Information Regarding School Closure & Online Learning for March 9th-13th
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents and HS Students,
Thank you for your patience and understanding over the past week as we have been dealing with changing circumstances related to COVID-19 and the resultant closing of school next week. You will have read the message sent earlier this afternoon by Dr. Davies to the ISB community noting that school will be closed next week and virtual school will take place instead. The good news is that we already have protocols and procedures in place to support online learning during times of school closure and we are now implementing those procedures.
You can read those procedures in the HS Community Virtual School Handbook
As it stands, all High School teachers already use either Powerschool Learning or Google classroom along with other online tools to share resources, collaborate, conference, collect documents in order to provide quality online learning and will continue to do so during this period.
Here are some key points of information for the coming week:
Student expectations:
- Students are expected to be online and available during their regularly scheduled classes based on the adjusted ‘Virtual School Schedule below’. Monday is still a Day 2.
- Students need to be ready to participate and ready to access online materials and resources at the following times:
- 9.00-9.40am (first block)
- 9.50-10.30am (second block)
- 11.00-11.40am (third block)
- 11.50-12.30pm (fourth block)
- Students should be in a comfortable and conducive environment, have access to their laptops and internet connectivity at least during the times above.
- Students are to check their email regularly and to visit Haiku/Powerlearning/google classroom sites for each class. Daily expectations will be shared by teachers before 8.30am.
- Students need to follow teacher instructions regarding the uploading of assessments, assignments work, etc
- The HS Virtual School Schedule is:
Parent Expectations
- As a parent, you should receive an email sharing expectations for the weeks learning at the start of the week in each of your child’s classes.
- We are not expecting students/teachers to be online for the entire school day and indeed we will not be asking students to be online before 8.30am each day.
- Your child will receive an email on the day of the learning by 8.30am to communicate learning expectations for that day.
Campus Access
- No students are allowed on campus at all during the week.
- A deep cleaning of the campus has already been started by our B&G staff and will be completed early next week.
- HS students registered to take the SAT on Saturday, March 14 will be able to access the campus on that day only to take their SAT.
We know that this news may have created some anxiety for some of our students. Please know that our counselors are available to support students as necessary. Counselors will be in touch with students and are available to meet virtually via Google Meet during this time.
Thank you once again for your support and understanding at this time. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out and ask.
Justin Alexander
HS Principal
justina@isb.ac.th
Andy Vaughan
HS Dean of Students
andyv@isb.ac.th
Justyna McMillan
HS Dean of Academics
justynam@isb.ac.th
Rising Grade 9 Students:
Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th
Information Evening Course Selection for the 2020/21 Academic Year
Tuesday 17th March 6:30pm CCT
Here is the new date for our rescheduled meeting. 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. Below is the rest of the timeline and outline of the process.
HERE is a link to the screencast set out to students this week.
| Class of 2024 Course Selection & Registration Timeline | |
| March 5 | Introductory Presentation ScreenCast |
| March 7 | Follow up email – Planning sheet / PPT from presentations |
| March 10 | Video tutorial sent on how to walk through Powerschool course sign up |
| March 17 | Parent Presentation – 6:30 PM (CCT) |
| March 20-25 | Course registration period |
| April 30th | 8th & 9th Grade mixer during Advisory |
Grade 10 Course Selection Evening
Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th
Monday 16th March 6:30pm Chevron/MPB
The date for our rescheduled meeting is Monday 16th March. 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. HERE is a screencast presentation that was sent to students, to officially launch the process. Below is a summary of the revised timeline.
| Class of 2022 Course Selection & Registration Timeline | |
| Parents are encouraged to join the blue events. | |
| February 6 | Pathways Career Fair |
| February 11 | IB Basics For Parents (Evening) |
| February 13 | G10 & G11 Student Mixer (Advisory) |
| March 2 | Course Selection Mtg w/ Dean of Academics (Panther Block) |
| March 2-6 | Teachers discuss G11/12 course options (In Classes) |
| March 16 | G10 Course Information Session & Department Fair (Evening)
Chevron & MPB’s |
| March 18 & 19 | College counselors meet with their assigned G10 students |
| March 20-25 | Course Registration (Online in PowerSchool) |
| March 20 | HS Parent Teacher Conferences (Daytime) |
News from College Counselor
Andrew Weiser
andreww@isb.ac.th
SAT March 14 (NOT CANCELLED)
If your child is registered for the SAT on Saturday, 14 March, please remind them that they must bring their School ID to gain access to the campus and must have their Passport and their SAT Admissions Ticket to be admitted to the test. Please arrive at campus at 7:30 AM. If anything changes regarding the test, we will let everyone right away.
Seniors
Many university decisions will be coming in February and March. Seniors should inform their College Counselor about all decisions. Students should go onto Cialfo and update these outcomes.
