High School Upcoming events (Please click):
‘Conferences’
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
We look forward to welcoming High School Parents and students to the HS Parent/teacher conferences that will take place on Friday 6th October. This is a non-instructional day for students, but students should accompany parents to the conferences on this day (uniforms are not required). When students attend the conferences with their parents it allows for them both to fully appreciate the strengths and what are the areas for growth for the individual child.
Conferences will be held in the Rajendra Gym.
Session 1: 7:30 to 11:15
Lunch: 11:15 to 12:00
Session 2 12:00 to 14:30
Conference times are NOT pre-booked and parents queue to meet each teacher. This conference format works very well but does not allow for lengthy conversations, 5 minutes is typical. We have found that it is helpful for parents (and students) to arrive with specific questions or concerns for each subject as this helps the conversations be focused and
Arriving with specific questions is a good plan especially if you have a concern that needs to be addressed. If you require a much more in depth / follow-up discussion with a teacher, please make an appointment for another day. Although I am new to ISB, I hear that the afternoon session is usually less busy, so that may be a better option.
Registration for IB Exams and payments for these exams for the May 2018 session are coming up
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
All Grade 12 and some Grade 11 students will receive their IB exam registrations and associated invoices next week. Parents and students are asked to check the course registration forms carefully, both for personal details and IB courses. Students who are completing the second year in any IB course are expected to complete the course by sitting the IB examination, as detailed in our HS Program of Studies. Universities also expect students completing an IB program or course to have fulfilled all assessment requirements of the course, of which the examination is the culminating assessment.
Please note that invoices are payable to the cashier on Monday October 11. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Overall Grade-to-date
Teachers will update PowerSchool on Friday September 29 with a Grade-to-date and HAL Grade for all students. This Grade-to-date is on the 7-1 scale and is based on the ‘body of evidence’ of student work completed so far, with teachers using the Grade Descriptors and their professional judgement. For your reference, the Grade Descriptors can be found inside the back cover of the Student Daily Planner.
‘Formative vs Summative and Powerschool’
Justin Alexander
Jusnina@isb.ac.th
As a follow up to our last HS PTA meeting on September 14th we would like to invite interested HS parents into school on Thursday 5th October at 9am in MPB1 for an interactive workshop on Assessment and Powerschool. We will be reviewing and learning the differences between formative and summative assessments and then working through the parent portal in powerschool to show parents how they can see evidence of their children’s assessments. Achievement grades and HAL grades will be updated on Friday September 29th, so this workshop on October 5th comes at an opportune time.
Regards,
Justin Alexander
Global Citizenship Week (GCW) Registration Begins Next Monday
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
Registration for the annual Global Citizenship Week courses begins next Monday, 25 Sept at 7:00pm for Seniors and for Juniors on Thursday 28 Sept at 7:00pm.
To find out more about all the courses offered as part of this year’s GCW week, you can either go to the ISB website at this link: https://www.isb.ac.th/learning-isb/academics/hs/gcw, or you can go direct to the 2017-18 GCW Handbook at this link.
We strongly encourage that prior to your child registering for GCW, that you have clear conversations regarding both cost and experience, as there are some essential requirements for all students as they register for courses. If your child registers for a course, then later change courses, they will be moved to local low cost courses.
Important guidelines:
- Students must register via the online registration site (this is sent to students on the day of their registration).
- Students are required to complete a Category 1 (in Thailand) course before they graduate (Note: Internships do not count as Category 1)
- Students may only select a Category 3 (outside Asia) course if previously completed Category 1 (in Thailand).
- Students will be asked to register listing courses by preference. If one choice is full, we will try to place each student in the next course in order. We cannot guarantee that students will be placed in their top choice, but we try to accommodate each students top three picks
- Students should communicate with parents before registering. Any changes after registration will result in students moving to the end of lists or to low cost local courses.
- Students and parents will receive an email to their school account confirming their registrations, this may go to their SPAM folder.
- Students should register online using their ISB username and password. Students also need to log out of all other Google Accounts before registering.
Registration is by grade level prioritised as follows:
First Priority Selection: Grade 12
Monday, September 25, Online registration window opens 7:00 pm.
Tuesday, September 26, Online registration window closes 12:00 pm.
Second Priority Selection: Grade 11
Thursday, September 28, Online registration window opens 7:00 pm.
Friday, September 29, Online registration window closes 12:00 pm.
Third Priority Selection: Grade 10
Monday, October 2, Online registration window opens 7:00 pm.
Tuesday, October 3, Online registration window closes 12:00 pm.
Fourth Priority: Grade 9
Thursday, October 4, Online registration window opens 7:00 pm.
Friday, October 5, Online registration window closes 12:00 pm.
