Campus Reopens Monday, February 1st
The ISB campus will open on Monday 1st February, 2021. All parents were required to complete the digital self declaration forms for their children via the Powerschool ParentPortal yesterday (video tutorial here). Anyone who has not completed the self declaration form will not be able to enter the ISB campus. The ISB Leadership Team and the Crisis Management Team have been preparing for the safe reopening of campus and these plans can be accessed here: https://www.isb.ac.th/about/safety-and-security/reopening-plan/
Please also note the following important information:
- During the initial resopening phase, only staff, students and those with an approved appointment may enter the ISB campus. Click here for Appointment Form
- Morning Drop Off:
- Supervision is available on campus beginning at 7:00am until 7:35am.
- Due to construction, PK and KG students will enter through the ES main entrance for a short period of time.
- G1-G5 students will enter campus through the turnstiles at the main ES entrance.
- Students can enter and exit campus through the Sarawanville entrance.
- Afternoon Dismissal:
- PreK dismissal is at 1:10pm.
- KG-Grade 5 dismissal begins at 2:25pm.
- Due to construction, PK and KG students will exit through the ES main entrance for a short period of time. KG students who are picked up are dismissed prior to 2:25pm; the KG team coordinates this staggered dismissal and communicates with parents.
- G1-G5: Students will pass through the ES turnstiles then meet parents along the front of the school next to the first letter of their last name, as indicated on the chart above (alphabetical by last name).
- Walkers and bikers will be dismissed first, followed by bus riding students, and then car pick up. In order to reduce congestion, we encourage students who live in Nichada to walk or bike.
- Students who take buses will be guided to their bus.
Please watch this safety procedures video as our #ISB Panther walks you through these measures.
If your child is not returning to school on 1st February (ie. for self quarantine reasons), please contact Dr. Michael Allen MichaelA@isb.ac.th as soon as possible.
Virtual School iPads & Art Materials
All families are reminded to return their child’s iPad kit on Monday, February 1st. All art materials are to remain at home incase we return to virtual school.
Monday, Feb. 1 is D Day
Monday, February 1 is “D” day in the elementary school schedule. Students who have PE on “D” days are reminded to wear the appropriate attire.
ES “Out of Uniform Days”
February 4 & 5 are ‘Out of Uniform’ days in the Elementary School. On PE days, students need to wear their PE uniforms. On their non-PE day, students may choose to not wear their ISB uniform.
Appropriate dress guidelines for our ‘Out of Uniform’ days are:
- Pants/slacks/shorts—good condition
- Shirts/blouses—sleeves & midriff required, appropriate logos only
- Skirts/dresses/jumpers—sleeves required, modest length
- Shoes—sneakers, street shoes or leather sandals with back strap
- Hats must be worn all the time when playing outside during recess or during PE classes
February 4th Parent Engage: Reading – Just Right Books & Series
Join us via Zoom for our February ES Parent Engage! This month’s session will focus on strategies you can use at home to support your child’s growth and development in the area of READING.
This workshop will be hosted by our resident reading expert and instructional coach, Michelle Goodison. There will be opportunities for dialogue, and you will leave with practical tips for home.
Join us via this Zoom link on February 4th, 2020 at 8am:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4732749923
Weekly Message From Principal Allen
Thank you again to all parents for supporting our home-school partnership during the time of campus closure and virtual school!
One item that surfaced during this time of distance learning for students and families was an increase in student to student contact via text messages and emails. This has resulted in some parents questioning how closely they should be monitoring their child’s messages. Our stance as a learning institution is in alignment with current research and best practices…simply put, monitoring your child’s online activity (texts, emails, chats, apps, etc) very closely is an essential aspect of responsible parenting.
This short article by Caroline Knorr provides a great overview for parents. She emphasizes the importance of open communication and building trust with your child while monitoring their texts. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/should-you-read-your-kids-texts
In addition, this Family Media Agreement is also a great resource to support your action planning with your child.
As always, please partner with your child’s counselor, teacher or I should you notice any online behaviour that might cause you concern; we’re eager to support you and your child as you navigate the complexities of raising children in a digital environment.
