Parent feedback on convenience of October conferences
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
A busy weekend on campus, although I must say it is still a little strange about not being able to welcome everyone to watch and support our athletic teams and MUN delegates in the tournament and conference that takes place over the weekend. Our athletes and debaters have been fantastic in balancing their academic demands with their sporting and debating commitments over the past few months in the lead up to this weekend and we wish them all the best. We look forward to hearing of their successes and achievements over the weekend and look forward to congratulating them next week.
Thank you to the parents who completed the feedback survey about the October Student Parent teacher conferences last week. Overwhelmingly parents felt the switch for this conference to two days, with registration for two hour slots and with teachers spread amongst two gyms was an improvement on previous October conferences. 88% of all parents who responded felt that the October conferences were very convenient – you can see the results on 1 – 5 scale (with 5 being very convenient) in the chart below. Based on the positive feedback from parents and teachers we will plan for two conference days in October next year.
Next week is a shorter week for students as there is no school for students on Tuesday, however teachers will be hard at work with a professional learning day making sure that we stay current and spend time reflecting on our practice and improving learning opportunities for our students. We are all looking forward to the October break and I wish families travelling (locally) safe travels and a restful break.
Regards
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
IB Exams – Registration and Payment for May 2021
Justyna McMillan
Justynam@isb.ac.th
We have just finished registering our Grade 12 students for IB exams in May 2021. Students who are completing the second year in any IB course are expected to complete the course by sitting the IB examination, as detailed in our HS Program of Studies. Universities also expect students completing an IB program or course to have fulfilled all assessment requirements of the course, of which the examination is the culminating assessment.
Invoices for the exams will be posted on PowerSchool under “Grades and Attendance”.
We would be grateful if you could complete payments for the exams by October 31st.
I have attached a PDF sample invoice, for your reference.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
News from School Counselors
Shannon Leoni
shannonl@isb.ac.th
We had a very fun and well-attended Parent/Counselor Coffee this week!
We started off the event by reviewing the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, and chatted about how our use of technology can affect our mental health, both positively and negatively. There were lively discussions about how families are navigating the way they use technology and social media, and collaborative conversations about best ways to move forward. Parents also had a brief tutorial on how to reduce phone usage, and gained strategies on how they can talk to their children about these topics. We really appreciated the honesty and thoughtfulness from parents, and look forward to the next time we can all come together and discuss a new topic.
For parents who were unable to attend or would like to continue the discussion at home, here is a discussion guide with great conversation starters.
News from the College Office
Sonya Ohlsson
sonyao@isb.ac.th
All High School Invitation:
The U.S. Office of Overseas Education is hosting an information session/talk to help you learn about US Higher Education. Ellen Kim, Director of Admissions at Johns Hopkins, will present a session on “What is a Liberal Arts Education” and “What is Holistic Admissions” along with a Q & A session afterwards. Ms. Kim will not be presenting about Johns Hopkins University. This is a service provided by the U.S. Dept. of State and is purely informational and not about any one particular school.
Please join to learn more about the U.S. Higher Education system.
Monday, October 12 at 7:00-7:45pm, BKK time.
Zoom link: https://collegeboard.zoom.us/j/4664926102
Meeting passcode: ISBOSP2020
No RSVP required.
Seniors:
We had our third Senior College Seminars this week. After giving the students important information about deadlines, sending test scores (or not), financial aid forms, the importance of demonstrated interest Predicted Grades and applying to Thai universities, we gave them dedicated work time. This is when they could complete applications, edit essays, do more research on schools and update their Cialfo. It was a productive time for them focused on college.
Juniors:
PSAT 11 is next week on Wednesday, October 11. 85% of the junior class will be taking the test starting at 7:45am until about lunchtime. Their teachers have been made aware of this annual test and many will be helping out on the day.
Sophomores:
Just because I have had some questions about this, I wanted to mention that the PSAT10 for sophomores will take place March 30, 2021. More information will be made available closer to that date.
Parent College Coffee:
Here is the recording of the Parent College Coffee from October 6. The topic was Standardized Testing. Recordings of other events can be found tinyurl.com/isbcollege under the Resources tab.
Some of next week’s Virtual University Visits :
October 12 Quinnipiac University 11:00am
October 15 Pitzer College 11:15am
October 16 NYU Shanghai 11:00am
For links and more details on all Virtual Visits: tinyurl.com/isbcollege
High School Principal’s Forum – Term 1 – Call for questions
Selma Benmoussa & Dhooleka Raj
On behalf of the HS’s PF Parent Committee
hsppforum@isb.ac.th
The HS Principal’s Forum is a channel of communication between HS parents and the HS administration. It is a platform to allow all HS parents to bring forward any questions, suggestions, or concerns to the Forum’s parent committee. The PF committee is composed of parents of 9th/10th/11th &12th grade students.
There is one HS Forum each semester, with a total of two per academic year. All HS parents are welcome to attend. The first meeting is scheduled for 9am on October 29th in MPB# 1. The meeting will be led by Justin Alexander (HS Principal), Andy Vaughan (HS Dean of Students), Justyna McMillan (HS Dean of Academics), and other HS Team members.
All questions are shared with the Administration anonymously: only the content is presented. The topics are addressed and discussed in an open meeting between administration and HS parents. All HS Parents are invited to send their questions/suggestions/concerns to us before October 11th via:
HS Principal’s Forum- Questions from Parents– Intake Form. Or, by copying and pasting this URL into your browser
https://forms.gle/ajSPd5p3hm5xnnr3A
As always, if there are time sensitive questions and individual concerns, please reach out directly to the teachers, The HS principal’s office, counsellors and admin team. They are always your first port of call and will be happy to assist and support you.
