High School Upcoming events (Please click):
‘Welcome’
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Welcome back everyone!
To our returning students and families, a big welcome back and of course for our new students (over 60 of them in the High School) I wish you and your families a warm and wonderful welcome to ISB and to Bangkok for those that have recently moved here. I am sure that your parent reps and student ambassadors will make you feel as welcome and as cared for as they did for me and our family when we arrived at ISB in July 2017.
I have come to appreciate and recognise that a real strength of ISB is the sense of community and ISB Panther Pride that is obvious and intentional from our teachers, students and families. I trust that our new families and students receive the same warm welcome that we did last year and I look forward to extending that same welcome to all of the new families at ISB.
I trust that you have all enjoyed a safe and relaxing break and have made the most of the summer to spend time with family and friends, be active, to read, travel and recharge those batteries. The school year fast approaches and our students will need all of their energy to make the most of the many opportunities that lie ahead of them in the High School.
Preparations have been underway at school for more than a week, with my colleagues working hard to ensure we are ready to welcome 600 High School students on Tuesday August 14th. We will open school with a HS assembly at 7.20am in the Chevron Theatre before moving into an advisory session. Mr. Vaughan will share details later in this newsletter about the full schedule for the first day of school. The new student and parent orientation Program takes place on Monday August 13th with registration at 8.45am and an official welcome at 9.05am in the Cultural Centre Theatre.
Fortunately we only had a small number of teachers leave the High School last year and I am pleased to report that we have some wonderful teachers joining (or rejoining) the High School this year. Only one teacher is completely new to ISB as the rest have all worked at ISB either previously or are moving to us from the Middle School. Please join me in welcoming:
- Peter Soule – Social Studies (returning to ISB after a 2 year absence)
- Patience Soule – Science (returning to ISB after a 2 year absence)
- Mike Rutherford – HS Library and Tech Coordinator (joining us from the Middle School)
- Bruce Melhorn – Math (joining us from the Middle School)
- Ryan Ruhl – MS/HS Psychologist (joining us from the Elementary school)
- Ziyan Wang – HS and MS Chinese (joins ISB from Concordian International School in Bangkok)
All the best for a wonderful year and I look forward to meeting many of you in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
Message from the Dean of Students
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Welcome and a few start of School reminders
We are very excited to welcome students back to school next Tuesday, 14 August for the first day of the 2018-19 School Year. Teachers have been busy this week preparing for the year ahead and we are excited to have students back on campus! The following are some general start of school reminders.
Uniforms and Dress Code
As you prepare for the start of school, please remember that all students must wear school uniform, which in the High School consists of the white or navy blue ISB collared shirt purchased through the ISB Bookstore and either khaki or black skirt, shorts, or pants purchased through the ISB bookstore or purchased outside of the school so long as they are within the same design limitations as the current school pants. Please note that there lycra and spandex are not allowed and that pants must have side seams and pockets to be classed as correct uniform.
ISB PE clothing may not be worn as a substitute for school uniform clothing. Additionally, underwear of any kind should not be visible. Undershirts should not extend out of the uniform shirt at all.
For footwear, students must wear covered shoes that are comfortable, practical and safe. Open toe shoes are no longer allowed such as slippers and flip flop sandals.
The High School faculty and administration will monitor students’ attire to ensure that it aligns to our expectations. Please help us in ensuring that your student(s) only wear dress code conforming clothing to school. Please refer to the online student handbook for more information.
Bicycle and Motor Scooter Helmets
For personal safety considerations, appropriate bike helmets must be worn (and properly strapped) by both students and adults entering campus. Administrators and security guards will monitor the front gate the first week of school and offer reminders and encouragement. Thank you for helping to support and model a safe environment at ISB!
Driving to school
Only students with a valid Thai driver’s license may drive/park a car on campus. Students who are 15 years or older may drive/park a motor scooter on campus provided:
- Student has a Thai driver’s license for his/her age group
- Student obtains a parking permit sticker from the HS Office
- The motorbike is 110cc or under if the student is under 18 years of age
- Always wears an appropriate/strapped motorcycle helmet (and only carries passengers with helmets) on and off campus
Golf carts must also be operated safely and be affixed with a parking pass from the security office. Only students with an approved drivers licence will be permitted to park a golf cart on campus and such students must obtain an approval from the High School Office. Drivers licences from other countries are applicable certification for students driving golf carts to school
Many thanks in advance for working together to ensure that your child is prepared appropriately for the start of the school year.
First Day Schedule for HS
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
We will be starting Tuesday with a full High School Assembly and will have an alternative Day schedule as can be found at this link.
