No School on June 3
The Royal Thai Government declared that Thursday, June 3, 2021 will be a national holiday to celebrate the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. Please note that ISB will be closed on this day. Classes will resume on Friday, June 4th.
End-of-Year Materials Drop-Off and Pick-Up
We welcome families to sign up using this form for a time (listed below) to drop off iPads & peripheral equipment, books, and other school resources. You will also pick up a bag organized by your child’s teacher containing learning materials from the classroom and the yearbook.
| Friday, June 11th | 11AM – 3PM |
| Monday, June 14th | 8AM – 12PM |
| Tuesday, June 15th | 8AM – 12PM |
| Wednesday, June 16th | 8AM – 12PM |
Please place any books or resources that belong to the school inside a bag clearly labeled with your child’s name and homeroom teacher. There will be a drop-off point for these items. For families leaving before June 11th, school books and resources can be dropped off in the designated area currently located in front of the Business Office entrance.
iPad Return
All ES iPads and peripheral equipment (listed below) needs to be returned to ISB once virtual learning is finished on June 11th (or after summer school if your child is participating). We need to do inventory on the iPads and prepare them for the next school year.
Peripheral equipment:
Grades PK-1: iPad, Charger and lightning cable
Grade 2: iPad, charger, lightning cable, stylus, tote bag
Grades 3-5: iPad, Charger, lightning cable, keyboard, stylus and tote bag
Leaving before June 11th:
Please drop off your child’s iPad and all peripheral equipment to the school. You will need to contact the front guard to call an Edtech technician to come and sign in all equipment.
Leaving Thailand on or after June 11th:
There will be a collection area in front of the Business Office entrance with designated tables set up from 11am-3pm on Friday June 11th, and 8-12pm from Monday-Wednesday. Please sign up in advance for a time using this form. Kindly ensure that an ISB staff member checks off all returned equipment.
Virtual Summer School
If your child(ren) is participating in virtual summer school, you may borrow the iPad for these sessions. Once summer school is finished, please return the iPad and peripheral equipment to the ISB Edtech office. Please complete online form if you would like to borrow the iPad for Summer School.
If you have other special extenuating circumstances or questions please email your request with your child’s name to help@isb.ac.th and cc: markm@isb.ac.th
Weekly Message From Principal Allen
As we move into June 2021, the faculty and staff at ISB are not only focused on a strong finish to this current school year, we are preparing for the 2021-22 school year ahead of us. An important aspect of my role at this time is ensuring that we work to identify the best teachers in the world to replace some of the teachers who are moving on to new adventures at the end of this year.
ES faculty representatives along with Jeff, Sarah and I are interviewing teacher candidates who are not only well prepared via their education degrees and various credentials, but also bring a wealth of experience and a commitment to the ISB vision and mission. The qualifications and qualities we look for when recruiting teachers to join us in the elementary school are vast and include some of the following:
- Education degrees and valid teaching license/certification for elementary school years.
- Past successful experiences as indicated by their past direct supervisors via the reference check process
- Commitment to the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) of students.
- Positive interpersonal skills and the ability to develop positive relationships with people of diverse backgrounds.
- Successful at differentiating within the classroom for students with diverse learning differences (from remediation to enrichment) and linguistic backgrounds.
- Experience with the ISB curriculum, programs, and approaches to teaching in addition to pedagogical best practices in alignment with current educational research.
- Models the ISB Professional Standards of Integrity, Responsibility, Respect, Care, Collaboration, and Commitment.
- Commitment to communicate directly and collaboratively with parents and families to support student learning and well-being.
We look forward to introducing our newest team members to you when school begins in August, until then, we’ll continue to do our very best work to seek out the most extraordinary educators we can find to teach your children and partner with you!
Your partner in education,
Michael Allen, Ed.D.
michaela@isb.ac.th
FREE VIRTUAL SUMMER SCHOOL – Registration is now open!
With the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand and the ongoing closure of our school campus, the onsite ISB Summer School Program previously posted here will not be taking place this summer. In its place, we are now offering an optional two-week virtual summer school program at no cost to parents again this year.
There are a limited number of seats available so placements will be assigned based on the order registrations are received and each individual class will only be scheduled if there is sufficient enrollment.
Please note, the ISB Virtual Summer School Program is open to all students enrolled at ISB for the 2020-21 school year. New students joining ISB in August will be able to participate only if there are seats available; the exception to this is the Virtual MS/HS EAL Summer Courses which are open to both present and new EAL students joining ISB in August.
Purpose of the ISB Virtual Summer School Program:
To provide students with supplemental academic learning and/or enrichment opportunities, and to provide some opportunities to explore areas of interest through a variety of virtual “camps”.
Dates and Times for ISB Virtual Summer School 2021:
- Opens – Monday, June 21st
- Closes – Friday, July 2nd
- Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Bangkok time
Students can sign up for an academic program OR the special interest camps, but not both. Please read carefully the more specific information provided about each program and special interest camps tentatively being offered and for the registration procedures on our summer school webpage.
