Middle School Parent-Teacher Conferences Oct 1-2
In a couple of weeks, on Thursday and Friday, October 1 & 2, our Middle School hosts parent-teacher (and student) conferences. Students do not have classes on these days, but we encourage them to join you for conferences, so that they may be part of their learning conversations as you hear about their areas of strength and areas for growth. Students do NOT have to wear school uniform at conferences.
The format for the conferences will be 2 hour sessions that you sign up for. During this time, you will move about and see the teachers on your child’s schedule (which we provide on the day).
This year, instead of the large gym space, we will use spaces in the Main Library, MPB, and MS classrooms to ensure crowds don’t get too big and we can maintain appropriate distancing. This will mean more movement between teachers, so individual conversations will have to be short. You will likely be waiting your turn to talk to a teacher.
We limit the number of parents per grade in any sessions to help ensure that you can reach all teachers in the assigned 2 hours.
Sign ups for conferences will be sent out via email on Tuesday, September 22nd. Please be on the lookout for that email.
We look forward to seeing you at conferences and engaging with you about your child’s learning progress.
Government Requirement for Contact Tracing
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
The Thai government requires that we ensure that students log the locations they visited outside of school each day for the purpose of contact tracing should a COVID-19 case arise at school or in the community. Of course this requirement has raised concerns of how we might collect the data, how we will ensure compliance, and the security / privacy of the data. It is essential that ISB does its part and meets the requirements of the government in order to keep our campus open.
The implementation of this requirement has undergone significant discussion at admin and teacher leader levels and we have arrived at the following solution:
MS students will receive a unique email from school with a form to fill out with the locations they visited. In a particular subject at school, students will spend a few minutes at each class meeting filling out the form. This means students will complete this form in class, every other day. Teachers will not look at what they are entering, they will just provide the time (a few minutes) in class to complete it. We will rotate the subject that this work is done in to ensure that learning time is minimally impacted.
The entry made by the student will go directly to a secure file online. We do not see the data and would only provide it to government officials in the case of a need for contact tracing.
Please contact me if you have any questions about this requirement.
MS PTA Meeting Summary
Thank you to those parents who joined our first MS PTA meeting of the year. As we shared at the meeting, it was nice to see parents on campus. This was one of the first official parent gatherings on campus.
MS PTA representatives Kelly and Moneesha introduced the role of the PTA and the many events and grants that the PTA is involved in to help ISB. Middle School Administration, introduced themselves and the MS Office team.
Vice Principal, Cindy Plantecoste, shared how administration oversees the learning program, including curriculum conversations and oversight, classroom visits and teacher feedback, and leadership and learning program development.
Principal, Dennis Harter, answered questions on the new Students Contact Tracing Logs (see other post) and locker use in the middle school. In the case of the latter, we continue to look at solutions that would meet physical distancing requirements, while allowing locker use. For now, we are minimizing the time students have with their backpacks.
Applying to or considering boarding school?
by MS Counselors
If you are planning to apply for admission to boarding school for the 2020-21 school year, please make an appointment to meet with your child’s counselor as early as possible – and definitely before November 1. For us to best support your child’s application process, it is very important that parents meet with their child’s counselor, in person.
October is typically when students who are planning on applying to boarding school register for the SSAT, ISEE, or other necessary testing (e.g., TOEFL). This is also the time when applicants begin gathering teacher references.
Part of the process of the counselor meeting will be to coordinate reference writing. Parents should not write directly to teachers for references, but rather coordinate those references requests through their child’s counselor. This will enable us to ensure that references and other documentation is submitted to the receiving institution.
Please note, in order to allow teachers time to provide a thorough, quality reference for your child, we ask that you allow a 4 week turn around time from the time the reference request is received until the reference is completed. Students who are applying to schools with January application deadlines must submit their reference requests by November 10, through the counselor.
Thank you for working in partnership with your child’s counselor to ensure a smooth transition to boarding school.
Spirit Night CANCELLED
By Chris Mott, Athletic Director
Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, we are not able to run our traditional ISB Spirit Night. Campus will be closed from 5:10 for everyone except students who are taking part in a scheduled ISB or Panther Activities.
ISB Soccer and Volleyball Invitational
By Chris Mott, Athletic Director
On Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th of September we will be hosting our first tournaments on campus. Our Varsity boys and girls soccer and volleyball teams will be playing against various Bangkok schools.
Due to strict government regulations, only athletes who are part of the event, and direct family members or players are able to attend the games as long as they wear face masks and keep physical distance.
Spirit Week
By Chris Mott, Athletic Director
We are excited to celebrate Spirit Week between the 21st – 25th of September. Each day the Varsity Council has organised a dress code. Please check the poster below so students in ES, MS and HS can prepare their outfits.
Arts Council Presents September Open Mic – Outdoor Stage, HS Lunch, September 25
Have a song, poem, speech, or dance to share for Arts Council’s first Open Mic event of the year? Please sign up HERE now through Wednesday, September 23 to perform on the outdoor stage during HS Lunch on Friday September 25th!
IASAS Dance Exchange 2020
ISB will host an expanded IASAS Dance Exchange virtually this weekend. Workshops on Friday and Saturday will feature instructors from Bangkok teaching dancers from all over the region. Look for highlights later this month.
Bangkok International String Festival – September 25-26, 2020
ISB will host its annual Bangkok International String Festival September 25-26, welcoming nearly 150 string musicians from international schools around Bangkok. Tune into the live streamed Gala Concert featuring the festival orchestra at 2 pm on Saturday, September 26, 2020. Link to be shared next week.
Submit Your Art
ArtsCouncil is launching a monthly series of IG challenges to showcase the diverse range of talented artists in our community. This month’s theme is PEACE – in honor of the upcoming Peace Day on September 21st. Submit your artwork, pieces, and/or videos that relate to this theme of peace- which you can define and interpret any way you like. We will be posting your submissions on our Instagram page. Send in your submissions through this link.
