Weekly Message from Dr. Michael Allen
Students of all ages are most successful when there is a strong home and school partnership where families are able to link the learning from school to the home! This is why ISB faculty and leaders provide parents with tools and strategies to allow them to link learning happening at school to home in a wide variety of ways. Virtual Open House, weekly Friday ISB ES eNews, classroom updates to parents, student Seesaw posts, regularly scheduled “ES Parent Engage” workshops, Grade Level Curriculum Unit Overviews, and student-parent-teacher conferences are a sampling of the tools used in the elementary school to support and empower parents. I believe that the responsibility for building strong partnerships between school and home rests primarily with school faculty, especially school leaders, therefore I look forward to providing a short message within our ES eNews each week designed to help strengthen our ongoing work together.
Your partner in education,
Michael Allen
michaela@isb.ac.th
No School on Tuesday October 13
Tuesday October 13 is His Majesty The Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej Memorial Day. There is no school. Classes resume on Wednesday October 14. It will be an ‘F’ Day.
PK-12 Parent Session – Supporting Your Child’s Social-Emotional Wellbeing in the Time of COVID – October 15 @ 8AM
On Thursday, October 15 from 8:00AM-9:00AM the ISB counseling team will offer a presentation for all ISB parents in the Chevron Theater. Our time together will focus on ways you can support your child’s social-emotional wellbeing in the time of COVID. In order to ensure that we have enough space to comply with the current physical distancing guidelines please sign up here if you plan to attend.
Thank You For Joining Us At our Recent Parent Engage!
Around 85 parents (across two sessions) actively participated in the workshop,“Words, Words, Words: Tips for Supporting Your Child at Home in Reading & Writing”. Our parents walked away with important messages as well as tips for supporting their children at home. Here are the handouts for KG-Grade 1 and Grade 2-Grade 5, and she reminded parents of the resources on her website, which is here.
Oct. 19-23 October Holiday Week – No School
Enjoy the holiday! Have a lovely time with family and friends, traveling or taking things a little more slowly. Classes resume on Monday, October 26. It will be a ‘C’ Day.
Intercultural Week Poster Design Competition
Calling all artists!
We would like to call upon our talented ISB artists again to create a new Intercultural Week poster.
This is open to any Elementary School ISB artist. Students who are interested in working on an Intercultural Day poster will need to find their own time to work on their piece. All artwork needs to be original and connect with our theme, which is: Our Cultures, Our Stories. Posters with both of the phrases “Intercultural Week” and “Our Cultures, Our Stories” are highly encouraged. The logo must fit on an A4 piece of paper.
Students can get a piece of drawing paper cut to this size from their classroom teacher or from the ES Office. All artwork needs to be submitted to the ES Office by Monday, October 26th by 2pm. Please make sure that the artist’s name, grade, and class has been clearly written on the back.
A group of faculty members and staff will choose one poster for this year. We will celebrate all artwork that is submitted on a bulletin board for Intercultural Week in November.
If you have any questions, please email Brittany Rivera (brittanyr@isb.ac.th). Thank you!
Elementary School Intercultural Week 2020 – November 9-13
A Note From Your PTA Coordinators
We are so excited to be having week long celebrations during Intercultural Week from November 9-13 this year! In response to our campus health and safety guidelines, rather than having students participate in the cultural room rotation on the same day, we will be planning them across the week.
If you are interested in hosting a culture room for any grade level, please email us at pta-es@isb.ac.th. We will do our best to accommodate your preferred day and grade level.
Monday, November 9 is reserved for the Assemblies. Cultural room rotations will take place between November 10 and 13 (Tuesday to Friday). There will only be one culture room per grade level which will be visited by the classes of the same grade. As our host country, Thailand will be hosting their cultural rooms on Friday, November 13 across each of the grade levels. Communities are welcome to sign up for a grade level on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of the week.
The theme this year is Our Cultures, Our Stories. We encourage you to plan your activities and room set-up with this theme in mind. Please consider activities around storytelling and the role of stories in defining your culture and bringing communities together. The PTA coordinators are happy to help you with ideas and putting your plan together.
We will be sharing more information at our ES Engage sessions. In the meantime, please email us with a preferred day and grade level for your culture room.
Email: pta-es@isb.ac.th
MAP Parent Session Follow Up – MAP Reports Available on PowerSchool
Thank you to the 55+ parents who joined us today for the MAP Parent Session. On PowerSchool all parents will find your child’s mathematics and reading test results for the Fall 2020 Measures of Academic Progress assessment (MAP), which students in grades 2-8 took in September. Within this PDF you will find very detailed information regarding our MAP assessments and explanations of the scores from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA).
