we can have the practice but all players should register to play even if they cannot commit to attending all weekly practice sessions.
On the registration form you will also have an opportunity to volunteer to be a coach, assistant coach or team parent. Please consider helping out with your child’s team in some way. The kids really love having their parents helping out with their team and you will have a great time. No previous baseball experience is necessary.
BBSA has purchased a limited number of fielding gloves for players who need them. These will be sold on our assessment day.
Please go to https://www.isb.ac.th/
Go Panthers! Exchange Weekend Update
By: Derrick Quinet, Athletics Director
derrickq@isb.ac.th
Last weekend was a very successful one for our ISB Panthers! The inaugural Thailand Cross Country Invitational was a huge success in Kanchanaburi, with twelve APAC/IASAS schools participating and over two hundred runners competing. The competition was fierce but our Panthers proved precocious enough to nab the boys team CHAMPIONSHIP! Congrats to Coach Dan Bentley and the team on a dominant performance. The girls ran hard and placed well, and Coach David Giles will have them primed for the IASAS championship next month. All of the athletes were exemplary ambassadors of the school and carried themselves like true champions throughout the weekend. We are proud of you! Full results and videos are here. Check out all the great photos HERE.
ISB also hosted the IASAS Soccer Exchange North, and Coaches David Spiers and Basil Tahan showed the Panthers will be tough to beat in Jakarta next month. The boys tied Manila 0-0, then beat TAS 2-0. The girls team took on a tough Taipei team in the opener and went down 4-0, but Coaches Adam Kirk and Lee O’Rourke rallied the squad to draw with Manila 1-1. Thanks to Harold Albert, Bob Connor, and Mark Jaspers for running yet another first-class event!
The boys and girls varsity volleyball teams traveled south to Singapore, and both teams were undefeated after four games on Friday. Saturday’s games provided some tough competition and opportunities for everyone to play, and both teams wrapped up with a strong performance in their last game of the afternoon. Congratulations to all our players and to our Coaches Colin Stephenson, Cameron Mackey, Sarah Barnes, and Joe Barnes for their extra effort and dedication over the long weekend.
Don’t miss your opportunity to see our volleyball and soccer teams in action, this weekend at the ISB Friendship Tournament, Friday and Saturday Sept. 23-24.
22nd Annual Bangkok International Choir Festival (BICF)
By: Ms. Coleen Mann, MS Choir
coleenp@isb.ac.th.
The 22nd Annual Bangkok International Choir Festival (BICF) will be held Friday and Saturday, October 7 and 8, 2016 and will feature ISB’s HS and MS choirs along with twelve other visiting choirs from as far away as Jakarta, Indonesia. Unique to this year’s festival will be the addition of special guest group, the award winning Male Ensemble Northwest (listen here), or M.E.N. as they are called. Join us for the M.E.N. Feature Concert* (200THB) on Friday, October 7 at 6:00pm in the Chevron Theatre and the BICF Gala Concert (FREE) featuring the 400 student MS and HS Massed Choir on Saturday, September 8 at 2pm also in the Chevron Theatre.
*BICF participants will be given tickets for the Friday night M.E.N. Concert as part of their involvement in the festival. Starting Wednesday, September 28 a limited number of tickets for the general public will be available for purchase at the MS/HS lunches in the ISB cafeteria, or by contacting Ms. Coleen Mann at coleenp@isb.ac.th.
Panther Pops will be sold on Friday, September 30th.
By: Alyson Espinoza
alysonespinoza@gmail.com
Our popular chocolate chip cookie on a stick will be sold in front of the Booster Hut on Friday September 30th all day, while supplies last. Don’t forget to send in 30 baht for this once-a-month treat. We are always looking for more bakers as supply does not always meet demand! Contact Alyson at alysonespinoza@gmail.com if you would like to become a Panther Pop baker.
Cafeteria News: Do you know where to find our menus?
By: Michelle Mueller Ihrig, Epicure Catering – Manager
cafeteria@isb.ac.th
To make the lunch choices easily available and easier to make, all menus across school can now either be found: 1) on the website for ES here , 2) on the student daily bulletin for HS/MS. The menus list the offerings of the week and include most of the main offerings along with the allergy information listed beneath. Salad Bar items and the live feature station and sandwich feature in HS/MS are not included as the variation is too large.
Especially for those in ES, we encourage parents to print the weekly menu and go over the daily offering with your children, which in turn makes it easier for them to make a choice and create a balanced meal. All menus across campus tend to rotate on a rough monthly basis, as we monitor what is popular, make adjustments and incorporate new items. Your feedback is always welcome.
Enjoy!
Michelle Mueller Ihrig
Epicure Catering – Manager at ISB
cafeteria@isb.ac.th
eNews Guidelines
By: Shelley Bragg, Director of Marketing and Communications
shelleyb@isb.ac.th
ISB eNewsletters provide a valuable avenue for communication within the ISB parent community. For your convenience we have provided you with our eNewsletter guidelines below.
Submitting an announcement for publication
ISB accepts announcements from ISB families 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
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.
phremjiz@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 Director of Marketing and Communications 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.