High School Upcoming events (Please click):
‘Excitement is building’
Justin Alexander
Justina@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
IASAS is getting closer and closer and the excitement amongst our scholar athletes and their coaches is mounting. We kick things off with a ‘Black and Gold’ Assembly next Tuesday and then of course the tournaments begin on Thursday February 1st. We are hosting Basketball here at ISB whilst our swimmers, touch rugby, rugby and tennis teams all travel for their competitions. Thank you in advance to parents hosting visiting athletes and do keep a look out for more details from our Athletics department.
The first HS PTA meeting of the 2018 school year takes place at 9.30am on Thursday January 25th when our new HS PTA representative Ginny Condra will welcome one and all and open the meeting. Items on the Agenda will include PTA news and update, counselling update, GCW news and details, report and transcript information and a Senior Student panel talking about life at ISB as a senior. Looks to be an interesting and engaging meeting – see you there!
Regards
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
GCW Update
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Our High School Global Citizenship Week is fast approaching, with our first groups scheduled to depart from ISB in three weeks today! This enews contains a few reminders and important links for our HS trips.
Visa’s & Passports
By now any visa’s required for overseas trips should be in process or completed. If there are any queries on whether a visa is required for your specific country, please feel free to contact Khun Jurairat in the HS office or the teacher sponsor for your trip.
Please also double check that your child’s passport has more than 6 months validity on it for any trip travelling internationally. We have checked passports submitted, but we ask that you take this additional step to ensure the smooth travel of your child.
Medication & Health Information
If your child is taking routine medication they will be required to turn in a ‘Field Trip Medication Consent Form’ which is found at this link. These forms need to be turned into the ISB Medical Clinic at least a week before your child departs.
For some trips there are recommended vaccinations that are required, these will have been communicated by the trip leader, however for a detailed summary of recommended health considerations that are specific to each trip, please refer to this document.
Special Clothing and Equipment.
If your child is attending a trip that has a cooler environment or that requires special equipment, please ensure these are purchased in the next two weeks so that they can check these if necessary in their final GCW meeting on February 6.
GCW Information Website & Communication
Your GCW lead teacher will be emailing you by next Friday with more information specific to your child’s trip. Please also find the GCW information site that is shared with parents and students at this link.
Any other questions?
If you have any further questions regarding your child’s course, please first contact the sponsor of your child’s course. There will also be a short feature on GCW at the upcoming PTA meeting, which is taking place next Thursday 25 January at 9.30am.
We look forward to this amazing weeks and the many experiences our students will encounter in their course!
Andy Vaughan
High School Dean of Students
M: +668 7514 9550
AP Exam Sign-up
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
Over the next two weeks student sign-up for Advance Placement (AP) exams which take place this coming May.
If students are currently taking the IB Math SL2/AP Calculus course at ISB they are expected to sign up and take the AP Calculus AB exam. For students in IB Math HL2, they have been prepared for the AP Calculus AB exam and they have been partially prepared for the majority of the AP Calculus BC exam, and with a little extra individual work on their part, can be fully prepared for this BC exam. Please note, the CollegeBoard stipulates that students cannot take both the Calculus AB and BC exams in the same year. Any students in other ISB Math classes are not prepared by ISB and we recommend they do not take the AP math exams.
Students should collect an AP exam form and information from Ms. Canobie’s secretary, Khun Arintra. They must then see their counselor to discuss the workload implications of taking these exams.
Registration for AP exams must be handed into the Dean of Academics office no later than Friday 2nd February.
IB Mock Exam Schedule
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
Students who are registered to take IB exams this May will sit Mock Exams on March 8-15. The individual student schedule will be available on PowerSchool within the coming weeks.
Grade 10 ISA Testing
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
On the mornings of Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th February all Grade 10 students will be completing the International Schools Assessment (ISA) in Mathematical Literacy, Reading and Writing. This assessment is conducted in grades 3, 5, 7 and 10 at ISB and the results are used to provide patterns in learning and assist in charting future direction. Students are expected to bring a pencil, black pen, eraser, ruler, sharpener and calculator to the test. EAL students may also bring a translating dictionary for the Mathematics. Please ensure encourage your children to be at the MPB by 7:15am on Monday morning.
High School Counseling eNews
Andrew Weiser
andreww@isb.ac.th
College Counselors
College Coffee – The topic of this past Monday’s monthly college parent coffee was on US Higher Education. A copy of the presentation can be found at the following link. The next coffee is on February 19 from 12:30 – 2:00 and is targeted for our Japanese parent community. Our Japanese liaison will be available to serve as a translator.
