High School Upcoming events (Please click):
A New Counseling Model
Philip Bradley
philipb@isb.ac.th
In the 2017/18 academic year, the ISB High School Counseling model will be restructured through the allocation of distinct “college” and “school” counselors. The department will consist of four College Counselors and three School Counselors, which is a change from the current model of six Comprehensive Counselors.
The School Counselors’ focus will be on academic advising and overall social and emotional support of all students grades 9-12. College Counselors will support students in the university and college application process. College Counselors will be assigned in grade 11 and will be involved in the IB course selection process that takes place in grade 10.
Based on research and needs of the ISB community, we feel this model will best support the overall well-being and academic potential of our students. This change also aligns with other International Schools in the region and many top U.S. schools.
Students and parents will be provided with additional details throughout this semester as we plan for the implementation in August 2017.
HS PTA Thursday 26th January at 6:30 pm
Philip Bradley
philipb@isb.ac.th
Please note this is a CHANGE of time.
Our next HS PTA meeting will focus on proposed changes to the grading system and transcript currently used in HS. Several presentations have been made on this topic previously but if you have missed them and would like to hear more please come along.
Philip Bradley
Excusing Absences
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
As a reminder as we begin semester two, any absence for HS students should be excused by parents via a phone call to the HS Attendance secretary, Khun Gade 02 963 5883 (ext. 3305). It is appreciated if this phone call can be received before 8.30am so that we can alert teachers early.
It is important that we receive this parental contact, because without it, your child is marked as absent (X). Unexcused absences may result in additional consequences.
You can see whether your child has been marked absent (X) on any day using PowerSchool. If we receive confirmation from parents that the absence is excused, then we adjust the code to reflect that (AbE -Absent Excused or I -Ill). Please help us to ensure we best understand reasons for your child missing school.
Please note if a student misses a class during the day, they should not participate in co-curricular activities on that day without prior approval from the Dean of Students.
For extended absences, parents should email counsellors and also copy in Andy Vaughan (andyv@isb.ac.th) and Khun Gade(sasivimb@isb.ac.th) for approval.
Schedule Changes
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
Most students have settled on their schedules for the semester. Please note that the final day for schedule changes is Wednesday 18th January.
Grade 10 ISA Testing
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
On the mornings of Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th February all Grade 10 students will be completing the International Schools Assessment (ISA) in Mathematical Literacy, Reading and Writing. Please note, this is a change from the original date of February 6th & 7th as advertised on the ISB Calendar. This assessment is conducted in grades 3, 5, 7 and 10 at ISB and the results are used to provide patterns in learning and assist in charting future direction. More information will be given closer to the event.
Counseling News
Andrew Weiser
andreww@isb.ac.th
All
Link to College Visits:
https://sites.google.com/a/isb.ac.th/isb-hs-university-advising/university-visit-calendar
Grade 9
It was great to see a confidence in our returning 9th graders after the completion of their first high school semester.
Quite a few 9th graders have been dropping in for some minor adjustments to their schedules. All students have until next Wednesday January 18th to request a potential change. One consideration for transferring students is the science course they are taking. We had discussed last semester that if a student is transferring and if they know the school they might attend, then they should look at its requirements for science. Many of the students who know they are transferring have elected to take Chemistry 2 this semester which will allow many schools to accept a full credit of Chemistry.
In regards to transferring schools, a lot of private schools in the U.S have deadlines during January and February. We have already received several for those who might or are transferring. February 1st is a popular deadline for some schools. If you are looking at a school with this deadline then your family should contact Kuhn Fon our registrar in the counseling office immediately for setting up transfer of documents. In addition, all teachers and counselors should be informed of any required recommendations immediately, thus providing adequate time for a quality response.
Kuhn Fon contact email: supanniy@isb.ac.th
Counseling Office phone number: 02 963 5887
Grade 10
It’s been a long first week back, but hopefully the second semester has started well for your sons and daughters. There have been a few schedule changes to begin the semester, but most students are all set and moving forward with their classes. The first month of the second semester is really hectic, with IASAS competitions, 3rd season tryouts, and GCW all coming in successive weeks. Organization is key for keeping up! We’re looking forward to a great semester with your sons and daughters! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact your student’s counselor.
Grade 11
Next week will be a busy one as ISB HS Counselors kick off the college search and application process with Juniors and their families.
• Monday, January 16 – Junior Assignment Due (Parent Perspectives, Student Self Recommendation, and Research for 2 colleges)
• Wednesday, January 18 – Junior College Night 6:30pm CCT – 11th grade students and parents attend this event hosted by counselors giving an overview of the college search process, ISB policies, procedures, and programs to support students.
• Thursday, January 19 – Junior Seminar #3 – 11th grade students attend a session during Panther Block with their counselor to begin preparing for the Student Led Junior Conference. The Junior Conference is a meeting with the student, their parents, and their counselor.
As a reminder, all parents have access to the ISB College Counseling website linked on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. On this site, everyone can access specific information related to college admissions including a calendar of all college visits to ISB.
Grade 12
Welcome Back! It’s hard to believe IB exams are around the corner and graduation will be in five months. If a Senior applied to a US university, the counseling office will send their mid-year reports (first semester grades) by the end of the month. Students need to do nothing, as we’ll automatically send these.
High School Counseling
The Chinese Food Fair
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
The Chinese Food Fair will be held on Feb 3, 2017 to promote Chinese culture and cuisine in the HS cafeteria area. There will also be Chinese arts and crafts available for sale. The time is between 10am-2pm.
TED Talks Thursday January 19 at 6:30
David Giles
davidg@isb.ac.th
TED Talks Thursday January 19 at 6:30 in the CC! Come to the 5th Annual ISB TED event and listen to 10 inspiring talks from Grade 11 students. These students were selected by their peers to represent their English class and they are the best of the best. It’s a powerful event that you won’t forget. Let’s make ISB proud and pack the house. Light refreshments at intermission.
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.