Fostering Parent-School Partnership
Thank you to the many parents who attended MS Open House on Thursday night. As shared by many parents and teachers, it was a wonderful evening providing a great opportunity for parents to meet their children’s teachers and start the partnership between home and school.
This partnership is incredibly important for the success of children at school.
At ISB, our students are fortunate to have such a positive and active parent presence at our school. We encourage open communication between home and school. If you have questions, concerns, or celebrations, please reach out to your child’s teacher(s).
One way that partnership is fostered is through our Parent-Teacher Auxiliary (PTA). MS PTA coordinators, Kelly Kabat and Ferda Seyhan help organize meetings, questions, and social events to connect parents and share more about school programs. Our first PTA meeting of the year takes place September 12, 9:00 AM in MPB 3. We will introduce the PTA and MS plans for the year, talk about some of our programs, and look ahead to a positive partnership for 2019-20.
Middle School PowerSchool Reporting
by Dennis Harter
Middle School Principal
The ISB Middle School is Standards Based. This means that we assess student learning achievement by providing feedback against specific learning outcomes (called standards). Traditionally, grades like B+ or C were given to describe a student’s attainment in a class. This provided no information about what the student was able to do and what required further growth or understanding.
Standards Based Reporting allows a student and parents to know how the student has achieved on a specific learning goal – which we believe provides accuracy to our reporting and greater opportunity for a student to improve their learning.
In keeping with this mindset, we have adjusted what and how we report on PowerSchool. We have removed any grade “calculations” like averaging or taking the most frequent grade. Instead we focus on how the child has achieved “most recently” on a particular learning standard. This represents what the student has achieved now, rather than a summary of how they learned before.
Below, with images, we explain how you can read what you see in PowerSchool.
When MS students and parents look at grades on PowerSchool a summary page opens up, sharing most recent HAL grades and the single most recent achievement grade in standards assessed up to that point.
As these grades represent only the most recent assessment of that learning standard, students and parents may want to see more assessment results.
To do this, parents and students can click on the “Semester” heading for each subject.
This opens the selected course assignment page, with all assignments listed (along with HAL updates). To see which standards were assessed in a particular assignment, click on the drop down arrow alongside the assignment title.
In this view you can see the reporting category in which the individual standards belong (e.g. CONCEPTS AND PROCEDURES: Expressions and Equations).
These categories will not have grades in the for each assignment. The grades go alongside the individual standards. The categories will be summarized with a grade ahead of conferences and on the report card at the end of term. Those Category grades will appear on the front page, listed as main grading categories.
These changes in how we report better align with our philosophy on providing feedback to students and parents in order to improve learning. Ultimately, our focus in middle school is more on teaching and learning, and less on ranking and grading. We want our grading to be genuine learning feedback.
Please note that teachers will be using a field to mark “Collected” for assignments because we do not give a point score for assignments, instead reporting against the standards. As such, please be aware of the difference between “Not Collected” which is the default until it’s been marked by the teacher (and does NOT mean the student hasn’t turned it in), vs. “Missing” which is a true indication that the student did not turn in the assignment.
A Word on PowerSchool
We do not recommend overly frequent checking of PowerSchool. Teachers will update it as assessments are completed and marked, but you should not expect daily changes. It is important to understand that frequent checking of grades often causes unnecessary stress for students and parents, placing focus on grades instead of learning.
As always, if you have questions about how your child is progressing in a class, reach out to the teacher.
MS PTA Meeting – September 12
Please join us!
The first Middle School PTA meeting will be held on Thursday, September 12 at 9AM in MPB3 (at the top of the zig-zag). Join us for an overview of the upcoming year’s middle school activities, comments from the administration and some time with other parents of middle school students.
Hope to see you there!
Middle School Coordinators
Kelly Kabat and Ferda Seyhan
Special Screening of Love and Bananas Documentary
ISB is thrilled to host a very special screening of the highly acclaimed documentary “Love and Bananas.” This documentary focuses on the work of conservationist Sandeun “Lek” Chailert and the rescue of Asian elephants from cruel captivity. In addition to the movie we are honored that Kuhn Lek will join us for this event.
Date: September 18, 2019
Time: 6:30 PM (duration: 1 hour 15 mins)
Location: Cultural Center Theater
The screening is open to the community and free of charge (donations are optional on the evening or at Elephant Nature Park website (https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/).
The movie is unrated, and the director has intentionally kept the graphic content low to enable reach of the next generation of animal advocates. However, at ISB we regularly refer to Common Sense Media which recommends the age of 13+ for viewing this.
