November 26th Virtual Parent Engage via Zoom: Virtual School
The most current version of the ES Community Virtual School Handbook is linked here. Please see the details below and join us on Thursday, November 26 @ 8AM via Zoom for the ES Virtual Parent Engage Session focused on the key aspects of the ES Community Virtual School Handbook.
ES Virtual Parent Engage Session – ES Community Virtual School Handbook
Thursday, November 26 @ 8AM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82240982806
Meeting ID: 822 4098 2806
Early Dismissal – Tuesday November 24, 2020
All ISB students will be dismissed at 1:10pm on Tuesday, November 24, 2020. On Early Release Days, school buses will leave ISB at 1:25 pm. Early Release Days allow faculty members and administrators to collaborate and further their professional development.
Weekly Message from Dr. Michael Allen
Jeff, Sarah, and I look forward to meeting with parents via Zoom on Thursday, November 26th @ 8AM where we’ll have the opportunity to share highlights from the ES Community Virtual School Handbook and address any questions you might have. Although we continue to hope that we will not need to put our virtual school plans into action, it’s always best to be fully prepared! As the possibility of a return to virtual school remains, there are a few things you can be doing now to help prepare:
- Ensure your home has a reliable internet connection. Contact your service provider to ensure that your family has access to high speed internet.
- Choose a dedicated learning space, allowing students to self-manage and focus on their learning. Start using this learning space now for daily reading or home learning tasks. Having a designated space is an essential aspect of providing a consistent routine for children; clear routines allow students to take ownership of self-managing their learning.
- Engage with Seesaw as much as possible. Seesaw is your direct link to your child’s learning in the classroom. Seesaw will be a primary daily communication tool should we return to VS.
- Maintain a strong home-school partnership with your child’s teachers; keep the lines of communication open and follow the communication protocol of asking questions directly to your child’s teacher as needed.
Please continue to save the date and join us for the next ES Parent Engage session. We look forward to connecting with you there!
Nov. 26 – Virtual Parent Engage via Zoom – ES Community Virtual School Handbook @ 8AM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82240982806
Your partner in education,
Michael Allen
michaela@isb.ac.th
Panther Activities
Please note that Tuesday, November 24th is an early dismissal day. All ES Explore classes will run one hour earlier 1:30-2:30.
Please note that Monday and Wednesday ES Explore classes will have their last session next week (November 23rd and 25th).
Tuesday ES explore activities will have their last session on December 1st.
Thursday activities will have their last session On December 3rd with exception of Lego Challenge class that will have the last session on December 10th.
Friday ES explore classes will have their last session on December 4th.
Livnat Ziskinder
ES Explore Coordinator
esactivities@isb.ac.th
Tri Kids is Back for Another Year of Racing!
The Deadline to sign up is approaching quickly, November 30th so claim your spot.
Race Day:
December 7th, 2020, we will host the 22nd annual triathlon @ ISB, this year in partnership with Amorn Group Thailand as main sponsor. The registration fee will go to benefit iCare Thailand Foundation with the mission to raise money for bikes to be bought and provided to impoverished children to help them get to and from school. These kids walk 5-15 km to and from school, along rural paths making it difficult to maintain good attendance throughout the school year, and impacting their grades and general well being.
We’ve found that a bicycle has a direct measurable impact in the children’s results, not to mention overall well being and state of mind, which makes a huge difference to attendance and the length of time the kids actually stay in school. iCare Thailand Foundation is a charitable organization that is committed to long-lasting and meaningful community development through projects that empower youth and help the underprivileged. iCare Thailand Foundation is driven by the belief that every life has value and that within each person lies the capability to reach out to those in need and make a positive contribution to society.
Tri Kids Triathlon info:
Ages 4-18, please follow the below link for more information and to sign up via CHQ:
- ISB student please login via PowerSchool : HERE
Try a Tri – 50m swim, 600m bike, 200m run (Ages 4-8years) Not timed, but great for ages 4-8
Standard – 200m swim, 5.5km bike, 1.1km run (Ages 8 -19 years)
Do the Double – 400m swim, 11km bike, 2.2km run ( Ages 8-19 years)
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Relay Team of 2 Standard – 200m swim, 5.5km bike, 1.1km run (Ages 8 -19 years)
Relay Team of 3 Standard – 200m swim, 5.5km bike, 1.1km run (Ages 8 -19 years)
Relay Team of 2 Do the Double – 400m swim, 11km bike, 2.2km run ( Ages 8-19 years)
Relay Team of 3 Do the Double – 400m swim, 11km bike, 2.2km run ( Ages 8-19 years)
Questions?
