Week 2 – Engagement continues
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
As we complete our second week of Virtual School, I continue to be impressed and appreciative of the dedication, engagement, and focus of our students and faculty. The dedicated class times on Zoom have been full of interaction and learning activities. Teachers have shared that students are well-engaged and in good spirits.
Thank you to parents who have supported their children at home in setting up good learning environments and keeping them on task and focused. Equally important, we appreciate families efforts in keeping their children active and off of the computers for significant time after school hours. It’s hard to maintain balance during times like this and adolescents often need adults to help require it for their own benefit.
We are hopeful that next week will be our last week of Virtual School, but of course are prepared if we need to continue learning progress in this form. On behalf of the school administration, I do want to publicly share our appreciation for the work our teachers, counselors, and staff are doing to ensure learning progress for your children. Like your children, they inspire me daily.
We wish our MS community well. Enjoy your weekends and rest breaks. Enjoy your family time as best you can. We join Thailand in wearing our masks, washing our hands, and keeping a safe physical distance when out in public, so that we may return back to school on campus soon.
News from the Main Library
By Christopher Bell, Librarian and Technology Coordinator
We are happy to report that our Request a Book and Pick Up is working very smoothly. We’ve already filled 47 requests in one week! Thanks for following the program. Additionally, the WONDERFUL ISB Buildings and Grounds staff has completed a ‘Deep Cleaning’ of the library including all AC Units, Tables and Chairs, as well as, carpet cleaning! They are awesome! The library has also done another major order for our Sora App, which is our ebooks and audiobook platform for students as well as receiving a large order of physical books. Look on the Library Catalog to see the Recently Added Titles! We hope that in the near future we will be back face-to-face, in the meantime take care and be safe.
MAIN LIBRARY INFORMATION:
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The Book Club/Gathering scheduled for Jan. 28th had to be postponed, I will update when we get confirmation of allowing people on campus.
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The HS Tedx Event has been postponed until late March
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Grade 6 & 7 students began to research a topic of interest related to puberty such as acne, growth, body odor, etc. The students brainstormed a variety of broad topics and created a mind map to develop sub-topics and initial research questions. Mrs. Kehe and Mrs. Alexander are co-teaching this unit via Zoom.
RESOURCES
We are updating as fast as we can the Main Library website with information about checkouts and other resources. Take a look if you need something at: https://library.isb.ac.th/
BOOK RETURNS: Bins will be out in front of the turnstiles by the panther – you can drop them off anytime.
REQUEST BOOKS ANYTIME!
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Using the Library Catalog – find the book you would like (make sure to check if it is AVAILABLE). You will need the Title and Author.
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STUDENTS Complete this Book Request Form.
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PARENTS Complete this Book Request Form.
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Wait for an email confirmation
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Pick up of Book Requests will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays
REQUESTING A BOOK TO BE PURCHASED
We are always accepting requests for New Print Books or Audio/eBooks (on Sora). At the bottom of the Book Request Form, you can make a request for a new book to be purchased by the library. If it is purchased we will email you to confirm and with the details.
BELL’S BEST BOOK
The Poppy War ~ by R.F. Kuang
This is the first in a series of books that have a little bit of everything. It is in the Fantasy Genre, however it could also be in the Historical Fiction about the Poopy Wars. It also has an amazing group of characters, especially our main character Rin. She is a peasant girl that earns her way into a coveted school. As she develops her skills there certain secrets come to light that make Rin aware of the fact that she is more than just a peasant girl. She is strong and powerful. For someone like me Fantasy is a stretch, but this is GREAT!
MELINDA’S BEST BOOK
Adult ‘In the Woods’ ~ by Tana French
It has been ages since if have read a gripping murder mystery and this ticked all the boxes: page-turner, suspense, and a plot twist at the end. Set in a suburb outside of Dublin, a body of a 12-year-old girl is found near the last remnants of a neighboring wood, which is slowly been whittled away to make room for housing developments. Partners Cassie and Ryan are assigned to the case, however, Ryan keeps secret the fact that he grew up in the neighboring estate 20 years ago. Those woods provided a magical playground for Ryan and his two closest friends while growing up. One day children go missing and only Ryan is found in the woods with his shoes full of blood. The other two children are never found and Ryan has no memory of what happened. Regardless of this trauma, Detective Ryan pursues the killer restlessly. This is an intelligent psychological thriller as well as the journey of a man haunted by the past.
TECH UPDATES
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VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure your Zoom App is updated and that when you sign in you are using the Google Sign On and not logging in with your email address (ISB Account Holders Only)
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BigSur the Mac OS update came out last week. PLEASE do not update yet as we are waiting to see if any issues arise. Also, it takes about 45 minutes to go through the process, so I would wait.
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Let me know if you are having any software issues: christob@isb.ac.th. If you are having hardware issues, please contact: help@isb.ac.th
TECH RESOURCE OF THE WEEK
Learn to Take Notes Effectively
Need help taking good notes? Below you will find a slide deck that gives some great tips for quality note taking from Elevate Learning Designs. We also are including a Google Doc
Template for Cornell NoteTaking method.
Welcome to ISB Virtual Activities
Please note the below information to ensure that your child can take advantage of the Virtual Activities being offered during this time at home.
The activities schedule found HERE represents ALL activities being offered during the week of Monday the 25th of January to Friday the 29th of January, 2021.
Look for a schedule of the following week’s activities (1st to 5th of February) in the Whole School Enews next week. For the best experience, please adhere to the grade level groups represented on the activities schedule, and always check the air quality before heading outdoors.
Remember, the after school Zoom Activities here are FREE, and not offered in lieu of cancelled pay-to-play sessions for semester 2 Panther Activities for which fees will be adjusted once campus is open and regular activities are back on.
Go Panthers!!!
Chris, Lucas, Mark, Corry and Anthony
JOIN THE VIRTUAL PANTHER RUN JANUARY 25th-31st!
Virtual Panther Run
GOAL
To get as many members of the ISB community running in this event as possible (3km or 5km).
You will receive a link on Monday 25 January where you can submit your time optional photos or videos.
You can run anywhere you like, but we will also share some route options with you too.
- AWARDS
Top 3 Fastest runners in each Division (with GPS Data proof only) - Fun awards (e.g. Best Panther dress-up, 25th finisher 50th finisher, 100th finishers etc.)
Complete the run at any time between 25-31 January but remember to stay safe, check the air quality before going outdoors, and practice physical distancing!
Register HERE to participate, and then run anywhere you like, or use one of our suggested 3K or 5K routes anytime between January 25th-31st. Awards will be given to the top three runners in each division (w/GPS data proof only), as well as for best Panther dress-up, and the 25th, 50th, and 100th finishers!!! Questions? Contact Mark Jaspers at markj@isb.ac.th.