High School Upcoming events (Please click):
Semester December Exams (Gr. 9 & 10 only)
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
Please find detailed information on December Exams and the Schedule HERE. Note Exams are for Grades 9 and 10 only, with Grades 11 and 12 having regular classes. These Exams are formative, in that indicate one point of achievement on a learning continuum. Feedback on these tasks are incredibly useful and the information given to students and teachers informs further learning. They do, however, form a significant part of Semester grades.
Students can leave school early (before 2:20pm) after an exam by completing an exam early departure form. This form will be posted on the Parent and Student Portals or hard copies can be obtained from the HS Office. Students will need to have a parent-signed, completed form for each instance they wish to leave campus.
Second Semester Course Choices
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
Second semester is not too far away. Students who are considering changing their course choices for second semester should see their counselor in the next week. This is particularly relevant with choices of Science course in Grades 9 & 10. Please note teachers have spoken to students about these choices in recent Science classes. If students have any questions, please contact their counselor.
Counseling News
Kevin Davy
kevind@isb.ac.th
Grade 9
This week in Freshman Seminar students had the opportunity to reflect upon their personal character strengths. The VIA survey on character strengths is a very well researched and established tool to help identify our own personal character strengths. It’s a tool that been used by millions of people all over the world from different cultures. Please ask your son or daughter about their top 5 personal character strengths. Better still, take the survey yourself and compare your strengths. Do you see those strengths in each other? When and how have you used them, or seen your son / daughter use those strengths? Here is a link to the assessment: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register
In the next couple of weeks the school will be looking at semester courses and any adjustments we have to make. You might want to be aware of the following:
- consider asking that school you might move to (If you know it) what their science requirements are. In the past we have had some students take Chemistry 2 instead of Biology 1 or Physics 1 second semester. This is because sometimes students need a full year of Chemistry to transfer. This is often the case when transferring to the U.S.A
- The master schedule is tight and there is not a lot of flexibility for movement to accommodate changed electives.
- From time to time to balance courses etc we sometimes have to switch core courses. If this happens we always make the best effort to keep you with your current teacher for that course.
- Think about your Freshman Seminar / Free Period this semester – how has that helped you balance your time and commitments. Over half students elect for the free period. If you find that you have a full schedule and you would like me to take an elective out for a free period – please let me know ASAP.
- If you chose Biology and now want Physics – or visa versa – let me know ASAP.
Grade 10
10th graders have been continuing in Advisory in thinking about what they might like to do in the future. Activities and exploration have included enhancing their understandings of their strengths, understanding what careers in different areas/industries entail, and looking at strategies that successful people have used in reaching their goals in career and life. It seems that many of your sons and daughters have a very good sense of their strengths and how that can help them be successful in the future.
Lots of teens are worried about themselves because they are constantly comparing themselves with others. That’s part of being a teenager and dealing with self-esteem and peer issues. How can you help? It’s never too late to help support a child’s self-esteem. Take a look at this short article on helping boost adolescents’ self esteem:
https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/raising-your-teens-self-esteem/#.WDanvVtQlD4
Grade 11
Counselors met this past Thursday with 11th graders in their 2nd Junior Seminar to visualize and identify what an ideal college that best fits their needs and wants looks like. Juniors learned how to properly research universities and the resources available to help them get started.
Student Homework – Students need to research 2 universities and write a self recommendation. Guidelines were handed out and reviewed in the seminar and can also be accessed on Haiku.
Parent Homework – You also have an assignment called “Parent Perspectives.” This is your chance to share very helpful information about your student with the counselor as begin to move forward with the college process. You can complete this on the paper given to your students, or on a Word document (students can download from Haiku), or through your own parent Naviance account.
The student and parent assignments are due by Monday, January 16…but of course earlier is always better!
Mark your calendars! Junior College Night is scheduled for Wednesday, January 18 at 6:30pm in the MPB. Both 11th grade students and parents are encouraged to attend when we officially kick off the college search and application process.
Last month, 11th graders took the PSAT. CollegeBoard has designed a new system for PSAT score delivery to students this year. According to CollegeBoard, results should arrive electronically to students around December 12. To understand more about what the reports mean, access the following video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzCSIilL3WQ
Grade 12
This has been a busy week with students turning in transcript requests (officially notifying their counselor and ISB of where they plan to apply).
Please remind your student to schedule an appointment to submit their applications sooner, rather than later. All applications to universities with December and January deadlines need to be submitted with the counselor by Thursday, December 15. We suggest that students applying to Canada submit their applications prior to the December break as well.
College News
Here is the link to university visits for the upcoming week:
https://sites.google.com/a/isb.ac.th/isb-hs-university-advising/university-visit-calendar
MS/HS Choir Concert – 6:30pm Thursday, December 1 in the Chevron Theatre
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Please join the HS, MS, and ISB Community Choirs along with the newly formed Nichada Chamber Orchestra in the Chevron Theatre at 6:30 pm on Thursday December 1 for a musical Tribute to His Majesty The King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The concert will feature Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” and Eric Whitacre’s “Cloudburst” which uses the human voice to simulate the sounds of a rainstorm as well as a special arrangement of the King’s Anthem sung by all.
MS Band Concert
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
The MS Band Concert will be held on Tuesday, November 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the Chevron Theater (free admission). The concert features compositions by King Bhumibol Aduylayadej and jazz influences in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Over 200 students in 3 bands (Beginning, Concert and Symphonic Band) will be performing. They will be sharing what they have learned this semester and will showcase progress of each individual ensemble–all tied to the curriculum of the MS Band Program.
eNewsletter Guidelines
Shelley Bragg
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.
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.