Important: The student must tell the College Counselor which university he/she will attend! Students should deposit to ONE university and ISB will send one final transcript to the “attending” university.
Summer Programs
If students are interested in summer programs, now is the time to start researching. Please see this LINK for a database of programs. Please understand it is the students (and parents) responsibility to research these programs.
Upcoming University Visits:
Many Universities have cancelled their travel plans to Southeast Asia. There are no University visits at this time.
For a complete list of University visits please use this link (Link to Calendar)
News from the Counselors
Kevin Davy
kevind@isb.ac.th
The recent coronavirus and the media surrounding it has been the talk of students in and out of school this week. It is of course natural that the risks and the unknowns of the virus will create anxiety, particularly for children and adolescents who don’t have the capacity to process information and reason in the same way an adult would. It is more difficult for them to assess health threats and put news reports and social media posts into perspective. Our students are hugely resilient and able to navigate through change and challenges such as this one. However, it’s a timely reminder how important it is as families to check in with our children to reassure and process what is going on from the lens of our own family values and experiences.
Of course, we need to follow the official guidance provided, be mindful of hygiene and take normal healthy precautions as we would with any other virus. However, here are a few extra things you may want to consider:
Listen to your child’s concerns and reassure them as best you can
Take time to check in with your child. Find out what they’ve heard, what they understand and any worries they have. Correct any misinformation and provide reasonable reassurance in a developmentally appropriate, honest and clear way. Scientists and public health officials are working overtime to understand the virus and look at ways to limit its impact. Encourage trust in their work and efforts and let teenagers get on with their very important business of being teenagers!
Avoid overconsumption of media
Many news outlets, other sources of online information and social media overemphasize the problem and its accompanying risks. Limit consumption of media, especially around this topic and suggest or provide other activities for your adolescent to be involved in.
Model a calm and measured approach
Children feed off their parents’ emotions. They will look to you for cues on how to respond to the situation. Talking to them about reasonable hygiene precautions and then confidently carrying on with your day is likely to be the best approach. Finally, remember all those usual healthy living basics of plenty of sleep, exercise and a healthy diet.
We were able this past Thursday to talk in advisory with our students about their thoughts and feelings surrounding recent events. We promoted how we can best support each other at this time. We also reminded students to be mindful of cultural differences / backgrounds and the words / actions used when addressing the current situation.
It’s that time of year were will be supporting students and parents in selecting courses for next school year. Some of this planning / presentations have been adjusted due to the current situation, including the course registration window that will now be March 20-25. Please see below for details.
Rising Freshmen (current Grade 8 students)
- March 5 – Screencast Presentation to be sent electronically to students
- March 7 – Follow up email – Planning sheet / PPT from presentations
- March 10 – Video tutorial sent on how to walk through Powerschool course sign up
- March 17 – Parent Presentation – 6:30 PM (CCT)
- March 20 – 25 – Course registration period
- April 30 – 8th & 9th Grade mixer during Advisory – 10-25 – 10:55
Here is the current Grade 10 outline of course selection support:
If you apply to summer programs or are moving at the end of the year and applying to other schools, please contact Kuhn Fon at supanniy@isb.ac.th. Please turn in to the HS Counseling office at least 10 days in advance if any documents are needed to support the student’s application.
Graduation Announcement Cards
Carolina Bulow
tcbulow@gmail.com
Don’t miss out on ordering a beautiful keepsake to remember your child’s HS graduation
Due to the unforeseen circumstances in the recent weeks, we are extending the deadline for ordering graduation announcement cards.
See instructions below and new dates.
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 Monday 16th of March.
- Then, drop off your cash payment in a labeled envelope in the drop box at the HS office by 2PM Wednesday 18th of March.
Announcements will be distributed in the cafeteria during lunch/panther block during first week of April (exact date/details to be confirmed later).
Thank you
Parent Graduation Committee
ISB Summer School 2020 – Registration Now Open!
Maurilio Baron-Toaldo
maurilib@isb.ac.th
Our ISB Summer School Office is now open and accepting registrations for Summer School 2020! You can go to the ISB website to access all information about dates, programs, and fees, and to submit a registration form online. For HS students, we have the following Special Enrichment Camps available this year!
HS Art Camp (1 week) June 15 – 19 for students entering Grade 9 – 12 in August.
HS Math SAT Prep Camp (1 week) June 15 – 19 or June 22 – 26 for students entering Grade 10 – 12 in August.
HS Work Experience Program (9 days) June 15 – 25 for any student presently in Grade 9 – 12.
ISB Panther Swim Camp; Experience the “Panther Way” (1 week) June 15 – 19 for students entering Grade 2 – 12 in August.
Our Summer School Office is located next to the Admissions Office inside the Central Admin Building where Khun Fon, our Summer School Office Secretary will be there to greet and assist you Monday to Fridays, 7:00am – 2:45pm.
For any questions, please email sumdir@isb.ac.th