For any questions you may have, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mr. Maurilio Baron-Toaldo
ISB Summer School Director
HUB Dates and Book Return
As we enter the end of our year, please help your ES HUB by returning any ISB books that may be at your house. If your child has any books in their class at school, please contact your teacher for help.
Here are helpful HUB dates to keep in mind:
May 31 All leaving families books are due for return
May 31 HUB books are due for spring inventory.
June 7 Grade 5 students must have account cleared for Middle school reset
June 7 Summer Checkouts Begin
In addition to online books via Sora and Epic, parents are welcome to request library books from the ES Hub for pick up! Please complete this form to either request materials or receive suggestions from our Hub team:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAEfhoobJQq3qB6Qou8GPrVIytVuuM6MlmrVM_lUUTPf-suQ/viewform
ISB Virtual School Info Link
For all your ISB Virtual School information, please refer to this link via the ISB website.
https://www.isb.ac.th/learning-isb/isb-virtual-school/
Early Departures – Please Let Us Know
ES Parents who plan to leave BKK prior to June 11 are asked to contact Dr. Michael Allen, ES Principal, at michaela@isb.ac.th to share details. Students who are not able to participate in virtual school Zoom sessions will complete asynchronous learning tasks and assignments.
Counselors’ Corner
Our Counselors and ES Psychologist have open Zoom office hours for parents at various times throughout the week. This is a venue for parents to drop in to ask questions, share concerns, or ask advice.
Kate Kersey – PK1, KG, G1, and G2 Counselor
katek@isb.ac.th
Zoom Office Hours: Wednesdays from 10:00 – 10:40
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8142692734
Meeting ID: 814 269 2734
Passcode: espanthers
Doug Williamson – Gr. 3 – 5 counselor
douglasw@isb.ac.th
Zoom Office Hours: Wednesday’s from 10:00 – 10:40 a.m.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5764617863
Meeting ID: 576 461 7863
Passcode: espanthers
Matt Johnson – ES Psychologist/PK2 and KG (Swanlaw) Counselor
matthewj@isb.ac.th
Zoom Office Hours: Monday and Thursday from 10:00-10:30
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89969739043
Passcode: espanthers
NOTES & BOLTS: News from Design, Fine and Performing Arts at ISB
While a number of arts events have been postponed or cancelled due to the current campus closure, many are still on virtually, and we have even added a few! Please see the list below of what’s on and when to tune in. Note that there were some issues with the link given out earlier for tonight’s MS Choir and Strings Concert, the Panther Dance Performance on June 4th, and the MS band Concert, now scheduled on June 8th.
What’s On & What’s Off…
HS BOrCh Concert – Aired at 6:30pm May 18th
ES Music Spring Concert – Aired at 6:30pm May 24th
Legs 4 Legs Dance Benefit 2021 – Aired at 4:00pm May 25th
MS Choir & Strings Spring Concert – 6:30pm May 27th
Taylor Weidman on the Health of the Ethnosphere – 11:30am June 1st
MS Virtual Visual Art Exhibition – June 1st through September 1st
High School Fall Musical Meeting – 3:00pm June 2nd
Panther Dance Performance – 4:00pm June 4th (new link to follow next week)
MS Band Spring Concert – 6:30pm June 8th (new link to follow next week)
ES Spring Concert: Panther String Ensemble, Orff Ensemble and Choir Earlier this week, musicians from the three ES music ensembles gathered together on Zoom for a virtual concert, sharing videos they have been collaborating on from home. Please enjoy the results of their hard work by going to this PLAYLIST! We are proud of these young musicians and the commitment they’ve demonstrated in seeing this performance through, against all odds!
Taylor Weidman to Speak on the Health of the Ethnosphere
11:30am Tuesday, June 1st, 2021 Join ISB Artist in Residence, Taylor Weidman, over ZOOM on Tuesday, June 1st at 11:30am, as he shares his work on the Vanishing Cultures Project with a focus on the diminishing health of the ethnosphere, specifically the rapid loss of unique traditions, practices, and languages in the 21st century.
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, authoredand 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.
Fragrant City: Kitti Narod Solo Exhibition 20 May – 13 June 2021 Tang Contemporary Art is proud to present “Fragrant City,” a solo show for Thai artist, Kitti Narod, in its Bangkok space, which will run from 20 May – 13 June 2021. After “Joy Land,” this is Narod’s second solo exhibition with the gallery, which will present fourteen of his most recent works.
PAW PRINTS: News from the Panther Den
Panther Activities Refunds Are On the Way
Refunds for all cancelled Panther Activity sessions from April 6th onward are being organized via wire transfer for receipt by the end of the school year or before. Questions? Contact Lucas or Anthony at PantherActivities@isb.ac.th. We miss your kids!!!
(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>