Standardized tests like the MAP do not assess all of what it is that make each of our children special and unique. The people who create and score these tests do not know each child the way our ISB teachers do and certainly not the way you do. They do not know that your child fluently speaks two or more languages. They do not know that your child can play a musical instrument or that he/she can dance or paint. They do not know that your child writes poetry or songs, plays or participates in sports, wonders about the future, or that sometimes he/she takes care of a little brother or sister after school. They do not know that your child has traveled to fascinating places around the world or that he/she knows how to tell a great story or that he/she really loves spending time with special family members and friends. They do not know that your child acts with integrity and can be trustworthy, compassionate or thoughtful, and that he/she tries, every day, to his/her very best…the attached scores will tell you something, but do keep in mind that they will not tell you everything.
One of the tools available to help you better understand the MAP assessment concepts is the NWEA RIT TO RESOURCE guide that was shared during today’s parent session and is available for download here:
https://www.saintv.org/media/1/37/46/RITConceptsReference.pdf
ES Virtual School Planning Update
We know how fortunate we are to have been in school, face to face with students for more than two months now! Thailand continues to be a safe place where we are able to live our lives fairly normally. However, we have continued to plan for the possibility of a return to virtual school if needed. ISB will soon communicate the divisional Virtual School Community Handbooks so parents can have clarity regarding how we will resume school virtually, if needed.
A key component to any learning is practice. To that end, teachers have been providing opportunities for students at every level to engage in practice with a wide variety of virtual learning tools such as iPad applications and Seesaw. In addition, all ES students will have a practice experience at some point during the week of October 16-20 in class. The practices are designed by teams based on developmental levels with the purpose being to orient students with our core Virtual School tools. Since Seesaw will be the primary communication tool with students and families in the case of Virtual School, we ask that all parents ensure they are receiving Seesaw communications and contact classroom teachers if they are not.
Please watch for upcoming communication regarding the 2020-21 ES Virtual School Community Handbook which will be shared soon.
Panther ES Explore Updates (ES After School Activities)
Please note that Monday, October 13th – School Holiday, no school, no ES Explore in session.
All activities are well underway. Most of ES Explore have already hosted their 4th session so there are no longer any changes permitted.
Livnat Ziskinder
ES Explore Coordinator
esactivities@isb.ac.th
Panther News
Registration for Panther Activities (session 2) and October Break Camps Open Now through October 14
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
Bangkok Baseball and Softball League Starts November 2!!!
Dear BBSA participants,
Thank you all for signing up to participate in the BBSA league this season! We are all thrilled to get the season underway this weekend with our pre-season assessments. As a reminder, these assessments are to help place students in the correct division and make sure that the teams are fair and equal.
ASSESSMENT INFO:
This Sunday, October 11th, the schedule will be as follows:
| A-Ball* | 12:00-13:00 | Grade 1-2** |
| AA-Ball* | 13:00-14:00 | Grade 3-4** |
| AAA-Ball* | 14:00-15:00 | Grade 5-6** |
*Please note that due to low enrollment, girls hoping to play softball this year are encouraged to sign up to join the baseball teams instead. For more information, please contact Peter Gunderson at gunderpj@gmail.com
**Please note that these are the average ages of participants in each division. Students may be placed in a different division based on safety and skill level.
IMPORTANT: there will be no assessments for T-Ball, Majors, or Seniors this year!
Know anyone outside of isb who wants to play?
Guest ID info:
If your student does not go to ISB or has not received a guest ID, then please make sure to arrive on campus at least 40 minutes before your designated assessment time to make a guest ID badge to easily get on and off of campus throughout the BBSA season. The IDs will be made in the Chevron Foyer from 11:00-14:00.
Division Coordinator INFO:
A handful of thoughtful and enthusiastic baseball and softball parents have volunteered to be coordinators of each division. If you have any questions about practice times, volunteer coaching opportunities, or anything else related to the BSBA, then please reach out to the relevant coordinator!
T-Ball: Ken Millen (kenmillen@fastmail.com)
A-Ball: Jamie Hawk (jamie_hawk50@hotmail.com)
AA-Ball: Monty Swiryn (mswiryn@gmail.com)
AAA-Ball: Tanya Cope (tanya_cope@yahoo.com)
Boys Majors & Seniors: Liz Garrigan (lizgarrigan@gmail.com)
Softball: Peter Gunderson (gunderpj@gmail.com)
THANK YOU!
Finally, thank you to everyone for your understanding and patience regarding getting this information out. With many new safety guidelines and regulations, our team has been working hard to make sure that this BBSA season is not only exciting and fun but also a safe and positive experience for the students.
Looking forward to seeing many of you this weekend!
Respectfully,
Coach Zack
PantherBaseballandSoftball@isb.ac.th
BKK Model United Nations XXVIII – October 11, 2020
ISB will host the 28th annual Bangkok Model United Nations Conference on Sunday, October 11, welcoming nearly 200 delegates and advisors from international schools around Bangkok. Check out the website HERE for up to date information about the conference, or tune in live for the streamed opening and closing ceremonies at 8:00am and 4:00pm respectively as due to COVID-19 protocols the event is only open to participants
Opening Ceremony: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J2TNnCk8SwWpiPFvUENzz
Closing Ceremony: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_W5AbfQKDSFaGk9cJOGgWAA
Season Two ISB Athletics Registrations
Season Two registration is now open on CHQ for U11 Soccer programs (grade 3-5). Parents are asked to sign up their child through CHQ. The first practice starts on Monday 9 November.
