Parent Feedback on MS Virtual School
Dear MS Parents,
Thank you for your support and understanding as we implement our virtual school experience for your children. We are seeking feedback from students, teachers, and parents to help us understand your perspective on virtual school and improve this experience. We have taken multiple opportunities to hear from students and now we would like to hear from you.
Please take a few moments to complete this survey.
This survey is being sent out BY DIVISION, so please complete this one with your MS child(ren) in mind. You are welcome to give feedback for each MS child by completing the form once for each child.
Thank you again for taking the time to complete this survey. If you can complete this survey by Sunday noon that will provide us time to go through the data ahead of next week.
Reflecting on One Week of Virtual School
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
The true measure of the strength of a community is how it perseveres in the face of unexpected change or difficulty. With this in mind, I want to share my appreciation for the professionalism, dedication, and hard work of the teachers during this week of virtual school. It is not easy on a weekend’s notice to adjust practices from live classrooms to online ones, so that learning continues in a completely different format. Middle School teachers have collaborated, learned new skills, and created new content to ensure that students continued to make learning progress in virtual school.
I also have to thank the efforts of our parents too, who have had to change home routines and support their children in new, evolving circumstances. We know that for every family there have been challenges, successes, and struggles. We have always said that student succeed best when home and school partner together. We have seen that this week more than ever. If you are still looking for supports to help your children focus, we have put together this MS Virtual School Checklist for setting routine and staying focused.
Finally, thank you to our students. Not surprisingly, we had to do some chasing at the start of the week, as students figured out the expectations and whether they would be held accountable. It is middle school, after all! But as teachers reached out, as parents checked in, and as counselors followed up, students recognized the routines, focused, and engaged in the learning. Well done, middle school students! You continue to do us proud.
Uncertainty, constantly changing circumstances, diminished social contact, and global and local health concerns can cause a lot of stress for us as adults, but also our young adolescent students. In order to achieve our mission goal of healthy, active, balanced lives, we hope we have structured our virtual school to balance screen time with opportunities to be active and social. We had great turnout today at our live online advisory meetings using Google Meet. We saw smiling faces and students shared how things have been going. If at any time, you have concerns around how your child is coping with the situation or other stressors, please reach out to our school counselors.
Winston Churchill said this about facing difficult times:
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
These “difficult” times have tested us, for certain. Maybe it is the optimist in me, but what I have seen – through all of the challenges for students, parents, and teachers – has been the best of our community rising to support kids, to demonstrate respect to all, and to value school to continue learning. A community that sees this difficulty as an opportunity to care for one another.
I remain proud to be part of this ISB and Middle School community.
Reminder to complete Course Registration
At this time, if your current G6 or G7 child has not yet completed the course registration process for the 2020-2021 school year, please take the steps outlined below to complete this process:
- Read about the courses on offer in our Program of Studies with your child and discuss the options available.
- Complete and sign the paper registration form (parent and student).
Register for classes in PowerSchool (click here for instructions). It is important that the selections that are entered into PowerSchool match the paper form. - Submit the paper registration form to the counseling office before the end of the day on Monday, March 23rd.
Please ask your child to stop by the MS Office on Monday, March 23rd to see the counselor, Mr. Harter, or Mrs. Plantecoste if your child has any questions, or to pick up a new paper registration form.
We thank you in advance for your support.
Special Online Edition of MS Principal’s Forum
by MS PTA Coordinators
mscoord@isb.ac.th
SPECIAL EDITION ONLINE MS PRINCIPAL FORUM: Comments, questions and concerns now being accepted!
Principal Harter and the middle school administration invite questions and concerns (along with celebrations) from middle school families. Together with MS PTA Coordinators, they would like to provide continued accessibility and information to those who may have questions unique to our current situation.
In an effort to support open communication, MS PTA Coordinators are now accepting written questions and concerns, and will organize the information so that responses from ISB administration will be available to all families.
Parents with questions or concerns are encouraged to submit them to PTA MS Coordinators, who will then pass them on, anonymously, to administration for their response to be shared with our middle school community. MS administration will respond to parents’ questions and concerns, and will work with MS Coordinators to post these communications in an upcoming Principal Forum Online Edition that will be publically available for all parents and updated as needed.
Middle School PTA Coordinators welcome your current questions, comments and concerns. Please send them to mscoord@isb.ac.th. We ask that they are submitted this week so that answers can be processed and posted in a timely manner. In addition, Principal Harter appreciates hearing parents’ comments at all times, and you may also email him directly if you prefer.
Grade 6 & 7 Parent Session on Upcoming Human Growth and Development Unit
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
When we return to school on March 23, our first round of Grade 6 and Grade 7 students will begin Unit three of the ISB Wellness program which focuses on Human Growth and Sexuality.
The Grade 6 & 7 Wellness teacher, Ms. Kellie Alexander, is presenting on this unit for interested 6th and 7th grade parents on Monday, 23rd March at 9:00 AM in the MPB 3.
(More information will be provided at a later date for the grade 8 parent presentation)
Aligned with research and international practice, we believe that when young people start their transition into adolescence with accurate information and the confidence and knowledge to understand what is happening to them, they will grow into confident and healthy adults able to make positive choices.
All teaching materials are developmentally appropriate to the age and emotional maturity of the students. The content will be presented in an objective, balanced, and sensitive manner.
If you would like to read more about our curriculum progression and the topics covered please use this LINK.