Please feel free to be in touch with us if you have any questions, or would like to understand more about the HS PF process.
With kind regards,
Selma Benmoussa & Dhooleka Raj
On behalf of the HS’s PF Parent Committee
hsppforum@isb.ac.th
News from the Athletics
Chris Mott
christm@isb.ac.th
Virtual Cross Country – Middle School 3K and High School 5K
Congratulations to our Middle and High School Cross Country runners who participated in this year’s Virtual 5K Cross Country.
ISB Soccer and Volleyball Invitational
Between the 9th – 11th of October 2020 ISB Athletics will be hosting a Soccer and Volleyball Varsity Invitational Tournament. We have 16 volleyball teams and 8 soccer teams ready to compete. All visiting schools are from the Bangkok area.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this event is only open for participants and and parents of participants.
Season Two Tryouts
Season Two Varsity Tryouts will be held on the 14th, 15th and 16th of October. For a list of High School offerings please visit the Athletics website
High School Athletes in season one U15 & JV teams who wish to try out for Season 2 Varsity teams are excused from their season 1 sports practices to attend tryouts on 14-16 October. They will continue with their last week of season 1 sports after the October break in preparation for the BISAC End of Season 1 Tournament.
Season Two Junior Varsity Tryouts will be held on the 3rd, 4th and 6th of November. For a list of High School offerings please visit the Athletics website
Season Two U15 and U13 Tryouts will be held on the 4th and 5th of November. For a list of U13-U15 offerings please visit the Athletics website
Season Two ISB Athletics Registration
Season Two registration is now open on CHQ for all Varsity, Junior Varsity and U15 programs. Parents are asked to sign up your child through CHQ.
For instructions on how to sign up using CHQ please use the following link – REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS CHQ,
Season One Awards – Varsity and Junior Varsity
The Season One Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday the 5th of November. This is for all Varsity and Junior Varsity Season One Athletics.
More information on this event will be available after the October Break.
Season 1 Invitational- Volunteer at Booster Spirit Tent!
Booster Club – Secretary booster-secretary@isb.ac.th
October 9th and 10th is the ISB Invitational tournament in place of the normal IASAS for Volleyball and Soccer! This may look a little different than years past but we are still hosting 24 teams Friday and Saturday and we need your help! The Booster Club will have the spirit tent up again for the volleyball and soccer tournaments this weekend. Sign up for one hour or more if you’d like to help support the teams as they compete in their biggest tournament of the season! This weekend we are also asking for volunteer bakers to send in baked goods so we can provide more variety of snacks for the parents and players. As always, they must be nut free and this year it is important that they are individually wrapped. We appreciate any support you are able to provide to make this a successful event. The sign-up for baked goods is below the spirit tent shifts. If you have any questions please contact either Wayne Skaggs or Stacey Smith at booster-vp@isb.ac.th Thank you!
To access the sign-up form, please click on this link(make sure you are on the 2nd tab of the sheets): Volunteer sign-up
GO PANTHERS!
Stacey Smith & Wayne Skaggs
Registration for Panther Activities (session 2) and October Break Camps
Open Now through October 14
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Registration on CHQ for Panther Activities (session 2), as well as October Break camps is open now through October 14. Questions? Contact PantherActivities@isb.ac.th or any of the area coordinators at PantherBaseballandSoftball@isb.ac.th, PantherBasketball@isb.ac.th, PantherGymnastics@isb.ac.th, PantherRugby@isb.ac.th, PantherSoccer@isb.ac.th, PantherTennis@isb.ac.th, or PantherVolleyball@isb.ac.th.
Panther Activities – Session 2 :
Panther Arts, Panther (BBSA) Baseball & Softball League, Panther Basketball, Panther Rugby, Panther Soccer, Panther Tennis, and Panther Volleyball
Panther Activities Camps – October Break:
Panther Basketball, Panther Gymnastics, Panther Soccer, and Panther Volleyball
Panther Dance is still taking participants!!!
Interested? Contact PantherDance@isb.ac.th
Choral Union: ISB’s Community Chorus
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Choral Union, ISB’s Community Chorus, is committed to musical excellence and expression where every singer is an integral part of the group. We provide a challenging and supportive choir perfect for those who love to sing and who have a desire to advance their musical skills! We rehearse on Monday evenings, starting October 26, from 7:00-8:30 pm in the Choir room, Floor 1 of the CC building at ISB with a concert scheduled on Wednesday, December 9th.
| Days: | Mondays |
| Dates: | Oct 26, Nov 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Dec 9, 14 |
| Time: | 7:00 PM- 8:30 PM |
| Locations: | ISB, Room CC 8-140 |
| Cost: | 4000฿ |
Read more in the catalog:
And sign up here:
Arts Council Presents Spooky Rocktober Open Mic
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Arts Council Presents Spooky Rocktober Open Mic – Outdoor Stage, HS Lunch, September 30th Have a song or dance to share for Arts Council’s Spooky Rocktober Open Mic event? Please sign up HERE now through Friday, October 16th to perform on the outdoor stage during HS Lunch on Friday, October 30th!
EARTH, AIR, WATER and FIRE: FALL DANCE PRODUCTION OCTOBER 30th
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Come enjoy the annual Fall Dance production, “The 4 elements” in CCT Oct. 30. This collection of dances from MS, HS, and IB Dance students explores themes of nature – Earth, Air, Water, and Fire; also featuring guest artist choreography from Mr. Patrice LeRoy.
LIMITED SEATING! Shows at 3:30 and 6:00, with a suggested donation to our charity, Pakkret Women’s Shelter. (Halloween grab-bags for the first 20 donations over 100 THB!)
Inktober is here!
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th