High School Upcoming events (Please click):
‘Fresh Start’
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Well the freshness and excitement of the new school year was very evident this week, particularly on Tuesday when everyone returned to school after their summer (or winter) breaks. For those of you following the ISB Facebook page you would have seen great images of friends reconnecting and hanging around the Panther at the foot of the ‘zig zag’ entrance to the school. As a newcomer it was wonderful to see this spirit and friendship shine through even on the first day of school.
I also enjoyed the opportunity to visit many classes over the past three days to see our wonderful teachers in action, setting the scene for the year ahead as they begin their journey of learning with the students in their care. Varsity tryouts also kicked off on Tuesday afternoon and large numbers of our students took to the fields and courts for Soccer (Football), Cross Country and Volleyball. Whilst not all players will make the Varsity team, there was great spirit and excitement during the tryouts. For those that do not make the Varsity team, please do stay involved and participate in the JV teams in the weeks ahead.
Take a few moments to engage your children into discussions about school and how the start of the year has been for them. I am sure that the majority of our students will be positive about their start, but it is not unusual for some students to be a little less enthusiastic about the return to school. Do encourage them to speak with their teachers, advisors and/or counselors if there are any matters (large or small) as we are all here to help.
Have a great weekend.
Regards
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
PTA meeting
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
I had the pleasure this afternoon of meeting with the HS PTA reps for this year, Vartika Bawa and Rebecca Armstrong to discuss and confirm the agenda for the HS PTA meeting that will take place on Thursday August 24th at 9.30am in MPB 1.
Agenda items will include:
Welcome – meet the new HS Principal
Facility changes/improvements over the summer in the High School
Arts and Athletics update
1-7 Grading scale (Assessment)
News from the Counselors
Start of school information (Open House etc)
Pathway Career night information
See you on Thursday
Regards
Justin Alexander
Attendance
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
If your child is sick and unable to attend school, we ask that parents inform the High School Office by 8am so that we are able to inform teachers of their absence. For absences that are planned in advance, please email Andy Vaughan regarding such periods of absence (andyv@isb.ac.th).
Khun Gade can be contacted via:
Phone: 02 9635883
Email: sasivimb@isb.ac.th
Signed note: if another sibling can drop this off to the office.
Here are a few more helpful reminders regarding attendance:
- Students who have their first block free can arrive at school after first block so long as they are in time for their first scheduled class.
- Students who have free’s during the day are not allowed to leave campus except in the case of a pre-arranged appointment in this time. In such cases a signed note or email must be received. Please note we will no longer allow verbal confirmation on a phone.
- Students who have the last block of the day free are allowed to leave early at 1pm so long as a signed note or email has been received from parents.
Seniors are able to apply for a Senior Gate Pass. Senior Gate Pass forms are available from Monday 28 August and passes will be issued in the order they are received. These are awarded to Seniors who are in good academic and behavioral standing and maybe revoked if students do not maintain this standard.
Please note that in all cases where students are off campus during the day, parents assume responsibility for their child and as such, these students are not covered by the school’s insurance as they are unsupervised by the school.
Mandatory Study Hall (MSH):
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Mandatory Study Hall is assigned in cases where a student has not completed work in a subject; the consequence for not doing your homework is to do your homework.
Here’s a quick summary of MSH:
- MSH now runs from 30-3.30pm
- If assigned MSHyour child must attend for a minimum of 30 minutes
- If your child has HL, this takes precedence over MSH, however your child still must attend for a minimum of 30 minutes if assigned (00-3.30pm).
Please find a link to the MSH process so that you can better understand the process here: MSH Process Chart.
All students who are assigned MSH should be told by their teacher verbally and receive an email notification by 2.00pm on the day of MSH.
Schedule changes
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
With the start of a new school year there are always a few disruptions and changes to a student’s schedule. Students may request a schedule change through their counselor up until Friday 25th August. Some course changes will require a completed form that includes a parent signature. Please be aware that due to some courses being full some requests may not be possible at this late stage. Please remember Administration are in the process of balancing classes and this may result in a change of section.
