High School Upcoming events (Please click):
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‘Black and Gold’
Justin Alexander
Justina@isb.ac.th
Dear parents,
There is great excitement at school today with Black and Gold day and Spirit night taking place. We look forward to some wonderful performances by our Basketball, tennis, rugby and touch rugby teams as we host a number of schools to ISB for these friendship and invitational tournaments. I hope to see many of you on campus this afternoon/evening.
Regards
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
Principal Forum
Justin Alexander
Justina@isb.ac.th
Please join us for the second Principal Forum this year which will be held at 9.30am on Thursday December 7th in the Middle School Skybox (please note change of venue). We will be responding to the questions posed by parents at this forum.
Questions to be addressed include:
Sports – questions about Jerseys and transportation
School Bags – weight of laptops/textbooks and replacement cycle for laptops
Recent HS Play – sensitivity about subject material and audience
Mock Exams and Exam schedule – timing and format
GCW – timing of release of trip schedules/itineraries
School Uniforms
Availability of course options for non IB students in Grade 11 & 12
‘Flipped’ classrooms – effectiveness
Regards
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
Semester December Exams (Gr. 9 &10 only)
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
Please find detailed information on December Exams and the Schedule. Note Exams are for Grades 9 and 10 only, with Grades 11 and 12 having regular classes. These Exams are another piece of learning evidence, in that they indicate one point of achievement on a learning continuum. Feedback on these tasks are incredibly useful and the information given to students and teachers informs further learning. They do, however, form a part of Semester grades. Students can leave school early (before 2:20pm) after an exam by completing an exam early departure form. This form will be posted on the Parent and Student Portals or hard copies can be obtained from the HS Office. Students will need to have a parent-signed, completed form for each instance they wish to leave campus.
Please also note that students in Grade 11 &12 have a normal Day 5 on Wednesday 13th December.
Report Card Holds
Andy Vaughan; Susan Canobie
andyv@isb.ac.th, susanca@isb.ac.th
Please note that parents will be unable to access report cards through Powerschool if a report card hold has been placed on a student account. Report card holds occur if books are outstanding at the Library, fees are overdue or textbooks not returned. If a report card hold has occurred, in the next two weeks parents will be notified via an automated email from Powerschool.
To avoid report card holds please encourage your child(ren) to return all library books, and any textbooks used solely in semester 1. To remove a report after semester finishes you will need to visit the HS Office from 19-23 December with the outstanding item.
Second Semester Course Choices
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
Second semester is not too far away. Students who are considering changing their course choices for
second semester should see their counselor in the next week. This is particularly relevant with choices of
Science courses in Grades 9 & 10. If students have any questions, please contact their counselor.
High School Counseling eNews
Andrew Weiser; Kevin Callahan
andreww@isb.ac.th ; kevinc@isb.ac.th
College Counselors
College Counseling Coffee – On Monday, all high school parents are invited to come learn more about The College Search Process and How Colleges Make Decisions. Join us in MPB 1 at 8:00am.
12th Grade Applications – All students applying to the US and UK have now finalized their college lists. Parents are encouraged to check Naviance to see their student’s list. The counseling office will send all supporting documents to these colleges prior to the December break. It is not possible to make changes to the list or send additional documents during the December/January break. Parents and students are able to meet with counselors regarding questions either before the break or when school reopens in January.
11th Grade Assignment – College counselors met with 11th graders on Monday focusing on how to research universities. Students are now tasked with researching 2 universities and creating their own resume. See a copy of the university research assignment here. Join us for Monday’s college coffee if you’d like to see why research is important.
11th Grade Parent Assignment – College counselors want to hear from you! If your student did not already give you a copy this week of the Parent Perspectives, please download the following Microsoft Word document here, fill it out, and return to the HS Counseling Office no later than Monday, January 15.
G11 College Night – Mark your calendars! It’s time to officially kick off the university research and application process. All 11th grade parents and students should plan to attend College Night on Wednesday, January 17 at 6:30pm.
11th Grade PSAT – We’ve heard from CollegeBoard that 11th grade students should receive their PSAT results on December 13 via the email they provided on their registration. For those students who need the ACT or SAT, we recommend using December through March to prepare and then sit the first exam in March (SAT) or April (ACT). Students can then sit it a second time in May or June before the summer holiday. More information regarding test preparation can be found here.
University Visits– for a full list of who is coming, please subscribe to the Google Calendar at this link.
School Counselor
Kevin Callahan
kevinc@isb.ac.th
This week Freshmen were shared some general strategies in regards to preparing for the final exams. We also had a freshman seminar session that discussed ways that students can enhance personal wellness during times that might be stressful. We said goodbye Thursday and Friday as our Freshman Seminar wrapped up; it’s been a pleasure working with this group!
