A Wonderful First Week!
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
Welcome back to school! Whether you are returning or new to ISB, I am sure, after a fun and family-filled vacation, that it’s nice to have your children back at school again. We are certainly excited to have our classrooms, fields, gyms, and hallways filled with students – it’s just not a school without them!
After a nice orientation on Monday for new families, on Tuesday, we hit the ground running with a Welcome Day for the first day of school. Students spent time in their Advisory groups, getting to know each other and their advisor. They also engaged in fun activities throughout the day helping us connect as a community and forge bonds that will serve us well throughout the year.
The strength of our middle school lies foremost in the strength of our community. How we treat each other, care for one another, and support each other shapes how we learn and engage with the world. Throughout the school year, we will emphasize community and collaboration in middle school to foster our students’ learning progress.
It’s been a wonderful first week and while everyone is tired after a long break off, it’s been energizing to have the interactions once again.
2018-19 is going to be a terrific year!
MS Open House – This Thursday
By Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
We hope that you are able to join us on Thursday, August 23 for our Middle School Open House evening, starting at 5:45 pm outside the Chevron Theater at the front of campus. Open House provides you a brief run through your child’s class schedule, allowing you to meet each of your child’s teachers and advisor. We will start in the Chevron at 6:00 PM, so it’s important to arrive earlier at 5:45 pm in order to collect your schedule before starting in the theater. Light refreshments will be provided outside the library, once we get started.
The event is for parents only and students are not expected to come. In some cases, you may need your child to help translate for you, in which case, they may accompany you to each class.
Ideally, your children should stay at home during Open House. If, on the other hand, your middle school aged-child needs to stay at school to wait for you to go home, please note that we will have a room for them to wait in. At Open House we will have Student Ambassadors working as guides and ushers. It’s important that they are left able to do their job and that other students aren’t hanging around them, distracting them from their work. For this reason we have set up an area for the waiting students.
If your child is accompanying you to Open House, please make arrangements for dinner for them as well. The food we have prepared is intended for the parents and teachers at Open House and we do not have enough to feed further family members on the evening. We don’t want parents to run out of food as a result.
We look forward to seeing you on Thursday to share a little bit about who we are as a school.
Welcome to our New MS Teachers
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
As we welcome our students to the new school year, it’s a nice time to also welcome our new faculty and staff that join our Middle School this year. Some are new to Bangkok, others are new only to ISB, and even still, others have been at ISB, but are new to our Middle School. Please welcome our new faculty and staff.
Jeff Adair
Jeff joins us after teaching at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, USA, a boarding school he attended when he was a child (he was also an international student for many years). Prior to that Jeff taught in Oman. Jeff is teaching Social Studies in grades 6 & 7.
Shafiq Aweida
Shay comes to ISB from Costa Rica where he taught high school math. Originally from Boulder, Colorado, USA, Shay enjoys the outdoors and sports. He will be coaching JV girls soccer right away in first season. Shay is teaching math.
Charlie Durbin
Charlie is a familiar face at ISB as he coached and substitute taught all last year throughout the school. Charlie, originally from London, England, previously taught at Dulwich College in Beijing, China. Charlie is teaching PE.
Melinda Kehe
Melinda joins ISB after over a decade at the American Embassy School in New Delhi. Melinda was born in Zimbabwe and has worked at several international schools in her career. Melinda is the middle school librarian.
Ziyan Wang
Ziyan joins ISB’s World Language department from another school in Bangkok. Originally from Xi’an, China, Ziyan trained as a teacher in Hong Kong and will be teaching Native Mandarin in both the middle and high schools.
Kerry Dyke
Kerry returns to ISB after two years away. In that time, Kerry trained as a safari tracker and continued his work in outdoor education as a trip leader and planner. Kerry also started a family in that time away. Kerry is passionate about the environment and continues to inspire others to do their part in protecting our planet. Kerry is teaching PE.
Braden Betts
Braden returns to ISB, having been a student here from grades 4 to 7, a child of former ISB teachers. Now after years of working for the student trip organization, Rustic Pathways, Braden is becoming a teacher himself. Braden will be working closely with our PE Department as a student teacher and will be supporting teachers as they work with our students.
Kara Ekstran
Kara joins the Middle School from ISB’s Elementary School, where she was a grade 5 teacher. Originally from Oregon, USA, Kara loves literacy and growing readers and writers. Kara is teaching grade 6 English.
Lisa Foran
Lisa joins the Middle School from ISB’s High School, where she continues to teach grade 10 English. Before ISB Lisa taught at a prestigious private school in Canada, where she is from. Lisa is teaching grade 6 English.
Tsira Gabelia
Tsira rejoins the middle school after teaching high school math last year at ISB. From Georgia, Tsira has been in Bangkok for several years. Tsira continues to teach one high school class, while also teaching grade 8 math in the middle school.
