‘Settling in’
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
I hope that you and your families are well and looking after each other at this time. With limited travel, curfews and restrictions on social gatherings etc continuing to be in force, we now see that all families are increasingly spending more time at home working and being together every day. In nearly all cases, this is a good thing as families are able to spend time together playing board games, having breakfast, lunch and dinner together and hopefully talking more.
This can also be challenging for the similar reasons (being together the whole time) and to that end it is helpful to encourage your high school student to stay connected with their school friends through social media and even through good old fashioned phone calls. Do remind your children that their smartphones can actually make real live phone calls! Exercise is also critically important at this time, so once again continue to encourage your children to engage in physical activities and exercise during this time. Our PE/Health teachers have been sharing great lessons and exercise routines with their students so feel free to join them in their next workout.
Last week we solicited feedback from HS parents and students on the latest iteration of virtual school at ISB in the High School and it was pleasing to see so many comments of support and appreciation for the great work of our teachers and to hear stories of the engagement of our students in their lessons and their work. It is a new way of working/learning and although we would dearly all love to be back on campus and in the classroom, we continue to see excellent learning taking place. The majority of parents appreciated the extended lessons (move from 40 – 60 minutes), although some felt these were now too long. 180 high school parents responded to the survey and I have included two graphs that are helpful when considering the workload of students and how much time students are spending on their work.
As you can see from the 1st graph, whilst nearly 37% of parents believe that students are spending about the same amount of time on their learning as they would during ‘regular school’, we have 22% saying that their children are spending more time than before and 32% are spending less time than before. The second graph reports that a significant majority (nearly 74%) of parents felt that the workload was just right for the students, with a much smaller number (11.7%) of parents felt that it was too little and a similar amount (14.4%) felt the workload was too much. There were some requests for more communication from teachers about student progress but these responses may have come before we released the mid semester comments on Monday afternoon.
As we continue with virtual schooling for a longer period of time, we are now seeing teachers and students settling into a routine and continuing to look for ways to make learning fun and enjoyable in this ‘new normal’. We have re-introduced HS assemblies and our Varsity council is planning a Spirit week soon. Our Arts and activities team are working on virtual concerts and events and of course our Seniors are heading towards a new and different graduation in the coming month. There will be a graduation bulletin for our Seniors and their parents sent out later with more details as to the how and when graduation will take place.
Once again, thank you for your partnership and support during this time. Please reach out directly to teachers, counselors and administrators if you have questions or concerns and we will do our very best to address them.
Enjoy a long weekend and a well deserved break.
Regards
Justin Alexander
HS Principal
Home Learning Choice Board for High School Students
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
As we move into a long weekend and an opportunity for our students to step away from their laptops and work online we thought it might be helpful to share some ‘choice’ boards designed for High School students. These choice boards contain some activities and challenges that HS students might find interesting and/or engaging. I am encouraging students to stay connected with their friends as best they can, but they might also be on the lookout for an activity or two to keep them busy (and in some cases away from screens) over the weekend. Have your child look through the boards and maybe you could join them in a challenge or two.
HS Virtual Assembly!
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Today we had our first HS Virtual Assembly, which had a great turn out from our students! This was a great chance for the community to come together and create some ‘normalcy’ in this time of uncertainty.
We had our strings class start with the King’s Anthem, club announcements and some feature videos, which even included a Tik Tok challenge from our HS Deans! The assembly was capably led by Amani, Bloomy and Earth, members of our Student Council.
We hope you can get a chance to sit back and enjoy this also over the weekend and have uploaded this for parents at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5_dqFClcA&feature=emb_logo
Have a wonderful long weekend!
GCW Refunds
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
All GCW cheque refunds for the International GCW trips that were cancelled have been prepared and distribution has taken place for most of these already. Parents who are eligible for a refund should’ve received an email detailing the instructions for picking up these cheques at the business office. If your child was on a trip that was cancelled and you have not received an email yet, please email Andy Vaughan (andyv@isb.ac.th).
As a reminder, these pick ups can only be made at the scheduled time you chose to avoid any overcrowding. Please also note the following reminders if you are coming to pick up the refund:
- All visitors into the business office wear a mask.
- Please note that our cashier’s office will only be open on Mondays and Wednesdays.
- No students are allowed on campus. All pick ups must be completed by a parent or adult representative.
- An ID must be provided when picking up the cheque.
College Counseling eNews
Andrew Weiser
andreww@isb.ac.th
Grade 10 – PSAT 10
Once again, and confirmed by email from the College Board, the PSAT 10 scheduled for April 28 has been canceled. The current grade 10 students will have the opportunity to take the PSAT 11 in October 2020.
Dear Colleague,
We hope this email finds you well during this challenging time. Thank you for everything you and your colleagues are doing to support students and families as we all navigate the challenges the coronavirus is causing.
Due to the coronavirus, guidance from public health organizations, and school closures across the world, the College Board is unable to provide the April PSAT™ 8/9 and PSAT™ 10 administrations. Unfortunately, there won’t be an opportunity for PSAT 8/9 or PSAT 10 testing this spring.
Sincerely,
College Board
Grade 11 – Student Led Junior Conferences- are continuing!!!
We are still waiting for some Juniors to sign up for their Junior Conference. Did you, as a parent, have a Junior Conference yet with your child and College Counselor? If not, please ask your child to schedule.
Grade 12 – Student Visa for Study in the United States
At the U.S. Embassy, the visa operations are currently closed and there is no date yet when it will reopen. Students should continue to check the U.S. Embassy website. College Counselors will present a Screencast (end of April) about the procedures and documents needed to apply for a student visa.
University Deposit
Please check the University website for the deposit deadline. Let your College Counselor know which university you will be attending, so they can send the Final Transcript in June.
ALL
Virtual University Visits
College Counselors are sending information to students about Virtual University Visits. We are aware of the abundance of emails and do not want to overload the parents in-box too. Please ask your child about the virtual visits if you would also like to attend.
Screencasts ComingWe will be announcing Screencasts on varying topics for both parents and/or students. Example- we emailed a screencast to G11 students about asking
their teachers for Letters of Recommendation. College Coffee Screen Casts are coming toward the end of April, beginning of May. These will include applying to the: UK, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Please do not hesitate to email your College Counselor if you have any questions.
ALONE TOGETHER
Xuan Fan/Becky Hansberry
15693@students.isb.ac.th
Support the “Alone Together” fundraiser starting from April 11 to 25! Starting from 3-8 pm, look out for a donation box and a poster in front of the ISB guardhouse. Stop by and donate any amount of money you wish and sign the poster once you’ve done so! All the proceeds raised will be donated to iCare, who will use the money we raise to provide more N95 masks, care packages, and hot meals to a number of hospitals around Bangkok to protect the lives of our healthcare workers! If you have any questions, contact Xuan Fan at 15693@students.isb.ac.th and look out for the donation box starting this Saturday!
Panther Roars
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Panther Roars (/ˈpanTHər/ /rôrz/ noun 1. Full, deep, prolonged utterances of positive expression by ISB community members in response to the world pandemic.
Look for performances and exhibitions from our Design, Fine and Performing Arts students over the next few weeks as they find creative ways to showcase their work – virtually! Meanwhile check out our Community Connections page, or Panther Roars, where you can see or share JOYFUL ART, GRATITUDE, OPEN MIC PERFORMANCES, STORIES and HAPPINESS!!!
LIVE FROM BOSTON! JACE PAYACKAPAN (ISB ’16) IN CONCERT
a Panther Roars Production Live on Youtube Friday, May (time and link to be announced)
The Digital Library is always open
Meggie Hagen
meggieh@isb.ac.th