In the next couple of weeks the school will be looking at semester courses and any adjustments we have to make. You might want to be aware of the following:
If you are planning to move to a different school in Grade 10 you should ask any school you might move to (If you know it) what their science requirements are. In the past we have had some students take Chemistry 2 instead of Biology 1 or Physics 1 second semester. This is because sometimes students need a full year of Chemistry to transfer. This is often the case when transferring to the U.S.A. The master schedule is tight and while there is not a lot of flexibility for movement to accommodate changed electives, we will certainly do our best to accommodate your student’s needs
9th graders
Think about your Freshman Seminar / Free Period this semester – how has that helped you balance your time and commitments? Over half students elect for the free period. If you find that you have a full schedule and you would like your counselor to take an elective out for a free period – let them know ASAP.
Now is the time that students should be beginning to review the materials that teachers have given them or communicated to them that will be on the final. By starting now, they can do a
little bit each day, rather than try to desperately “cram” in the last days leading up to the exams. It’s a fact that cramming doesn’t help much anyway. See this link to a study from UCLA:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/cramming-for-a-test-don-t-do-it-237733
So it’s just like common sense suggests: you can retain more by taking smaller chunks at a time, than by trying to stuff it in all at once and hope that you can regurgitate it before you forget!
If any students want to change electives for the second semester, they should see their counselor as soon as possible. Most elective classes are full, so there is limited movement possible, so hopefully students are happy with their second semester schedule!
It is a stressful time for students of all grades right now. How does your student relieve their stress? If you need some ideas about how to de-stress, here’s a helpful list of ways for young people and adults to calm down. Find a couple that work for your student – and you!
SPIRIT NIGHT & ISB Invitational Tournaments – Dec. 1 & 2
Derrick Quinet
derrickq@isb.ac.th
Don’t miss all the fun, action, and excitement of season two spirit night at ISB. Bring the whole family out and show your Panther Pride on December 1. All of your favorite food vendors, plus the ISB Booster tent will be there, so bring the family and get into the ISB spirit!
Check the schedules below, and cheer on our rugby, touch, basketball, and tennis teams!
BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.
Sally Plomley
sallyp@isb.ac.th
At this time of year we tend to see an increase in the number of cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Bangkok. We currently have 1 confirmed case in High School. Most children get exposed to this disease whilst they are young but outbreaks do occur in schools. Please read the information below and KEEP YOUR CHILD AT HOME IF THEY HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS. We want to prevent any outbreaks in the school and if we have too many cases in a class we may need to close that class (as per the Thailand Ministry of Public Health Regulations).
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral infection.
The virus can spread from an infected person via contact with the fluid in the blisters, by coughing and sneezing, by contact with feces and by contact with contaminated objects or surfaces. A person will take 3-5 days to get symptoms and will be contagious whilst there is fluid in the blisters (the feces can remain infectious for several weeks).
Symptoms
- fever
- tiredness
- loss of appetite
- blisters in the mouth and on the hands and feet
- a sore mouth for a few days before the ulcers or blisters appear
- in some cases there is a severe headache.
Children may refuse to eat or drink due to the pain.
Diagnosis is usually made by clinical presentation.
Treatment
Usually none is required. Use of paracetamol/acetaminophen or ibuprofen for the fever and any discomfort may be indicated. Aspirin should not be given to children under 12 years of age.
If your child is very unwell with high fevers and headaches or if they are refusing to drink you should seek medical attention.
The blisters should not be deliberately pierced or broken because the fluid within the blisters is infectious. The blisters will dry naturally.
If your child is diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease please notify the Health Clinic and they need to present a medical certificate to the Health Clinic stating they are fit to return to school and no longer contagious prior to going to class.
Prevention
- Exclude people with hand, foot and mouth disease from school until all blisters have dried.
- Wash hands with soap and water after toileting
- Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and soiled items, including toys.
- Avoiding close contact such as kissing, hugging, or sharing eating utensils or cups with people with hand, foot, and mouth disease.
ISB is committed to your child’s overall development, both educationally and health related. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your healthcare provider or the ISB Health Clinic (nurse@isb.ac.th).
ES Festival of Lights
Anthony Giles
anghonyg@isb.ac.th
For the past few months, nearly 100 students in grades 3, 4 and 5 have been preparing songs and dances to share at the annual ES Festival of Lights. Come and enjoy a festive evening of song and dance with the ES Panther Choir, Orff Ensemble and String Ensemble. The Festival of Lights will take place in Chevron Theatre on Wednesday, December 13th, starting at 6:30 p.m. Entrance is free.
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.