By: Dr. Andrew Davies, Head of School
andrewd@isb.ac.th
Each passing school year is one of learning, growth and development for our students, our school, and our community. This year marked a significant milestone in ISB’s history as we proudly celebrated our 65th school year. It was also a significant year for our future as we embarked on new and exciting initiatives that will help improve student learning and the ISB student experience for many years to come.
We launched our new Vision and Mission
Our vision is what drives us and our mission is what guides us. As a school, we aim to help students achieve their potential both as learners and as people, and we made a small but significant change to our mission statement to better reflect this. After three years of research, we also developed a new vision statement for ISB, the driving force behind what we do and what education for the future is all about.
We began construction on our Environmental Wilderness Campus
Construction of our EWC in Petchburi Province is coming along well. We are very much looking forward to the official opening in November of 2017 and all that the outdoor education program and the facility can add to the ISB student experience. Take a look at the sneak preview here.
Inclusion
We have taken the lead in inclusive international education. In August 2017, we will open our first Intensive Learning Needs Classroom for Elementary students and in future years we will extend this to the Middle School and the High School.
Developments in High School
As we send off our 60th class of graduates, who are attending universities all around the world, we feel incredibly proud but also mindful of our ongoing duty to prepare our students for life beyond ISB. To continue to do this, from August, we will have 7 counselors in the High School: 3 focused on social and emotional well-being and support and 4 dedicated to College Counseling and preparation. We will also transition in the High School from a 13 point (A+ – F) percentage derived letter scale to an IB 1-7 scale that uses learner outcomes and performance descriptors from the IB. This is the result of a multi year research process and will provide greater clarity to our students with respect to how they are performing.
Native Languages
We continue to develop our native language offerings to serve our diverse, international community. Over 40 languages are spoken by ISB students and our intention is to work with every interested language community in providing opportunities for language development. In the HS and MS, we are now offering French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish and Thai during the school day. K-12 we are working with 12 language groups after school.
These are only a few examples of what happens at ISB in order for us to constantly ensure that the best learning, the best teaching, and the best care are taking place for students and our community members. It is a community effort and we are very thankful for your ongoing support, involvement and commitment.
For those students and families departing ISB, we wish you all the very best and please know that you will be Panthers for life. We thank you for being a part of our community and hope that ISB will always have a special place in your hearts.
To our new and returning families, we look forward to seeing you in August for another great ISB year of learning, caring and enjoyment.
Wishing you a restful and enjoyable summer holiday.
All the best,
Andy