MS Principal’s Forum – Tuesday, 9-10:30
by Dennis Harter
Next week, the Middle School administration will host our semester 1 Principal’s Forum in MPB 3 on Tuesday, 9:00 to 10:30 AM. For those that cannot attend, we will be recording the audio from the event. The Principal’s Forum is a meeting opportunity for the administration to address parent concerns with explanation and discussion. Issues and concerns have been collected by the MS PTA representatives and shared with the administration prior to the meeting. While not all questions are addressed in the meeting, we select the ones that are most conducive to explanation and live discussion. Issues not addressed at the forum are answered in written form in the eNews.
For the upcoming Forum on Tuesday, our agenda will focus on:
- Learning Feedback– parents feel like they don’t have a good sense of how their child is doing in their learning. Timeliness, timing, quality and quantity of information, and standards based reporting all contribute to this feeling for parents.
- Grading– explanation of Standards Based Reporting and why this is best for student learning. What are we doing to help maximize the benefits of this for students?
- Communication– what ways do parents have to surface concerns? What are the best ways to resolve those concerns? How do parents know their concerns have been addressed or attended to?
- Student laptops – how are they impacting students wellness?
- Other questions– medical procedures at school; note taking; HS supply requirements; field trips; sharing successes.
We hope you can join us for the forum session.
Social media Tips to protect Teen Privacy
by Dennis Harter
Middle school is a natural age for young people to be exploring social contexts and behavior. Middle school students are testing boundaries using a brain that is predisposed to social gratification. “What other kids think” is often very important to students at this age. Social media adds a complexity to this through 24/7 contact with peers and the more public sharing of personal details and ideas.
The most important part of keeping your children safe in social media environment is regular conversation with your children about how and what they use it for. Open discussion about your fears and how your children can stay safe helps your child make sound decisions when issues arise.
An added complication comes from the public nature of social media and the possible contact with strangers online.
A June Wired magazine article highlighted some ways to protect your child’s privacy in social media. Despite the unfortunate title, there are some good suggestions here for privacy settings that provide a more protected social media environment. Talk to your students about which applications they use and whether their settings and use protect them from any unwanted attention.
Interested in what the kids are interested in?
by Dennis Harter
After school every day we have a growing group of students coming together with shared passions. Rubik’s cubes, Minecraft, these are just some of the ways students like to teach and learn from each other and socialize. There are some days after school when our teachers are booked in meetings, work with students, coaching, and/or professional development. For those times, we are wondering whether there are parents who share in these interests and want to work with students in a relaxed, after-school setting. Of course, any interest in working with ISB students requires background and security check, in keeping with our Child Safeguarding policies and procedures. Please contact me via email if you are interested in learning how you can help.
BOARDING SCHOOL APPLICATIONS – REMINDER
By MS Counselors
If you are applying for boarding school the deadline to begin this process is today!
If you have not contacted the school counselor for your child’s grade you must do this early next week. You can make an appointment with your counselor or have any questions about the process answered by contacting the MS School Counselor Secretary, Khun Natt.
Applications received after November 11th will not be processed before winter break. They will be processed in January, second semester.
SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS
If you are considering applying for summer school in the July 2017 summer break please contact the MS counseling office to begin this process.
LEAVING ISB
If you are leaving ISB at the end of the semester could you please let our admissions office know so that we can begin the process of gathering documents you may require for any new schools. We very much appreciate your assistance with this so that we can manage any demands for assistance you may require.
Last 10 days to register for baseball/softball for 2016-17 season
If you have not yet had a chance to register, please do not delay.
Once teams are formed, it is unlikely additional players will be permitted to register. So please register to avoid disappointment.
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 4-18. Please note registration is open from now until November 11th. Current fees per player are THB 3,600. Registration fees will increase to THB 4,100 on November 12th so be sure to register prior to that date.
Please click here to go to the BBSA website. You will see the registration link there.
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 this year since ISB high school will begin playing fast pitch softball this year in IASAS competition.
Player assessments will be held on Sunday November 13th at the ISB Fields. Assessment sessions allow the coaches to create fair and balanced teams. Assessment sessions are NOT tryouts. All registered players will be placed on a team. See the attached assessment schedule for Sunday, November 13th.
Practices will begin during the week of November 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 24-25. There will be no games during the winter break at ISB but we will continue play on Saturday, January 7th 2017.
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 after 5:00pm (Monday – Thursday). We have arranged a downtown Bangkok location for an optional weekly practice at NIST on Friday evenings Parents will have to pay THB 500 for the season for this practice because NIST charges for field usage. 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 children 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 days on Sunday, Nov 13th. Please note that the BBSA no longer has any baseball cleats to sell. So parents who want baseball cleats will need to obtain them on your own.
If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Sypolt at ksypolt@gmail.com