by Dennis Harter
dennish@isb.ac.th
Once again, we are looking forward to engaging in conversation with you about your child’s learning next week on Thursday and Friday, March 9th and 10th. On these days, school will not be in session for students. We highly encourage that your child accompany you to the conferences to meet with the teachers.
Like last semester, we will go with the “arena” format for conferences. This means that all MS teachers will be in one venue and parents will attend a session during which they can see all of their child’s teachers. Once again, we will use the gymnasium at the new sports complex for this, with tables, chairs, and refreshments set up for this purpose. The feedback from the last conferences were positive.
We require that parents sign up for sessions of 2 hour blocks. These blocks will have limits on the number representing a grade level to ensure that teachers have time to see everyone in the block. Thursday and Friday each will have three of these blocks with short breaks built in for teachers to re-energize after all that talking!
Please follow this link to access the “Pick a Time” site, which handles the conference bookings. Parents should sign up for one 2 hour block as that should be enough time. If you have more than one child in the MS, please book twice in the same block. This will ensure that block doesn’t get too crowded.
It is best to arrive at the start of the session. If you do arrive later, please ensure that you have at least one hour remaining in your block to see all the teachers you want to see. We have built in some limited time at the ends of sessions to handle continuing conversations.
Instructions for using the “Pick a Time” booking system can be found here.
Grades will be updated by the end of the week in PowerSchool, which should give you a picture of how your child is faring in her or his classes. With focused conversations on your child’s learning at the conferences, a few minutes with each teacher is more than enough to get an accurate picture of how your child is progressing. We have directed our teachers – and ask you – to spend no more than 5 minutes per conference as a courtesy to those waiting. If you have a conversation that would require more time than that, or that would require more privacy, an appointment for another day is advised.
Due to some professional development conflicts, Ms. Coady, Ms. Kinsella, Mr. Ruhl, Mr. Poling, and Mr. Udagawa will not be at the conferences this term. Please contact them separately if you would like to
Sessions for MS Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences
Thursday, March 9
- Session 1: 7:10 to 9:10
- Session 2: 9:30 to 11:30
- Session 3: 12:30 to 14:30
Friday, March 10
- Session 1: 7:10 to 9:10
- Session 2: 9:30 to 11:30
- Session 3: 12:30 to 14:30
In this week’s eNews we will provide more information about accessing PowerSchool.