Schedule changes
Susan Canobie
susanca@isb.ac.th
Tuesday there will be no schedule changes. Students must follow their current schedule. Any student who wishes to change their schedule can do so for the first 8 days of rotation. Please see your Counselor if you have any questions or changes.
High School Counseling News
Jackie Valenzuela
jackiev@isb.ac.th
We hope you had a restful and fun summer! We’re looking forward to welcoming returning and new students next week. It’s going to be a great year!
If your student needs to make a schedule change for any reason (e.g. add a class or drop a class), please ask them to wait until the second day of school to do this. They have the first 8 days of the semester available to make schedule changes.
Our counseling staff remains the same this year: Kevin Callahan, Kevin Davy and Jackie Valenzuela are Grades 9-12 School Counselors and Stephan Golas, Debbie McDowell, Jennifer Melton and Andy Weiser are College Counselors working with our Grade 11 and 12 students. Our wonderful support staff, Khun Fon, Khun Jan and Khun Mai, are still here as well.
Jackie Valenzuela
High School Counselor
Click here to schedule an appointment
Athletics Update
Derrick Quinet
derrickq@isb.ac.th
Welcome back to all our Panthers! We have a fantastic year of Athletics coming up this year at ISB.
Please note that HS tryouts for varsity teams begin this coming week on Wednesday afternoon at 3.15pm.
Cross Country: Meet at the Track
Girls Soccer: Meet at Field A *Students must have shinguards and cleats to tryout.
Boys Soccer: Meet at Field B *Students must have shinguards and cleats to tryout.
Boys Volleyball: meet in the Rajendra Gymnasium
Girls Volleyball: meet in the Sports Complex Gymnasium
Tryouts will run Wednesday–Friday and athletes need to attend all tryouts until selections are made. Students who are not selected for varsity teams or who just want to tryout for JV teams will reconvene on Tuesday, August 21. JV teams are open to students in grades 8-12.
Under 15 (U15) tryouts for grade 9 students aged under 15 as of 1 August 2018 will begin on Monday, 20 August. Season one U15 sports are Basketball, Rugby and Touch. Students with queries on U15 sports should contact Mr. Mark Jaspers (markj@isb.ac.th).
Other exciting events: Spirit Week is September 24-28! We are scheduled to host the third annual Thailand Cross Country Invitational in September, the second annual APAC vs. IASAS Swim Exchange, IASAS Badminton Exchange, and the IASAS Tennis and Baseball/Softball Championships! This is all in addition to our annual International Invitationals, Spirit Nights, and BISAC Tournaments that will prove to be bigger, brighter, and more fun!
Please also note that all students should have completed their school medical before coming out tryouts. This is a requirement for all students and includes a pass to participate in physical activities and athletics at ISB.
For more information, visit the Athletics website on www.isb.ac.th, and you can follow us on Twitter: @isbpanthers
Go Panthers!
Derrick Quinet
Athletic Director
Leadership Training:
Becky Hansberry
beckyh@isb.ac.th
Any student interested in learning more about leadership and leading at ISB should join us for the HS Leadership Training on August 13th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm starting in MPB 2. Sign up here by August 11th.
Club Fairs
Becky Hansberry
beckyh@isb.ac.th
The Club Fairs will be over three days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) starting Monday, August 20th in the MPB during Panther Block. The clubs that meet on Mondays will be the only ones presenting at the fair on Monday, August 20th. Clubs that meet on Wednesdays will be at the fair on Wednesday, August 22nd, and Friday clubs will be at the fair Friday, August 24th. Please see the Club Schedule here to learn which clubs meet on which days. To read descriptions of all the different clubs please see the Clubs and Activities 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 graduation requirements for CAS and community service. Grade 11 students will attend this meeting during their free period on Tuesday, August 21st or Wednesday, August 22nd. Grade 12 students should attend during their free period Thursday, August 23rd or Friday, August 24th. For those students without free periods, there will be sessions the following week during Panther Block. Remind your 11th or 12th grader to check their email for more details or contact Ms. Hansberry if there are questions.
Dana Lawton Dances Residency & Performance visiting ISB – August 12-18
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
The Dana Lawton Dances residency will include intensive classes for Middle School and High School students featuring workshops in dance, choreography, choir, stage lighting, and guitar. Additionally, there will be after-school classes for students and adults offered including: yoga, pilates, and stretch/strengthening training. Please join the DLD Troupe along with some of our own ISB students for a special performance (FREE) at 1:00PM in the CC Theater. For more information please contact Jaleea Price at jaleeap@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.