‘Oranges and Strawberries’
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
What a whirlwind few weeks we have had with the challenges created by novel coronavirus and dealing with the implications it has had regarding concerns about travel etc. Fortunately, we were still able to operate our Thailand based GCW trips and find places for 160+ students in just a few days so that everyone in the high school could benefit from the experience of Global Citizenship week.
Once our trips had safely departed over the weekend and into Monday, I was able to fly to Chiang Rai and visit two of our GCW trips on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. It was wonderful to see our students willingly engage with members of the local communities – Kiew Karn village (Life on the Mekong) and Tha Thon (Maekok River village community service trip). In both instances, ISB students were active in a variety of building projects that help benefit the local community and then were able to interact with students at local schools in the region. The dedication of the teachers involved in these trips was obvious as they actively supported students in their community service work and in preparing lessons to teach in the schools. For students closer to home, their experiences here in Bangkok are equally as rich and rewarding as we worked alongside dedicated staff from Nonthaburi School for Deaf, Phyathai babies home, Phamahatai Suksa inclusive school to name just a few.
Please do take some time when your children return on Friday to ask them about their experiences and what it means to them. We are blessed to have had the good fortune to be able to work at or study at ISB and we intentionally build these experiences for our students so that they can enrich our local communities in a meaningful and sustainable way. You can follow some of the action from the trips by visiting our ISB HS Instagram page
Enjoy the February break with family and friends and we look forward to seeing everyone back together on Monday March 2nd (Day 5).
Regards
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
GCW Stories!
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Once again I would like to thank the flexibility of our community for the shift of our international trips to local and in Thailand trips, it has been amazing seeing the adaptability of our students in this situation. The pictures from the week are a great example to show that our students have been engaged in some incredible opportunities to extend their thinking about communities around them, develop their compassion and care, and has connected them to a range of new friends who they were not necessarily connected to prior to this week.
If you haven’t had a chance to look at the Instagram Feed from our trips, please check out the High School Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/isbhighschool/ Please also take the chance to talk to your child about their experiences while away. What challenged them? What did they learn about themselves? What will they do differently or appreciate in a new way because of the experiences they had this week? We hope these GCW stories deepens some of the learning that our students get while away.
For families with children who were on international trips, you should have received an email about refunds that explains that these will be prepared and ready for pick up in mid-March. In order to prepare the cheque for this refund, please respond to this email by Monday 24 February so we have the details of the payee for the cheque to be issued.
With the coming February break we hope that our students get a chance to sleep in, recover from the week and that they return in March ready and recharged for the next stretch of school through to Songrkan.
Andy Vaughan
High School Dean of Students
Rising Grade 9 Students:
Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th
Information Evening Course Selection for the 2020/21 Academic Year
Tuesday 3rd March 6:30pm CCT
Please save the date on your calendars. You are invited to come along with your Grade 8 child for information regarding academics in the High School, focused on Rising Grade 9 students.
More information will be coming out over the coming weeks leading up to online course registrations opening on Wednesday March 11th. If you would like to look through the courses on offer with your son or daughter for next year, updated information will be placed on the main website HS Academic courses page on March 2nd.
Grade 10 Course Selection Evening
Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th
Monday 9th March 6:30pm Chevron/MPB
Please save the evening to come along with your Grade10 child to speak with Grade 11 course teachers about the different options available in Grade11. The transition from 10th to 11th Grade is the time when students have the most choice available about what courses they can study and learn how these choices align with future college or university aspirations. We hope that having the opportunity to talk to subject teachers and counselors will help inform the decision making process. Please find a summary of the process of course selection and support that Grade 10 students have.
The evening will start in the Chevron theater at 6:30PM, before moving to MPB. Please come along!
Important information for Grade 12
Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th
Grade 12 Exam Schedules, Mock exams and for May 2020
Grade 12 students will be undertaking Mock exams from Wednesday 18th March to Wednesday 25th March, with the Visual Arts students having a working session at specific times in the schedule. The Mock exam schedule for students is available on PowerSchool; please check with your child regarding their individual schedule. Please note, morning exams begin at 7:30am and afternoon exams begin at 12:00pm.
Grade 12 students will all finish formal classes on Friday 24th April and start study leave the following week. The official IB exams for ISB start on Friday 1st May and go through to Friday 22nd May. There are IB exams on Thai holidays during this period.
Global Online Academy – pilot program 2020/2021
Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th
We are pleased to introduce a great opportunity for students to explore Online Learning, make Global Connections and explore New Ideas.
For the 2020/2021 Academic year, we have partnered with the Global Online Academy (GOA) to offer a number of courses online for HS students in Grades 10-12. These enrichment courses provide opportunities for students at ISB to extend learning in a chosen subject, or offer alternative courses for students, that are currently not offered at ISB.
HERE is a link to Semester Courses available through GOA, that can be taken and given an ISB credit. More information will be available regarding associated costs and process of application, in March.
For further information regarding GOA and their courses, please refer to the GOA website.
Justyna McMillan
High School Dean of Academics
News from College Counselor
Debbie McDowell
debbiem@isb.ac.th
The College Counselors wish all students a restful and rejuvenating February break!
Junior Led Conferences should be scheduled and done in the month of March if not already completed. Please speak to your child about arranging that appointment. This is an important part of the university guidance program at ISB and parents and students are expected to meet with the College Counselor to prepare for upcoming university search and selection process.
Grade 10 students have been assigned their College Counselor and after the break, the students will meet in small group settings with their counselor to discuss grade 11 course selection. Later in the year (7 May) there will be a Grade 10 College Night for students and parents. Mark your calendars!