For instructions on how to sign up using CHQ please use the following link – REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS CHQ,
ES Cafeteria Menu
Please find the ES Cafeteria menu for next week linked here. Here is the menu for Kindergarten and here is the menu for Pre-Kindergarten.
(Repeat) ES Student ID Reminder
Please note that ES students are not permitted to purchase items from the Booster Hut, Grind or the MS/HS cafeteria using their wristbands or quoting their ID numbers. If Grade 2 – 5 students want to make a purchase at the Booster Hut on Fridays, they need to bring a small amount of cash. Cafeteria or Grind purchases can only be made if accompanied by a parent.
(Repeat) After School Supervision
Any elementary school student on campus outside of regular school hours, who is not participating in a school-sponsored event, must be actively supervised by an adult in charge, appointed by the family. This includes being in the elementary Learning Hub (library).
(Repeat) PARENT ACTION REQUIRED: Student Tracking of Student After School and Weekend Locations
All ES parents are required to login to Powerschool and update their journal for the week, listing locations visited outside school hours. All schools in Thailand are required by the Ministry of Education to have their students/parents keep and complete a daily journal of their whereabouts after school hours. Only 60 families have completed the needed ES PowerSchool form. ES secretaries will need to contact individual families who don’t complete the PowerSchool form, therefore we ask for your support in completing this important Covid-19 safety task each Sunday.
Logging into Powerschool, you will see a notification to update the Journal:
Each Sunday, complete the journal for the preceding week for each ES child. If you are having trouble accessing Powerschool or are unable to see your students in Powerschool, email ES Powerschool Secretary, Khun Tom <cholthis@isb.ac.th>
(Repeat) After School Access To Campus
Thank you for your continued support of our COVID-19 guidelines as we work to provide a safe and healthy environment for everyone entering our campus. As a reminder, all community members on campus (indoor/outdoor) must:
- Wear a mask at all times
- Maintain physical distancing of 1-2 meters at all times
- Wash or sanitize hands frequently
- Consume food in the cafeteria or at designated picnic tables – there should be no food on the fields, bleachers, or in the gyms.
After 5:10pm, the campus is only available for formal activities organised with direct supervision (Panther Activities, etc). All others on campus will be asked to leave. Weekend access is only for organized activities coordinated by the Panther Activities/ISB Athletics office. Participants must have an ISB ID to enter campus.
Please direct any questions to Mark Hevland, Director of Risk Management
markh@isb.ac.th
(Repeat) ID Access for Family Helpers Available
ISB is now ready to start processing ID access cards for family helpers. With the new turnstiles, all domestic help will need to get a new ISB ID card to gain access to the academic areas of the school. Please login to powerschool and complete the online application. Need support? Contact Mark Hevland, markh@isb.ac.th, Director of Risk Management, 0993910932
eNews Guidelines
Shelley Bragg
shelleyb@isb.ac.th
ISB eNewsletters provide a valuable avenue for communication within the ISB parent community. For your convenience we have provided you with our eNewsletter guidelines below.
Submitting an announcement for publication
ISB accepts announcements from ISB families for potential publication in our eNewsletters. The announcements are generally intended to highlight events that occur at ISB and/or highlight information about ISB.
What to include in the announcement
- A title for your announcement
- An email contact for further information
Where to submit your announcement
4publish@isb.ac.th is for announcements of interest to the entire ISB community.
naiyanar@isb.ac.th is for Elementary School (ES) announcements of interest to ES families.
phremjiz@isb.ac.th is for Middle School (MS) announcements of interest to MS families.
vijitl@isb.ac.th is for High School (HS) announcements of interest to HS families.
Your announcement will be submitted to the appropriate Principal and/or to our Director of Marketing and Communications for review. ISB reserves the right to determine which announcements will and will not be published, and to edit announcements that are approved for publication.
Frequency of eNewsletter mailings
The ISB eNewsletter that is for the entire community is sent out on Thursdays. Announcements for potential publication in this newsletter must be received by noon on Thursdays.
The ES, MS, and HS eNewsletters are sent out on Fridays. Announcements for potential publication in these newsletters must be received by noon on Fridays.
Calendar of Events
October 2020
| Oct. 13 | His Majesty The Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej Memorial Day (No School) |
| Oct. 15 | Parent Session: Social Emotional Wellbeing During Covid @ 8AM |
| Oct.19-22 | October Break (NO School) |
| Oct. 23 | Chulalongkorn Day (Holiday for Classified Staff) |