Ryan Haynes
ryanh@isb.ac.th
Grade 9
This week our Grade 9 students took an executive skills self-assessment. These are brain based skills that help us to effectively execute or perform a task or solve problems. As students step towards independence, these skills become increasingly important. We all have strengths and weaknesses in these areas. The 11 areas that students self-assessed where: response inhibition, working memory, flexibility, sustained attention, task initiation, planning / prioritization, organization, time management, goal directed persistence, meta-cognition. Mr. Davy hopes to review these individually with students. You may want to ask your student about what they believed there strengths and weaknesses are with executive skills. They are different for everybody based upon experience and physiology. Mr. Davy will also be looking to hold a book club for parents later in the school year surrounding this topic.
Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD), a nonprofit organization that provides alcohol, tobacco, and other drug education and prevention programs to schools throughout the United States and abroad, met with our 9th graders this week in freshman seminar. Prior to this session, Mr. Davy also held a healthy choices session with students, which included discussion of refusal techniques and the effects of alcohol on the teenage brain.
Grade 10
Sophomores: Sign-up for Global Citizenship Week for 10th graders opens at 7:00pm on Monday, 26 September. Be sure and go over the courses that your 10th grader is interested in and find ones that fit your budget and desired learning outcomes. You can find information about GCW at this link
We encourage parents to keep track of the progress of their sons and daughters. Looking on PowerSchool once a week or so will help you to keep up to date on their performance and attitudes to learning. (No need to look every day and add to the stress of your son or daughter.) Seeing their progress in PowerSchool will help you in having conversations with their teachers in the upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences (two weeks from Friday on October 7th). The best starting point is the HAL (habits and attitudes to learning) mark for your son or daughter. Ask the teacher to comment on that HAL mark; it will be a good conversation starter!
Grade 11
The most important priority for students right now is focusing on doing their best in classes and continuing to pursue their unique areas of interest whether it’s through clubs, activities, sports, or other outside interests. Parents can provide a lot of support to students by:
- Encouraging your Junior to ask questions in class, engage with their teachers and peers, and focus on genuine learning, not grades and GPA.
- Focus on providing positive support to students and having balanced conversations that don’t always revolve around school, grades, college, etc. Students need your wisdom and guidance bringing balance and helping put these things in the bigger picture of life.
- Continue to spend time together as a family whether for meals, or simply just being around and available.
The PSAT will be offered to all 11th grade students on Wednesday, October 19 during the school day. Any student who is confident they will not need the SAT (or ACT) should see their counselor to opt out of this test by October 3. Students received more information about this test on September 7.
Grade 12
This week several students attended the Grade 12 University Essay Workshop that was held during Panther Block. Next Tuesday, students applying to schools in the UK will have an opportunity to attend a Personal Statement Workshop.
On Monday, seniors will meet with their counselor for Senior Seminar #2. During this session students will be reminded of important dates and deadlines related to the university application process and when and how to ask for help. In addition, students will self-predict their IB grades. By mid-October teachers will release IB predicted grades.
Students applying to universities in Korea, Japan, Australia, and other countries with later application deadlines, are encouraged to continue focusing on doing their best academically. Students with university deadlines in the next couple of months need to be aware of the following:
- Teacher Recommendations – Students should have already asked teachers for these, completed the form, and submitted to their counselor for approval.
- Early applications – Transcript request forms for universities with deadlines in November are due by October 7.
- Transcript Requests – Requests for application documents (i.e. transcripts and letters of recommendation) from ISB for university deadlines between December and January are due by November 21.
Your students are working hard as they manage busy schedules both in and out of school. Thank you for your continued support.
Upcoming University Visits to ISB and greater Bangkok area (please click on link below):