Our early childhood students have had a wonderful week back on campus exploring their new Panther Park! It has been a joy to watch them move, imagine, laugh and explore their new space. Gross motor development is essential for young children, and our new playground has been intentionally designed to offer developmentally appropriate opportunities for students to balance, hop, jump, climb & run.
“Preschoolers are extremely physical creatures — constantly moving, running and jumping….
The development of basic movement skills that takes place between ages 2 and 7 is the ‘fundamental’ movement phase, according to early childhood research.
Research studies confirm that regular physical activity helps children by….
- Building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles and joints
- Controlling their weight
- Building lean muscle and reducing fat
- Increasing capacity for learning” -Developmentally Appropriate Practice, NAEYC
In addition to intentionally designed opportunities for gross motor development, our Panther Park has also been designed with appropriate risk and challenge by choice. We have included a range of options for students to safely challenge themselves: slopes, swings, climbing nets and structures at a range of heights, and wobbly bridges. “Taking risk is a way to learn how to navigate the world securely, an important life skill that children only learn by doing.” -Kompan, 2017
If you missed our Facebook LIVE from our new Early Childhood Playground with our Elementary School Principals, you can still watch it here:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1048311802246383&ref=watch_permalink
NOTE: While the playground was purposefully designed for our youngest students and is supervised exclusively during PK and KG recess times, students in Grades 1-5 are invited to explore the playground with their classroom teacher during scheduled times next week.
Early Dismissal – Tuesday February 16, 2021
All ISB students will be dismissed at 1:10pm on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. On Early Dismissal Days, school buses will leave ISB at 1:20 p.m. Early Dismissal Days allow faculty members and administrators to collaborate and further their professional learning.
International School Assessment (ISA) for Grades 3, 5, 7 and 10
Students in grades 3, 5, 7 and 10 will take the annual ISA assessment on February 15 and 16. The International School Assessment is designed to offer comparable assessment data for students in international schools. The ISA assesses students in the three domains of Mathematical Literacy, Reading and Writing. More details about the ISA can be found here: https://www.acer.org/id/isa If you have any questions, please contact Debi Caskey, Deputy Head of School for Learning (debic@isb.ac.th)
Information collected by ACER regarding your child will be used only for the purpose of the ISA program. Any data identifying the student by name will only be provided to the school. ACER’s Privacy Policy may be found at the ACER website www.acer.edu.au or you may obtain a copy by writing to the Privacy Officer, ACER, Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia.
Weekly Message From Principal Allen
A strong home-school partnership is always beneficial for students, and this was especially true during virtual school where parents were highly involved in supporting their child’s learning and success! During the last two weeks teachers have been connecting with parents regarding each child’s Virtual School (VS) experience and collecting feedback that may inform future virtual school enhancements should we have another campus closure. We received very positive feedback regarding clear communication from homeroom teachers, beginning of the day meetings, frequency of live Zoom sessions, consistency of homeroom schedule, G2-5 students being independent, teacher flexibility and support for each child as an individual, and overall positive experience in comparison to spring 2020. In addition, there was an overall recognition that VS can never replace face-to-face learning with the understanding that everyone was doing their very best to support each child under these circumstances.
Some of the feedback regarding possible enhancements to the ES Community Virtual School Handbook (linked here) that we are looking to incorporate into the updated plan based on parent feedback includes:
- a common PK-Grade 5 lunch time.
- more synchronous sessions in the areas of art, music and PE.
- clearer Woot Woot Wednesday communication.
- clarity/help regarding managing Seesaw at home.
- more VS preparation at school when face-to-face so students can be more independent with the tools at home.
- clarifying the maximum amount of time students can be in a Zoom session before a break.
Should you have any other virtual school feedback to share with us, please feel free to let me know!
Your partner in education,
Michael Allen, Ed.D.
michaela@isb.ac.th
Music Celebrations of Learning are Coming!
Please join us for the upcoming Music Celebrations of Learning for students in Kindergarten through Grade 5! On the ES Music blog, you will find the dates and times for each grade level and class. Kindergarten and Grade 1 will be virtual watch parties that you may access via the Zoom links found in each class’s Seesaw announcement. Grades 2-5 will be performing live in the Chevron theatre. More information about the audience capacity for these performances will be updated in the near future. We hope to see you there!
Invitation to the Celebration of Chinese New Year
The Chinese PTA is honored to host the Art Exhibition to celebrate the coming Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox, from Feb 10th to 16th at the fence of the ISB campus. All the pictures are completed by ISB students of Chinese origin from PreK1 to G11. On the day of Spring Festival Feb 12th, 600 cups of homemade boba will be offered to MS & HS students and teachers for free at the cafeteria, welcoming good luck to the whole coming year! Please join us to embrace the lush, rich and thriving Spring!
PAW PRINTS: News from the Panther Den
Note that campus will be closed for all activities during the upcoming mid-winter break, February 20-28.