Upcoming University visits:
Tuesday, 3 March: Carleton University and Pittsburgh University (10:55-11:25) in HS Conference Room
Wednesday, 4 March: University of British Columbia (10:55-11:25) in HS Conference Room
All students and parents are welcome to attend.
College Coffees (8:00-9:00 am):
Tuesday, 10 March: General Information Session, Applying to UK and Hong Kong
Thursday, 12 March: General Information Session, Applying to Australia, Canada and the Netherlands
Debbie McDowell
High School College Counselor
Colleges & Universities can schedule a visit here.
News from the Counselors
Kevin Callahan
kevinc@isb.ac.th
We hope that all the students are having a productive, interesting, and fun GCW trip this week. Thanks to Mr. Vaughan and Khun Pat in the High School office for making it a success despite the many challenges!
There will be a Grade 8-9 transition Parent Presentation on March 3rd in the CC Theater at 6:30 pm. For parents of current grade 8 students, come find out about moving from Middle School to High School, course requirements and electives, and have your questions answered. We hope to see you there.
ISB’s Inter-School Technology Conference 2020
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Dear MS/HS Students and Parents,
On Saturday, March 28th, the ISB High School Technology Council will be hosting the second annual Inter-School Technology Conference, open to all students in grades 6-12. The conference will consist of several workshops by guest speakers and 3 events: ‘Coding Approaches’, ‘Coding Competition’, and ‘UI/UX Design Challenge’.
The Coding Competition is aimed at intermediate and advanced coders in high school, the UI/UX Design Challenge is aimed for students with some background in UI/UX, and the Coding Approaches event is made for beginning coders or students with no coding experience.
- In Coding Approaches, students are introduced to basic Python code and work towards a final project collaborating with their peers. The event is perfect to gain some exposure to coding in a collaborative and supportive environment. As we would be trying our best to make this event enjoyable for everyone, your child could signup with their friends and be in the same group for the duration of the event.
- If your child does wish to explore a new area of tech, they can sign up to be part of the UI/UX Design Challenge (What is UI/UX Design?).
Prizes are available and in total, they amount to over 100,000 Baht, thanks to our generous sponsors. The event costs 499 Baht and payment and registration is made online via our website istc.isb.ac.th. We are offering limited discounts for the first 30 students at a price of 250 Baht, and an early bird discount for registration done before February 29th. Our regular deadline closes on March 6th. In addition, food will be provided at the event and a bus will be sent to Emporium for anyone living downtown. Please check our website for more information and contact us through technologycouncil@students.isb.ac.th if you have any questions.
Best regards,
ISB HS Technology Council
IASAS Cultural Convention @ ISB – March 6!!!
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Despite the sad news that students from IASAS schools will not be able to travel to participate in IASAS Music, FAD, and DDT events in Bangkok, Taipei and Singapore respectively, we have put together an extravaganza of sorts to celebrate all three CC areas right here at home!!! More details to follow, but plan to attend ISB’s first ever IASAS Combined Dance.Drama.Tech. Forensics.Debate.Music Cultural Convention on March 6!!! On that Friday join the 70 plus ISB delegates in the CC Building to hear their 35 musical presentations, 12 forensics speeches, 2 dance and drama performances, and at least 2 debates (depending on the outcome of the first 4 virtual rounds held Wednesday afternoon, and all day Thursday, March 4 and 5, in the MPB’s). HS classes are invited to attend all scheduled events as are parents and community members. To the many families who had generously volunteered to house visiting musicians before IASAS Music CC was cancelled – THANK YOU!!!
NBBL
Punnanunt Wisuppakan
Punnanuntw@isb.ac.th
Dear ISB Community,
We are pleased to announce that this year Top Flight Basketball will take over management of the NBBL this season. We are honored and very excited to take on the responsibility of organizing this incredible community league.
Our goal is to run a professional, organized league where students will benefit from experienced professionals who share a passion for the game of basketball. In addition to teaching and reinforcing the essential fundamentals of the game, we also emphasize the importance of teamwork, self-confidence, friendship, and sportsmanship.
The NBBL is a community basketball league open to students ages 3-18 years (PreK 1 to Grade 10) of all skill levels. The season consists of an 8-week regular season and championship tournament at the end of the season.
Please have a look at some of the new features of the league this season. Click HERE to find more information.
Best Regards,
Punnanunt Wisuppakan
Secretary/Community Activities
Ext. 1191
REPEAT
CAS Deadline for Seniors:
Becky Hansberry
beckyh@isb.ac.th
The due date for seniors to complete their CAS program is Monday, March 2nd. Students have been aware of this deadline all year and have had ongoing progress checks. To be finished, each experience entered on Managebac should include evidence of the student’s participation, reflection on the chosen learning outcomes, and a supervisor review requested. Students can refer to this tutorial or come see Becky Hansberry with questions.
Graduation Announcement Cards
Carolina Bulow
tcbulow@gmail.com
The class of 2020 is just months away from graduating and it is time to order announcement cards. Ordering these cards is optional and there is no minimum nor maximum amount to order. The cost of each card is 60 THB (card and envelope).
Cards are a tradition in many countries, and are sent by parents to friends and family to announce the graduation of their Senior. Please see the attached sample card. There will also be a sample on the payment drop box in the HS Office beginning today.
Ordering is a two-step process.
- First, complete the Google Order Form following this link https://forms.gle/Azsrnw6VzTZNP8Lr5.Orders must be placed by 3PM Wednesday 4th of March.
- Then,drop off your cash payment in a labeled envelope in the drop box at the HS officeby 2PM Friday 6th of March.
Announcements will be distributed in the cafeteria during lunch/panther block by 25th of March (exact date/details to be confirmed later).
Thank you
Parent Graduation Committee