Please contact Lucas Rivera at pantheractivities@isb.ac.th
Visiting Artist, Kitti Narod, at ISB
20 November – 4 December
Internationally renowned painter, K. Kitti Narod, will be working with elementary, middle, and high school students during his time at ISB, focusing on the idea of what people do in public spaces. During his studio time from 10-Noon each day he will be taking ideas, suggestions, and drawings for a collaborative community piece. Stop by the ES Art Quad to watch this painting develop!
Strings Bash Concert – Wednesday, December 2nd @6:30 Chevron Theatre
On Wednesday, December 2nd, 100 string musicians from 3rd-12th grade will join together for the annual Strings Bash. This event is a wonderful display of commitment, community, and musicianship. The concert will feature The ES Panther String Ensemble, MS Beginning Orchestra, MS Concert Orchestra and HS String Orchestra, under the direction of Adrianna Gricius.
ISB Athletics
U11 Girls Soccer
We still have places available for girls in grade 3-5 for our U11 soccer program.
Practices are on Monday and Thursday from 2:45-3:45. Contact Mark Jaspers (markj@isb.ac.th) if you want to register your daughter.
Upcoming events
5 December – U11 Girls Soccer Tournament at ISB (new date)
12 December – U11 Boys Soccer Tournament at ISB
For the latest information on games, please visit www.isbathletics.com
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) Raising Multilinguals – How? – Unlocking the World Through Language-Rich Experiences
How can parents nurture native language besides speaking it with their children and enrolling them in classes?
Find out by joining us on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, from 8:15-9:45 a.m., for the workshop Raising Multilinguals How? Unlocking the World Through Language-Rich Experiences.
In this workshop, a followup to Raising Multilinguals, we will explore how families can promote literacy (reading and writing) and rich conversation, in support of the family language plan.
Parents of students in PreK through Grade 12 are welcome! Please sign up here if you plan to attend. The workshop will be held in the MS/HS Library’s Literary Lounge, unless sign-ups require a larger room to meet physical distancing guidelines. If you have any questions, please write: nativelanguage@isb.ac.th
(Repeat) Festival of Lights: A Virtual Concert
This year, in order to meet a variety of needs and to satisfy safety measures, the elementary Festival of Lights concert (featuring the G3-5 Panther Choir, Orff Ensemble and String Ensemble) will be virtual. The concert will be shared with ensemble families on Wednesday, December 16th, with the ISB community on Thursday, December 17th, and with the ES student body on Friday, December 18th as part of our Festival of Lights Virtual assembly. On December 17th, please stay tuned for a special enews with a link to this beautiful celebration of holidays from around the world, presented through the singing, playing and dancing of our young musicians!
(Repeat) Leaving ISB at the End of the First Semester?
Parents of students who are not returning to ISB in January need to notify the ES Office, Khun Kunlawan (kunlawan@isb.ac.th) as soon as possible and fill out the ISB’s official online withdraw form to enable us to process school records for their next school. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
(Repeat) Reminder: Student Passport Information in Powerschool
We are six weeks away from winter break. Please check your passports to see when your visa expires and contact Khun Tang in the admissions office to renew your paperwork before December 11th. Limited resources are available after December 18, and five working days are needed to process documents. The school is closed from December 25-January 3.
Also, in order to ensure that thorough contact tracing can be conducted if necessary and ensure that schools are maintaining proper records, earlier this school year, Thailand’s Office of the Private Education Commission (OPEC) issued a directive to schools regarding the collection of passport or national ID numbers and other details (listed below) of community members, including students and staff.
In line with Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act, ISB would not disclose this information to any individual or organization for any purpose other than that designated by our legal obligation to the Government of Thailand.
Please ensure that one person from each family reviews and updates Powerschool with your student’s current demographic information.
NOTE: Passport issue date is a new required field.
Login to Powerschool Parent Portal> Contact/Passport Information
If you are unable to login to Powerschool or need assistance, contact: help@isb.ac.th
(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>
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.
Calendar of Events
November/December 2020
| Nov. 24 | Early Dismissal (1:10 pm) |
| Nov. 25 | Raising Multilinguals How? Unlocking the World Through Language-Rich Experiences 8:15 am (MS/HS Library’s Literary Lounge) |
| Nov. 26 | Virtual Parent Engage via Zoom – ES Community Virtual School Handbook @ 8AM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82240982806 |
| Nov. 27 | Black & Gold Day |
| Dec. 2 | ES/MS/HS Strings Bash 6:30 pm (Chevron) |
| Dec. 3-4 | ES ‘Out of School Uniform’ Day |
| Dec. 7 | Father’s Day (Substitute holiday – No School) |
| Dec. 8-10 | Grade 4 Overnight Trip to Khao Yai |