23rd April 2020
Dear Parents,
Thursday April 23rd was the last day of formal ‘classes’ for our seniors and a most unusual finish to the school year for them. For me it was the first time that I had a senior class who spent their last day of school at home. Despite this, the HS Admin team was able to join the seniors today by ‘zoombombing’ into their lessons and congratulating them on their achievements and wishing them all the best for their futures. Whilst the next few months might be somewhat uncertain, I can certainly say with conviction that our seniors will make their mark on the world in many different ways in the years ahead. Please join me in passing on a huge Congratulations to the class of 2020.
Regards
Justin Alexander
HS Principal
Principals Forum Webinar
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Thank you to the 40 or so parents that registered and joined the HS Principals Forum webinar on Wednesday morning. We know that a few parents experienced some technical issues and were not able to join the meeting so we have provided a link to the meeting here. The meeting went for about 50 minutes or so.
Semester Exams and Assessment
Dear Grade 9,10 and 11 students and parents,
Thank you for your patience with us as we continue to operate in a state of uncertainty surrounding the end of the school year. Although we are still hoping that we may be back on campus at some point this semester, we will continue to plan the end of the school year with Virtual Learning guiding our decision making process. This planning has involved deliberating what the end of the school year will look like for our students and important discussions and decisions around assessment in a Virtual Learning environment. We would now like to communicate the decisions below and a rationale as to why we have decided to go down this path.
Decision regarding Semester Exams:
There will be no Final Exams at the end of the Semester this academic year. This decision was made because of the challenges faced in replicating a similar testing environment under which traditional exams can take place, virtually. We also need to recognise that although many of our students have continued to thrive in this new learning environment, virtual school has brought with it some unique challenges. We have decided to continue to focus on student learning, providing regular feedback and ongoing assessment opportunities. By removing a high stakes exam at the end of the year, we feel this is the right course of action for our students which alleviates some anxiety during a time that has already been quite stressful.
Decision regarding our continuing with the 7-1 grading scale for assessment and reporting:
We believe we are in a strong position comparatively to some other schools affected by campus closures, in that we are largely able to continue to deliver rigorous curriculum content and support student learning, despite the unique challenges presented by a transition to Virtual School.
After discussions at the faculty and administrative level, we have decided to continue to assess students virtually, providing assessment opportunities that will enable students to demonstrate their new learning and understanding. This will be done through both formative and summative assessments, as continued Evidence of Learning. We also believe that by reporting on student learning using a 7-1 grading scale, we are able to recognise and affirm the valuable and excellent work our students are able to complete during this time.
Decision to move to Pass, Pass with Distinction and Incomplete for some Semester Arts courses:
Virtual learning creates unique challenges for many of our students enrolled in semester long arts courses. Although we are working hard to provide every student with what they need to learn we cannot guarantee equity in resources and access, as it pertains to some semester arts courses. With this in mind, we felt it was more equitable to move to a Pass with Distinction, Pass and Incomplete for some semester long arts courses for the second Semester.
Descriptors for this temporary measure can be found HERE
Please note there will be an indication on student report cards and transcripts with the date we transitioned to Virtual School. This will help to add context to the transcript which is a measure many schools are in the process of implementing.
Next Steps:
We are currently making plans for what the last few weeks of school will look like. Discussions at this point include wrapping up summatives for all subjects and coordinating an assessment calendar, determining the final day of teaching and learning, extra-time built in for HL IB courses, check out process, final assemblies and other celebrations. We hope to be able to provide more information about these matters, towards the end of next week.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about these decisions or other matters.
Enjoy the long weekend!
Regards
Justin Alexander
HS Principal
Justyna McMillan
HS Dean of Academics and IB Coordinator
Andy Vaughan
HS Dean of Students
Request for Results Services – IB Diploma and Certificates
Justyna McMilland
justynam@isb.ac.th
If Seniors would like the IB to send their results directly to their colleges or universities when the results are issued, then students need to complete the form linked below so we have the information we need to make this happen. The new extended deadline is May 1st.
A candidate can select no more than 6 institutions worldwide using this form. Of these six, no more than three institutions can be selected from Canada and USA (of this three only one for US).
Please note that this initial service is part of the resources provided for registered IB Diploma and Certificate candidates for this session (May 2020). Once this form closes, students are able to request further transcripts directly through the IB.
More information will be provided later.
https://forms.gle/15msJwHQqLbBAQXy7
College Counseling eNews
Andrew Weiser
andreww@isb.ac.th
Grade 12 – Student Visa for Study outside your Passport Country
Students should be checking their University website and respective Embassy about Student Visa’s (Canada, UK, U.S. etc.) For example: 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 U.S. student visa.
University Deposit
Please check the University website for the deposit deadline. Students should indicate their “Attending” University in Cialfo so the Final Transcript can be sent 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 Coming
We will be announcing Screencasts on varying topics for both parents and/or students. College Coffee Screencasts about applying to various countries are ready!!
UK – https://www.loom.com/share/076dfe5c2e794e8a98d2cc3fb0d03b91
Hong Kong – https://www.loom.com/share/b617b64406714dbf8a13fb51731bf19e
Australia (0:00 – 5:35), Canada (5:36 – 12:00), and the Netherlands (12:01 – 21:40) – https://www.loom.com/share/a554b1389cbd40b8b42be262b23c7606
Please do not hesitate to email your College Counselor if you have any questions.
Panthers Pounce: The Great ISB Reading Challenge
Maggie Hagen
Maggieh@isb.ac.th
Let’s “pounce” into our ISB community reading program.
- Panthers Pounce is an ISB School-wide May reading challenge where everyone– students, staff, and families can join the fun!
- You participate by logging your time and reading any book.
- Your reading could include eBooks, audioBooks, or read-to-me books on Epic. Your reading can even include storytime with Mr. Whitman.
We will launch our Panthers Pounce May reading challenge on May 1st. From the very young to the very old, anyone can pounce on a good book!
LIVE FROM BOSTON! Jace Payackapan
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Jace Payackapan in Concert 7:00pm Friday, May 1
Singer-Songwriter and Producer, Jace Payackapan (ISB Class of ’16), has been working on her musical art since she was little. A recent Contemporary Writing and Production Graduate of Berklee College of Music Jace now spends her time in Boston area studios recording and producing original music and vocalizing on other writers’ projects. Locally she has been awarded Trinity College London’s (Guildhall) distinction for all grades in both piano and vocals. Additionally, she received Thailand’s National 1st place for Trinity Pop & Rock Vocals in 2015, 2016, and 2017. https://www.youtube.com/JacePayackapan
Panther Roars (Repeat)
Anthony Giles
(/ˈpanTHər/ /rôrz/ noun 1. Full, deep, prolonged utterances of positive expression by ISB community members in response to the world pandemic. Check out the newest Community Connections projects HERE including Open Mic, Who Do You Know?, and The Thank You Project. We are looking for teacher and student responses of gratitude for workers on the frontline fight against COVID-19, stories about people you know that have been directly impacted by the pandemic, or songs, dances and slam poetry to share within our own community and beyond. Please ask your classes to participate today!