Fifth Priority: Students without registration assigned
October 9-10, any student who has not selected a course will be assigned to available courses.
Trips are categorised as Service or Cultural or both. Freshman and Sophomores, are required to complete a service trip as one of their first two GCW trips. For Juniors and Seniors, service trips can be part of their CAS reflections.
For new students who wish to find out more about GCW, there was an information session last Wednesday at lunch, if your child missed this, please direct them to see Andy Vaughan directly. For all Freshman, there will be a GCW Freshman Seminar Session on 27/28 September in time for their registrations the following week.
Finally, this year we will be starting a review process for the GCW program. From the initial feedback that we have received it is unlikely that category 3 trips (Tanzania, Australia and New Zealand) will continue to run next year. This is being openly shared incase this effects this year’s choices.
I hope you enjoy reading through the options available for your child for this year and please mark your calendars for the sign-up dates and times above!
High School Counseling eNews
Andrew Weiser
andreww@isb.ac.th
School Counselors
We hope students enjoy this activity free long weekend and spend time with family and friends as well as catch up on any work.
College Counselors
On Wednesday, October 11, all 11th grade students will take the PSAT. College counselors gave students a PSAT booklet with more information on August 28 during Junior Seminar. if students have questions, they should see their college counselor. As a reminder, students do not need to do anything to prepare for this.
If a student is an IB Diploma candidate AND will ONLY apply to Australia, Canada, the UK, or other countries in Europe, they may opt out and not take this test. However, they can only opt out by completing an opt out form. These forms are due ASAP to the counseling office.
Next week will be another busy week of college visits. Both parents and students are invited to these visits. For a full list of who is coming, please subscribe to the Google Calendar at this link. Also, a reminder that a large worldwide College Fair will be held on Saturday, September 23, 3:45pm at the Shangri-La Hotel. Students must register in advance at: cois.org/bangkokfair2017. A list of universities in attendance can also be found at the link.
College Counselors will be attending the EARCOS/CIS Conference here in Bangkok on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 22, 23). along with 155 colleges and universities worldwide (see link above for College Fair).
Spirit Week
Becky Hansberry
beckyh@isb.ac.th
Next week is ISB Spirit Week! Show your ISB spirit and have fun by dressing up with each day’s theme and participating in the lunchtime and Panther Block activities.
Monday: Soak the Teacher and Pie Eating Contest
Tuesday: Spirit Assembly
Wednesday: Open Microphone Lunch
Thursday: Dress the Advisor Competition
Friday: Obstacle Course
SEASON 1 – SPIRIT NIGHT!
Derrick Quinet
derrickq@isb.ac.th
Come join our Panther Pride as the ISB community comes out in support of our teams! The festivities kick off at 3:30pm, with feature games starting at 5:30pm. ISB will welcome 20 teams for the annual International Friendship Invitational Volleyball and Soccer tournaments, with games running through Saturday. The Booster Tent will be open all weekend, and we’ll have all your favorite vendors…plus games and surprises! Bring the whole family, next Friday for SPIRIT NIGHT!
Check the Black & Gold Day schedule here: Spirit Night Games
Check the Volleyball Invitational Schedule here: International Friendship Volleyball
Check the Soccer Invitational Schedule here: International Friendship Soccer
GO PANTHERS!
Derrick Quinet
Athletics Director
Congratulations Cross Country!
Derrick Quinet
derrickq@isb.ac.th
ISB hosted the second annual Thailand Cross Country Invitational last weekend in Kanchanburi. The boys team put together an impressive team effort to bring home the championship for the second year in a row. The race came down to ISB vs. TAS, and Dalton Lazich ran a phenomenal race, smashing 20 minutes to beat out the TAS 5th man that earned ISB the title.
ISB was led by an outstanding second place overall finish by Will Condra, who covered the challenging course in 17:54. Jackson Carroll ran a gritty 18:35 to finish 6th overall. Sophomore Julian John grew wings and cracked the top ten with a 9th place finish and a time of 19:00. Juan Bello was tight on his heels, finishing 14th with a gutsy 19:23.
To see the full results please click here.
Special thanks to friends and family who made the trip up here to support our crew and cheer them on to victory.
The ISB girls also represented themselves well at this year’s Thailand Invitational. The Panthers took fifth place out of ten schools on beautiful weekend in Kanchanburi. It was an encouraging performance by our team, and we are very proud of our Panthers!
ISB was led by Satsuki Omura who took 16th overall with a time of 24:40. Yumi Arashida and Kana Takechi took 28th and 29th with Yui Musha close behind in 31st place. Imogen Alexander was our 5th scoring runner in 34th place. There were many smiles after our race, and the team is inspired for the upcoming BISAC and IASAS championships!
Go Panthers!
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.