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MS Parent-Teacher Conference format

This coming week, on Oct 1 & 2, the middle school is hosting Parent-Teacher Conferences. Hopefully, by now you have booked your 2 hour session (per child) in order to meet the teachers and discuss your child’s learning progress so far this year.

Due to safety requirements, we are hosting MS Conferences in the spaces around the Middle School part of campus. We will be using these venues:

• MPB rooms
• Library
• MS Classrooms only on the 2nd floor

Our goal is to ensure that parents can move quickly between teacher locations and efficiently see their child’s teachers, while also adhering to safety guidelines of distancing and crowd numbers.

With teachers separated in different locations, we will also strictly follow a few additional protocols to ensure that parents can see everyone in the 2 hours (remember, there will be up to 90 families in a particular time slot). Parents will not be able to join sessions that they have not previously signed up for, because this would violate our safety precautions and further delay parents who have signed up from seeing the teachers they need to.

Here are some key protocols we will follow:

• All teachers will use a visible timer to ensure that conversations do not exceed 5 minutes. If a conference requires more time, a future appointment will be scheduled.
• Parents will receive a document upon arrival with locations of their child’s teachers. Half the parents will be directed to start with shared space locations and half the parents will directed to go to the classroom teachers first. This will ensure all of our teachers are visited efficiently
• There will be clearly marked waiting areas for each teacher.

In order to ensure we meet safety requirements for an event like this, we must all adhere to the following safety requirements:

• Masks must be properly worn at all times, including during all conferences, while waiting, and as we move through the halls.
• Everyone will hand sanitize before entering a conference space. This allows for less cleaning between conferences, allowing us to be more efficient. Dispensers will be placed near all conference locations.
• Proper distancing will be maintained during conferences and while waiting.
• Food will only be served in the cafeteria where proper dividers are in place to allow masks to be removed.

We are looking forward to these days in which parents, students and teachers interact regarding student learning. We understand that we are trying something new and we need everyone’s cooperation to ensure wait times are not overly long and all parents have time to see all teachers in the allotted 2 hours. Please remember everyone will need their ID cards to enter campus through the turnstiles.

Ahead of the conferences, we recommend checking PowerSchool to see your child’s HAL and Attainment grades. Our teachers want to spend the time speaking with you and your child about their learning and the class experience, rather than spend the time showing you grades.

See you on Thursday or Friday!

 

ISB Drug Testing policy and procedure 

ISB understands it’s educational role and responsibility concerning substance use and abuse. In addition to education in our Health and Wellness classes, we also put in place means for early detection of use, so that we may respond and support the student to prevent long term addiction or risky behavior.

In Middle School, the latter means that we have a drug testing process in place, starting from 8th grade.

From the ISB MS Student Handbook (p 22):

As a Middle School student you may be subjected to ad-hoc breath analysis, urinalysis, or drug hair testing.  Random drug hair testing of grade 8 students occurs regularly.

We will be beginning our random hair testing next week with grade 8 students. Each week we select 10-12 grade 8 students at random.

An administrator meets with students to explain the process and a school nurse takes a small sample of hair that will be sent to a lab in the U.S. for testing. Parents will receive a letter home when their child is tested, which also provides an opportunity to detail any medication that the child is taking in case it surfaces in the testing. Test results are sent to us within one week, typically. Overwhelmingly, results are negative (as in “no trace of substances”) and we only contact students and parents in the cases of a positive test.

Our goal, particularly in middle school, is to introduce the process which is used throughout all grades of ISB high school. Students have told us that they appreciate the process because it provides them with a “way to say no” to peers if/when they are offered any substances that they don’t want to use. This is another reason why our drug testing serves as a positive component in preventing dangerous substance use and abuse.

 

New Panther Activities Offerings and October Break Camps 

Registration on CHQ for Season 2 Athletics and Panther Activities, as well as October Break camps will open at the end of next week. Details including sign up deadlines and instructions will be sent out before the registration window opens on Friday, October 2.  

 

Bangkok International String Festival – September 25-26, 2020

  

Bangkok International Choir Festival – October 2-3, 2020

ISB will host its annual Bangkok International Choir Festival October 2-3, welcoming singers from international schools around Bangkok.  Tune into the live streamed Gala Concert featuring the MS and HS Honor Choirs at 2 pm on Saturday, October 3, 2020. Link to be shared next week. 

 

Panther Baseball and Softball Academy 

Join us this Saturday for FREE Academy Baseball practice! During Academy Baseball sessions, we focus on advanced skill development and team concepts with a professional coach to help take your game to the next level. The Academy Baseball program will continue the following weekend and throughout the month of October free of charge. Interested? Contact PantherBaseballandSoftball@isb.ac.th or show up at Reinsch Field on September 26 ready to play ball. U12 and younger players meet from 10:00am to 12:00pm. U13 and older players meet from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. 

 

U13-U15 Basketball Friendship tournament, October 3rd

By Chris Mott, Athletic Director

On Saturday October 3rd, we are hosting a friendship tournament for our U13 & U15 Boys and Girls Basketball teams. Families of participating athletes are invited to support our teams. 

 

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.

 

Panther Run #3, October 3rd 

By Chris Mott, Athletic Director

Please join us and register for the next Panther Fun Run Series. This charity race will benefit Operation Smile.  You only need to register once HERE!