The What, When and Where about Panther Activities
Panther Activities at ISB is the umbrella organization for a multitude of programs offered after school and on weekends that provide active, creative, diverse and collaborative opportunities for all students. Different from scholastic programs which are offered exclusively to ISB students as an extension of their enrollment, most Panther Activities include a fee and are open to both ISB and non-ISB students. Although some Panther Activities sessions align with the three ISB Athletic seasons which start in August, October, and February respectively, many are offered year round with two registration periods, August and January, in line with the start of each of ISB’s academic semesters. Although sometimes daunting to navigate, the plethora of choices available at ISB, coupled with multiple entry points to join throughout the year, allow students to dabble, dive deep, or diversify!
Panther Activities Sessions 2020-2021
- Semester 1: August, 2020 through December, 2020
Panther Arts, Panther Dance, Panther Golf, Panther Gymnastics, Panther Music, Panther Native Language Academy, Panther Soccer, and Panther Swim - Semester 2: January, 2021 through June, 2021
Panther Arts, Panther Dance, Panther Golf, Panther Gymnastics, Panther Music, Panther Native Language Academy, Panther Soccer, and Panther Swim - Season 1: August, 2020 through Mid-October, 2020
Panther Basketball, Panther Rugby, Panther Tennis, and Panther Volleyball - Season 2: Mid-October, 2020 through February, 2021
BBSA, Panther Basketball, Panther Rugby, Panther Tennis, and Panther Volleyball - Season 3: March, 2021 through April, 2021
Panther Basketball, Panther Rugby, Panther Tennis, and Panther Volleyball
Semester 2 Panther Activities
Semester 2 Panther Activities including Panther Arts, Panther Dance, Panther Golf, Panther Gymnastics, Panther Music, Panther Native Language Academy, Panther Soccer, and Panther Swim begin Monday, February 8 with late registrations still being accepted through area coordinators. Panther Explore* registration closes on February 5th for a February 15th start. Questions? Contact the Panther Activities Team at PantherActivities@isb.ac.th or any of the area coordinators listed below.
- Panther Arts (PantherArts@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Dance (ASD) (PantherDance@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Explore (ES) (PantherExplore@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Golf (PantherGolf@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Gymnastics (PantherGymnastics@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Music (IMP) (PantherMusic@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Native Language Academy (PantherNativeLanguageAcademy@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Soccer (PFA) (PantherSoccer@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Swim (PantherSwim@isb.ac.th)
Season 2 Panther Activities
Season 2 Panther Activities including BBSA, Panther Basketball, Panther Rugby, Panther Tennis, and Panther Volleyball, will wrap up over the next couple of weeks, with registration for Season 3 offerings open February 12-19, for a March 1st start. Again, if you have questions, please contact the Panther Activities Team at PantherActivities@isb.ac.th or any of the area coordinators for these programs listed below.
- Panther Baseball & Softball (PantherBaseballandSoftball@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Basketball (TopFlight) (PantherBasketball@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Paws (Track & Field) (PantherPaws@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Rugby (Academy) (PantherRugby@isb.ac.th)
- Panther Volleyball (BVA) (PantherVolleyball@isb.ac.th)
From all of us on the Panther Activities Team, we miss your kids and can’t wait to see them doing the things they love to do next week!!!
Panther ES Explore
The following are some important dates for you to note in your calendar:
Friday, February 5th – ES Explore confirmation and payment opens
Monday 3pm February 7th – 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
Regards,
Livnat Ziskinder
Panther Explore Coordinator
PantherExplore@isb.ac.th
ISB ATHLETICS NEWS
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
Registration for ISB Athletics Season 3 (Opens on Friday 5th February)
All students interested in the ISB Season 3 Athletics programs are able to register on CHQ from Friday the 5th of February until Sunday the 14th of February. 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 ISB Athletics. – If you have problems registering, please check the CHQ registration instructions.
This is open for all students in grade 3-5. The season will start on Monday 15th of February. For details and practice schedules, please visit the ISB Athletics website (https://inside.isb.ac.th/isbathletics/)
Under 11 – Boys and Girls – Track and Field
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.
From Dr. Andrew Davies: ISB Bangkok Based Athletics for 2021-22 and Beyond
Dear ISB Community,
As a school, we are dedicated to providing our students with opportunities to lead healthy, active, and balanced lives. Our athletics programs are essential to this mission.
In order to provide the best programs and opportunities for our students, ISB (in partnership with NIST and BPS) will be leading the development of a new international schools athletics organization in Bangkok starting in the 2021/2022 school year.
This means that ISB will be moving away from BISAC after this school year along with NIST and BPS so that our students can have greater flexibility to design a local program that better meets the needs of all our student-athletes. This change will also enable us to plan our seasons to complement our commitment to IASAS. Please note that ISB sports teams will still play against a number of other schools in Bangkok (friendlies and tournaments) going forward.
We continue to be committed to BISAC in season 3 this year and we look forward to resuming competitions in March as covid restrictions allow.
Further information about this new project will be shared towards the end of the school year. Our aim is to continue to develop our programs and help our student-athletes realize their full potential.
Dr. Andrew Davies
Head of School
+66 81 8516277
(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
| 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. 22-26 | February Break (No school) |