Dear ISB Community,
We are writing to let you know that we will be postponing our plans to increase early dismissals for the next school year.
We recognize that the timing of this proposal is not optimal given the late stage of the school year and the pandemic. We also understand that there are some community concerns to address.
The Leadership Team believes that increased time for teachers and teams of teachers to focus on improving learning will have a positive impact. We will continue to research ways to best achieve this going forward.
Providing additional time for teacher collaboration is a WASC recommendation for ISB while the research is clear on the correlation between collaborative time for teachers and improved learning outcomes for students.
We will engage our community next year in further conversations and will arrange a variety of forums for discussion and feedback.
We thank you very much for the time you have taken to provide feedback through surveys and webinars.
Kind regards.
Dr. Andrew Davies
Head of School
andrewd@isb.ac.th
Suksan Wan Songkran!
We wish you a very happy Thai New Year – Wan nee pen wan Songkran! We wish every family a fun-filled and relaxing Songkran break! There will be no school the week of April 12th. Classes will resume on Monday, April 19. Our hope is that the ISB campus is able to reopen on April 19th and initial planning is targeting this date. ISB will liaise with the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education, and infectious disease experts through the break.
Weekly Message From Principal Allen
Many thanks to our students, faculty, instructional assistants, and parents for working together to ensure our transition to virtual school these past few days was as seamless as possible.
Thank you students for your active engagement during your Zoom sessions and self-managing during each class as well as managing your schedule of lessons!
Thank you to our faculty for quickly jumping into action by collaborating with your team to ensure virtual school consistency across the grade level and effectively communicating the schedules, Zoom links, and learning tasks to families!
Thank you to our instructional assistants for coordinating the preparation of all the ES iPads for all students and handing out the iPads to families on Wednesday morning!
Thank you to our parents for coming to school to pick up the iPads and setting up your children for virtual school success by setting up a quiet work space at home and helping them Zoom into sessions these past three days!
On behalf of all of us in the elementary school, have a safe and enjoyable Songkran break!
Your partner in education,
Michael Allen, Ed.D.
michaela@isb.ac.th
New ISB Self Declaration Form Coming Soon
Please be aware that ISB will be requiring a new COVID-19 Self Declaration Form for when campus is able to open again. It will be sent to families a few days before campus reopens so that it is most up to date given the changing locations of concern.
Earth Day 2021
After the Songkran break we will be celebrating Earth Week at ISB from April 19-23. There are plenty of activities for the students to be involved with throughout the week including the Grade 5 Environmental Action Fair!
On Earth Day, April 22, parents are invited to join us in the MPB1 for a keynote speech from NatGeo Journalist, Taylor Weidman at 12:30pm and stick around for the Eco Fair until 2:00pm to meet all the wonderful organizations to see what they do and how they are helping.
NatGeo Journalist, Taylor Weidman, to Speak on Earth Day
(April 22 @MPB1 12:30)
Taylor Weidman is a photojournalist and documentary photographer who has worked in over 40 countries over the past decade. During that time, he has founded a global non-profit, authored and designed 3 coffee table books on indigenous issues, worked as a media consultant for the United Nations, received both Fulbright and Pulitzer Center grants, and photographed numerous stories for outlets including National Geographic, CNN, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal. In addition to photography, Taylor also enjoys camping, hiking, snowboarding, fly fishing, traveling, playing lacrosse, and being a Dad to his two beautiful daughters
Eco Fair: April 22 @MPB1 from 12:30-2:00pm
Whether you want to learn about sharks, zero waste lifestyle, making water from air, or adopt a pet… we’ve got you covered.