Here is an outline from Common Sense Media:
Parents need to know that Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story is a 2018 documentary about the work conservationist Lek Chailert is doing to rescue Asian elephants from cruel captivity. There are some intense scenes in which young elephants are shown being taken from their mothers, then placed in a “crush box” where they are beaten with sticks and chains for 24 hours straight until they are “broken” for training — to be ridden by tourists or taught to perform in circuses. There are scenes of elephants who have lost legs from stepping on landmines, whose legs are bloodied from abuse, and whose bodies are scarred from abuse at the hands of humans. An elephant who lost an eye from getting hit with a slingshot is shown. These scenes and discussion of the cruelty and exploitation that Asian elephants suffer might be too intense for younger viewers and sensitive animal lovers of any age. Overall, this informative documentary showcases the positive work that conservationist Lek Chailert has achieved by rescuing elephants from cruel captivity and keeping them safe and happier in nature preserves where they’re free to move around and frolic with other elephants.
LA TIMES: “Impossible to come away from unchanged”
NY TIMES : “Emotionally Charged”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/movies/love-and-bananas-review-asian-elephants.html
Ace of Base: Robotics Competition
ISB’s robotics club first competition of the year. Teams are quick to build a base for their robot and compete for the number one position. The goal is to lear strategy for this year’s new VEX robotics competition ‘Tower Takeover.’
Team will battle it on in the Invention Center floor @3:00pm on Monday September 9.
ISB KHON
Khon is Thailand’s classical, high art form of performance that dates back to the Ayuttaya era in Thai history. Khon integrates elements of several art forms into an artistic whole. Students will learn a variety of movements and gestures of each character. The experienced instructors are from the Fine Arts Department, Thailand’s Ministry of Culture. There will be opportunities to perform at ISB during Assemblies and International Community Events.
Learn, engage and, most of all, have fun with Thai Culture by joining our class!
The classes will take place every Friday from 2:30 to 4:00 PM at the MS SkyBox. The fee is 7,500 Baht for 15 hrs, excluding the costume on the show day (approximately 1,500 Baht.) Students from Grade 3 to Grade 12 can signup. Thai and non-Thai speakers are all welcome. The first class will start on Friday, September 20th, 2019.
There are only 25 PLACES AVAILABLE for this unique experience, filled on a “first-completed, first-served” basis. If you wish to attend this Khon Class, PLEASE SIGN HERE TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR COMMITMENT.
Submit this registration form online before THURSDAY, September 12th @ 15:00. For more information contact: charuwab@isb.ac.th
ISB PANTHER GYMNASTICS PROGRAM
We do have a few spots available in some classes. Please send me an email at cao.gymnastics@isb.ac.th if you would like to register your child or if you would like to add a class.
CHEER SKILLS CLINIC
We are offering a Cheer Skills Clinic on Sunday 29 September, 27 October and 24 November. This clinic will focus on skills specific to Cheerleading. We will be learning stunts and jumps as well as some tumbling. If you are interested in learning more about this sport or building your skills, come join us for this fun clinic.
Please sign up HERE by September 23, 2019. First Come First Serve.
Repeat Announcement: MS Reporting Timeline for 2019-2020
By Cindy Plantecoste, MS Vice Principal
In an effort to keep you informed about the progress of your child, we’ve established a communication and reporting timeline. On the dates listed below, you can access accurate information related to your child’s progress in PowerSchool, or in person, during conferences. You should always feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher and/or counselor if you have any questions or concerns related to your child’s progress.
The definitions below will help you understand our reporting terminology:
Achievement of Learning Goals:
The ISB Middle School reports on student progress towards subject-specific standards based on expected performance at the time of assessment. The middle school uses the following descriptors to report on achievement: Beginning, Approaching, Meeting, Advanced. Achievement may also be described as falling between levels, such as: Beginning-Approaching (BA), Approaching-Meeting (AM), Meeting-Advanced (MA)
Habits and Attitudes for Learning (HAL):
Our ISB Middle School HAL are behaviors and dispositions that support students’ progress towards achieving our Mission. Students who approach their learning with these habits and attitudes develop a growth mindset and become independent, life‐long learners.
Reporting and Communication Timeline for 2019-2020 (Sem. 1)
Please note that the first PowerSchool update on Sept. 7, when teachers will share their first HAL ratings. This would be a perfect time for you and your child to go into PowerSchool together, look at the feedback, and discuss the kinds of healthy routines, behaviors, and dispositions that will contribute to a successful learning experience throughout the year.