Grade 11 College Night – This past Wednesday was the official kick off to the university search and application process for 11th grade families. A copy of the presentation can be found at the following link. 11th grade parents and students should coordinate a time and schedule a meeting for the Student Led Junior Conference held in February and March. Parents and/or students can contact Khun Jan in the Counseling office to schedule this meeting.
Grade 12 students – For students who have already submitted applications to universities, they must regularly keep track of application portals (typically each college has their own portal applicants have access to) in order to monitor if any additional materials are needed for the university to make a decision. Many schools in the US require something called a midyear report that includes 1st semester Senior year grades. ISB will send these by the end of next week.
University Visits– for a full list of who is coming, please subscribe to the Google Calendar at this link.
School Counselors Newsletter – January 19, 2018
Kevin Davy
kevind@isb.ac.th
All schedule changes/adjustments have been completed for the second semester and hopefully your sons and daughters are all set for a productive half-year. Ask your students how they are organizing their assignments, whether by writing them down or keeping track on a digital calendar: whatever works best for them is fine. GCW is right around the corner; are your students excited about the trip? Your son / daughters chaperone should be reaching out to you in this next week with any updates or further information
Sarahah app – Potentially a very unhealthy application for our teens
A new buzz app teenagers and preteens may be using is Sarahah. It is similar to ASKFM where others can post anonymous questions and comments. As you can imagine, some of these comments can be hurtful, sexualized, intrusive… leading to cyberbullying and further angst. Below are a couple of links giving more information and urging parents to vigilant in regards to
A few phrases to promote Growth Mindset
A buzz topic in education in the last several years has been “Growth Mindset” V “Fixed Mindset”. We hope that our students keep practicing habits that enhance a positive view on personal growth, being able to take some risks and recognizing the value of failure at times. Here are a few links on the topic and also a chart on how to potentially redirect our self-talk.
https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means
IASAS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS at ISB!
Derrick Quinet
derrickq@isb.ac.th
ISB plays host to the 2018 IASAS Basketball Championship, Feb. 1-3, and this is one tournament you won’t want to miss! Catch all the excitement, action, spirit, and drama as the tournament plays out over a roller coaster three days. The entire school will be out in support of our Panthers, with Rajendra rocking, and all the sounds, food, and festivities of an international event.
Show your Panther Pride, and plan on joining the fun at IASAS Basketball 2018!
SEASON 3 COACHING VACANCIES
Derrick Quinet
derrickq@isb.ac.th
The ISB Athletic Dept. is looking to hire the following positions for Season 3:
- JV/U15 Fastpitch Softball Coach
- Varsity Assistant Track & Field Coach – Throws
- JV Assistant – Baseball
- MS Track & Field Coach
Season 3 begins the week of Feb. 5. All coaching positions are paid a stipend for the season. If you are interested or have questions about the positions, please contact the Athletic Director at: derrickq@isb.ac.th.
Go Panthers!
Derrick Quinet
Athletics Director
Advanced Photography Show
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Photography changes everything! Once again our high school students raise the creative bar. The high school fall semester Advanced Photography students will display their projects for the community to enjoy. Please visit the Chevron Foyer between Jan 22nd and February 9th to immerse yourself in their thoughtful, inspired creations. Join the artists to celebrate the official opening of the gallery at 11am on Monday the 22nd.
Parent Traffic Volunteers- Ensuring a Safe Commute to School!
Keith Collins
keithc@isb.ac.th
Next week, a few friendly faces will be helping out with safety in the mornings at the ISB gates. We will be providing extra help getting children to school safely and improving the flow of traffic for all drivers. These parents are dedicated to protecting all ISB students and making the School Zone function better. We appreciate all drivers using the correct lanes, obeying the School Zone rules, ALWAYS stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks, and showing others consideration on the road.
Our team could use a few more parents to fill some gaps! Please contact Katie at escoord@isb.ac.th. You will be supported by ISB administration and can help make a difference right where it is needed!
Raising Multilinguals Parent Workshop: Unlocking the World with a Family Language Plan
Avery Udagawa
averyu@isb.ac.th
On February 1, 2018, from 7:45 to 9:15 a.m. in MPB 1 at the top of the Zigzag, ISB EAL and Native Language faculty will offer a workshop for parents from all divisions (ES, MS, HS) about maintaining students’ native languages while they also study in English at ISB. This will be an extended version of the Raising Multilinguals workshop offered in the ES in past years.
At this workshop faculty will:
- Present reasons to maintain native language, based on research
- Describe native language classes and resources available at ISB
- Discuss the importance of making a family language plan
Faculty will also lead small group discussions of how to nurture particular languages, how to support native language development at home, and how to make a language plan work.
Please join us! Parents of students in PreK through Grade 12 are welcome. For further information, please write to nativelanguage@isb.ac.th.
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.