Your partner in education,
Michael Allen, Ed.D.
michaela@isb.ac.th
Child Safeguarding
During the month of February in classroom guidance lessons in PreK-Grade 5, the counselors will be teaching two lessons about personal safety. This includes learning about what safe, unsafe, and unwanted touches mean as well as teaching rules about keeping safe in various situations. Examples may include traffic, fire, and street dog safety; what to do if you get lost; and the importance of asking before going anywhere without a parent, or accepting a gift from someone else. Click here for the full version of the informative parent letter.
PANTHER ACTIVITIES NEWS
It’s not too late to sign up for Semester 2 Panther Activities offerings.
Although official registrations for Panther Arts, Dance, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer and Swimming closed in December, there are still a number of programs lie the Panther Golf Academy offered at the new ISB Golf Center that still have space available. Check out what’s available by going to CHQ through PowerSchool, and then contact any one of the Panther Activities Coordinators listed HERE for more information about how to register. The payment window, also on CHQ, will be open from 11:00am on February 1st with payments due before activities begin on February 8th. Season 2 Panther Activities that are mid-session will pick up where they left off in December. Look for more details from area coordinators about specific Panther Activities including the Panther Explore program (see below) which opens for registration today!!! Questions? Contact the Panther Activities Team at PantherActivities@isb.ac.th.
Registration for Panther (ES) Explore Opens Today
We are excited to go back to school and to open the Panther (ES)Explore registration.
The following are some important dates for you to note in your calendar:
- Friday 3pm,January 29th – ES Explore registration opens
- Wednesday 3pm, February 3rd – ES Explore registration closes
- Thursday, February 4th – ES Explore confirmation and payment opens
- Monday 12pm February 8th – Payment closes
- Monday, February 15th – ES Explore Begins
For Registration online, please click HERE or follow the instructions below:
Please log in to your child’s powerschool, click Activities/Athletics (on the left Bar) and then you’ll be able to see your child’s options for Panther (ES) Explore. Please make your selections by entering your preference (1 is your first choice, 2 in case you have a second choice). During the registration period, you’ll be able to make unlimited changes by logging in to Activities on your child’s powerschool. If you have forgotten your user name or password, there is a link on the page to retrieve it. Alternatively, parents can contact Khun Tom: cholthis@isb.ac.th
Virtual Activities Week 3!
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 1st of February to Friday the 5th of February, 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.
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 activities are back on. Questions? Contact the Panther Activities Team at PantherActivities@isb.ac.th
ISB ATHLETICS NEWS
Season 2 Extended. Season 3 Coming Soon.
Upcoming Events
Monday 1st of February – returning to season two trainings
Thursday 11th February – Official end of Season Two
Monday 15th February – Start of U11 Track & Field
Season Two extension
As we can return to campus on 1st February, we will resume practices on this day for all of our season 2 teams. The season will be extended for 2 more weeks, until Friday the 12th of February.
Please be mindful that the COVID-19 safety measures that were in place before the holiday need to be strictly adhered and remind your athletes about mask wearing before and after practices, hand washing and physical distancing when possible.
Our goal is for all of our season 2 teams to have at least one more game in the final week to close out the season. This is dependent on being allowed to travel and/or host school teams.
As games are scheduled these will be shared with individual coaches and teams.
NEW Season Three Start date
Season 3 will officially start on Monday 15th February for all of our teams (U11-Varsity)
Virtual ISB Run extended to 7th February
Due to the recent poor air quality the submission date for Virtual ISB Run has been extended until Sunday 7th February.
When you take part in this virtual event, please make sure to follow the safety guidelines below.
- Try and run during daylight hours and wear colorful or reflective clothing
- You are on an open road, so follow traffic rules and look out for cars, bikes, dogs etc.
- For our younger participants: try and run with your parents, who can help you stay safe (and you help them to stay fit!)
- Check the AQI before your go out to make sure it’s safe to run
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) 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 image
- 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.
(Repeat) PARENT ACTION REQUIRED: Student Tracking Locations
Even during VS, 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.
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>
Calendar of Events
February 2021
| Jan. 29 | ES Explore registration opens |
| Feb. 3 | ES Explore registration closes |
| Feb. 4-5 | ES ‘Out of School Uniform’ Day |
| Feb. 4 | ES Parent Engage on Zoom @8 am |
| Feb. 15 | ES Explore Begins (ES After School Activities) |
| Feb. 15-16 | ISA Assessment Gr. 3 and 5 |
| Feb. 16 | 1:10pm Early Dismissal |
| Feb.16-Mar.26 | ISB ES Visual Art Exhibitions |