Wendy Herbert
Wendy joins the Middle School from ISB’s High School, where she continues to teach science. Wendy is teaching grade 6 Science.
Basil Tahan
Basil has been the high school Photography teacher for many years and this year he will offer a photo class in the middle school as well.
Please also join us in welcoming Khun Arintra to the middle school office, where she will serve as our PowerSchool Coordinator and Khun Awiruth who will be working in Student Services as an Instructional Aide, supporting students.
Welcome to all of our new staff members!
Home Laptop Agreements
By Tico Oms, Dean of Students
ISB has a 1:1 laptop program to support student learning. To support home laptop usage we ask that parents have conversations with students on boundaries and expectations around computer usage at home.
It is important for parents to set guidelines and expectations for computer use in the home and to continue to revisit those guidelines as their child matures and as technology changes. We remind you that you still maintain parental authority over how, when, and where your child uses technology in your home. Your support and guidance is critical as students learn to navigate their digital lives.
Would you like to receive the Good Morning MS Student Announcements via email each day?
If you would like to begin receiving the MS student announcements each day via email, please complete and submit the enclosed subscription form.
If you were on the list and receiving the announcements each day last year and would like to continue receiving them this year, you will need to resubscribe using the above link as we build the parent database from scratch start of each school
Massed Band Festival
This year ISB hosts the annual Massed Band Festival event that will take place on the ISB campus on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7th and 8th. Up to 200 students from 10 schools will gather in the Chevron Theatre to rehearse with our guest conductor for this year’s event, Mr. Erik Engebretson. Erik is the director of bands at Malta High School in Malta, Mt. and brings years of experience and knowledge as a festival adjudicator, conductor of honor bands and All-Northwest bands. He is a wonderful music educator that will work very well with our students to provide a positive musical environment. Schools from Northern and Southern Thailand as well as Malaysia will be joining us for this year’s festival. Don’t miss the Gala Concert when the Massed Band will be performing the best of band music at 2 pm in the Chevron Theatre on Saturday, the 8th of September. Admission is free and all are invited!
Native Language at ISB
ISB students speak about 40 languages! Here is a quick snapshot that shows each language by number of speakers, according to our student data on 14 August 2018. (Click image to enlarge.)
If your family seeks native language instruction for your child(ren) this year, please visit the Native Language blog to see what classes are currently offered. Information about after-school/weekend classes will be emailed to families who use the offered languages.
If you desire instruction in a language not yet offered, or have questions, please email nativelanguage@isb.ac.th or visit the Native Language booth at the Community Activities Office (CAO) Registration & Payment Day this Saturday, August 18, in the ES A/C Gym.
“Language is a muscle. Flex it!”
Dana Lawton Dances Residency & Performance August 12-18.
The residency includes intensive classes for Middle School and High School students featuring workshops in dance, choreography, choir, stage lighting, and guitar. Additionally, after-school classes for students and adults will be offered including: yoga, pilates, and stretch/strengthening training. Please join the DLD Troupe along with some of our own ISB students on Saturday, August 18 for a special performance (FREE) at 1:00PM in the CC Theater. For more information please contact Jaleea Price at jaleeap@isb.ac.th.
ISB PANTHER GYMNASTICS PROGRAMME
Open house: Please visit us on Saturday August 18th from 12h30 to 13h30 at the gym. Meet all our coaches, ask all questions you have about gymnastics, see our professional FIG installations and equipment and see some of our passionate gymnasts demonstrating what ISB students can learn with this programme. It is an informal gathering to answer all your questions and to introduce you to our Club.
Tumbling Gymnastics training Semester 1
We are offering a special Tumbling Gymnastics training for MS students Grade 6 with or without any experience in gymnastics. Your child like parkour, is jumping constantly, writing on snapchat and doing handstand at the same time, or dream to do a double flip on the dive board, well let’s sign her/him for the LEARN TO FALL, LEARN TO FLY PROGRAMME; a secure and inspiring environment to explore and learn great skills: Wednesday: 15h40-17h40
&/or Friday: 16h40-17h40. Consult our website here for all details and for registration.
Rhythmic Gymnastics:
The Panther Gymnastics club is pleased to offer again this semester Rhythmic Gymnastics classes on ISB campus. Rhythmic Gymnastics routines are choreographed to music, involving gymnastics (tumbling) and dance, combined with the handling of small equipment including a ball, rope, ribbon, hoop, and clubs. Registration is open to girls from Grade 5 to Grade 12. Trainings are on Sundays from 09h00 – 11h00. Please register using the online form here before Wednesday 22th 2018. We need a minimum of eight (8) students registered to be able to offer these special classes.
Best regards,
Yanick Michaud-Marcotte
ISB Panther Gymnastics Coordinator
www.facebook.com/isbpanthergymnastics