High School Counseling
Andrew WEISER
andreww@isb.ac.th
School Counselors
Welcome back to all the returning students and a warm welcome to the new students, coming from literally all over the world! It was a real pleasure to get in front of a class of students from Thailand, Argentina, Nepal, Denmark, the United States, Brazil, and countless other countries. We are looking forward to a great year!
The main item for us this week is getting the students’ schedules right. It looks like the vast majority of their schedules are perfectly suited to their needs and abilities. If your child is concerned about a scheduling issue, please have them visit their school counselor right away, as classes should be “locked in” by the end of next week. For schedule changes, you will be asked to sign a form approving any changes. Thanks!
College Counselors
Seniors will meet with their College Counselors next Tuesday during Panther Block for their first seminar of the year. They are encouraged to start scheduling meetings with their college counselor to discuss their plan for after graduation.
MANY college representatives have already started scheduling visits to ISB. All parents are welcome to subscribe to the calendar here to keep up with who is coming when.
Mark your calendars! Senior College Night will be held on Wednesday, August 30 at 6:30pm in the CCT (Cultural Center Theatre). Both Seniors and their parents should plan to attend.
Club Fairs next week
Becky Hansberry
beckyh@isb.ac.th
The Club Fairs will be over three days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) starting next week in the MPB during Panther Block. The clubs that meet on Mondays will be the only ones presenting at the fair on Monday, August 18th. Clubs that meet on Wednesdays will be at the fair on Wednesday, August 23rd, and Friday clubs will be at the fair Friday, August 25th. The Club Schedule can be found here. To read descriptions of all the different clubs please see the ISB Club and Activity Haiku page.
CAS and PAR/CS Meetings for Juniors and Seniors
Becky Hansberry
beckyh@isb.ac.th
Next week 11th and 12th graders will meet with Ms. Hansberry to go over the requirements of the CAS program for full IB Diploma students. For students working towards the ISB and IB Course Diplomas, we will go over the Physical Activity Requirement (PAR) and the Community Service (CS) graduation requirement. Juniors will attend this meeting during their free period on Tuesday, August 23rd or Wednesday, August 24th. Seniors students should attend during their free period Thursday, August 24th or Friday, August 25th. For those students without free periods, their will be sessions the following week during Panther Block. Remind your Junior or Senior to check their email for more details or contact Ms. Hansberry if there are questions.
Panther Run Series – Race #1 – August 26
Derrick Quinet
derrickq@isb.ac.th
Feel like jump starting your fitness now that school has begun and summer is a distant memory? Come join the ISB Cross Country Runners at the first Panther Run on Saturday, August 26. There is a 5km and a 3km race. All proceeds go to Operation Smile.
Registration/Warm-up: 6:45 AM in the Breezeway
Race Start: 7:15 AM sharp.
Cost: 200 Baht for Adults; 100 Baht for Students
U15 Tryouts begin Monday, August 21, 2:40pm. Students interested in rugby, touch, or basketball should plan to attend the tryouts on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week. Students must be under 15 years of age as of August 1, 2017 to be eligible.
See you on the track!
Derrick Quinet
Athletics Director
American Red Cross: Water Safety Instructor Training:
Corry Day
corryd@isb.ac.th
Do you want to earn some extra money during the summer or after school? Add to your University CV? Becoming an American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor can allow you to do both.
At ISB we offer four, 6 week swimming lesson sessions throughout the year (paying 7,200 or 14,400 baht per session depending on how many days you teach: 2 or 4).
The Instructor training will consist of a Friday–Sunday weekend course and approximately 6 hours of pre-course online work.
Course date will be October 6-8 (can look at other dates if this does not work for most). Course fees are 6,500 baht for all materials, course and certification costs.
Contact Aquatics Director Corry Day if you are interested
corryd@isb.ac.th
Regards,
Corry Day
Aquatics Director
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.