| Organization | What the booth is about |
| Love Wildlife Foundation | We’ll be open to any questions regarding illegal wildlife trades or endangered animals in Thailand. There will also be eco-friendly merchandise/ organization t-shirts where 100% of the profits will go toward slow loris conservation. |
| Happy Grocers Bangkok: Grocery Delivery | We will educate about food waste, regenerative farming, and the benefits of supporting local organic farms. We’ll also make a smoothie out of ‘ugly’ produce. |
| Shark Guardians | Will offer an opportunity for students/parents to ask questions about various Shark Guardian campaigns around the world and sharks! We would have Shark Guardian shirts and other merchandise available where 100% of profits is donated to Shark Guardian. We will also offer sign up opportunities for students to become Shark Guardian members. |
| Refill Corner by
OC Organic Shop |
Come with empty refillable bottles/containers. Our Booth has a wide range of products that will help students/parents apply the zero waste lifestyle into their daily life. Eg straws, wax wrap, Tooth brush , Toothpaste tablets and many more. We also have our Refill Corner where people can bring their empty container to refill shower gel , shampoo, laundry detergent and many more. |
| TerraCycle Global Foundation: Waterway Clean Up | Waste – Plastic Pollution – Cleaning Klongs – Community Projects
TerraCycle Thai Foundation is working to stop Ocean Waste at its source. We specialize in collecting and recycling waste upstream. We also work to educate communities to be more responsible with their waste and encourage reduce, reuse, and recycling. Our project hires from the communities we work in to allow the very communities generating waste to be part of the solution. We will be showing students how we collect and process waste, and what they can do to prevent waste from entering and polluting waterways and eventually the ocean. |
| Ecolotech | ATMOSPHERIC WATER Pure drinking water that is produced using a revolutionary technology that converts air into drinking water. Since natural groundwater sources or plumbing infrastructure is not used to produce atmospheric water, it is pure, free from chemicals, and delicious. |
| Nonthaburi Animal Welfare Alliance (NAWA) | Animal Adoptions and Care: We will be on hand to provide information about our efforts to reduce animal suffering in our community by sterilizing street animals, providing medical care, and fostering dogs and cats for adoption. This work makes our community safer and more humane for people and animals alike. We will also let students know about volunteer opportunities for both students and parents, which can be a great family bonding experience. Joining us will be some kittens and one senior dog who are looking for their forever homes and will be available for adoption.
|
Early Dismissal April 27
All ISB students will be dismissed at 1:10pm on Tuesday, April 27th. On Early Release Days, school buses leave ISB campus at 1:20 p.m. Early Dismissal Days allow faculty members and administrators to collaborate and further their professional development.
May 3 & 4 Clarification
Please be informed that Monday, May 3, 2021 IS NOT a holiday for students and teachers. School will be in session. Tuesday, May 4, 2021 IS a public holiday for the Coronation of H.M. King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Classes will resume on Wednesday, May 5.
ISB Summer School – Registration is Open!
Our ISB Summer School Office is now open! Summer School will be held over the four weeks of Monday, June 14 to Friday, July 9 this year. All information about programs, courses, specific dates, fees, and registration process are now available on our website.
Early Bird reduced tuition fees are available until April 30th so register early!
This year with more teachers staying in Thailand during the summer, we have some new and exciting Special Interest Camps on offer in addition to our regulars! Planning on being here this summer, check out what summer school has to offer!
Our Summer School Office is located next to the Admissions Office inside the Central Admin Building with Khun Fon, our Summer School Office Secretary there to greet and assist you 7:00am – 2:45pm Monday to Friday.
For any questions, please email sumdir@isb.ac.th
SAVE THE DATE: ES Music Spring Concert
Please mark your calendars for our ES Music Spring Concert, “I’m Gonna Dance All Day” on Wednesday, May 5th at 6:30 pm. Join us for an evening of music provided by our Grade 3-5 students in Panther String Ensemble, Orff Ensemble and Choir. The performance will be held live in the Chevron Theatre.
ES Music Shares are Coming!
This year, Music Shares will take place May 21-28! This is an opportunity for students to prepare music, drama, or dance performances to share with an audience of parents and their peers. Students are invited to perform a 2 to 3 minute piece that they have prepared outside of music class to share with their class.
For more information, you can find the full schedule and sign-up form HERE!
Students will be bringing home a paper copy soon!
PAW PRINTS: News from the Panther Den
New dates! Panther Paws Track & Field Starts April 30th!
Panther Paws Track and Field registration on CHQ is now open. With limited spots available for children in Pre-K through Grade 5, registrations will be honored on a first come first served basis. The meets are scheduled Fridays, April 30, May 7, 14, and 21 with PreK-G2 from 5-6:30pm and G3-G5 from 5-7pm. As this is a community activity, parents (not helpers) are encouraged to volunteer. Cost is THB 1,200 which includes a t-shirt and end of season celebration. Questions? Contact PantherPaws@isb.ac.th
Booster Hut Volunteers Needed
Hello Hut Volunteers! Please continue to spread the word that we are looking for volunteers. Every bit of help is welcome. Use the link to sign up for the month of April. Thank you for your consideration. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4DAEAA2FABFDCE9-booster
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
April 2021
| Apr. 12-16 | Spring Holiday (No School) |
| Apr.19-23 | Earth Week |
| Apr. 20 | Board of Trustees Meeting 6:00 pm (MPB3) |
| Apr. 22 | Eco Fair @MPB1 from 12:30-2:00pm |
| Apr. 26-May 3 | Grade 3 Field Trip to Ko Kret |
| Apr. 27 | 1:10 pm Early Dismissal |