Well done Everyone!
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
We have reached the end of the 2020-21 school year. This time last year, I acknowledged what a strange year we had then, trying out Virtual School for the first time. Now, after possibly and even more strange year, I want to offer my congratulations and appreciation for how well our community as persevered through ever-changing times.
We started the year quite well relatively. In August, as schools in other countries remained online, ISB campus opened with new safety guidelines and infrastructure in place, allowing us to have students in classrooms, engaged in activities, and being social once again. The first semester felt closer and closer to “normal” school culminating in hosting our annual MS Olympics and having a final assembly spread out in the large gymnasium.
Unfortunately, our second semester started with some cases in Thailand and we opened in January doing Virtual School again. We happily returned to school after a few weeks and got going again, only to sadly close campus and return online for the last 9 weeks of the year. This led to cancelled school trips and loss of seasons, productions, and activities.
That said, our students and teachers once again impressed me with their dedication to learning. In an environment in which “school” took place on a laptop screen and distractions surrounded people everywhere else, overwhelmingly, our community focused on the needs and task at hand and kept learning moving forward. Thank you to parents who helped their children create a home environment conducive to learning. Thank you to teachers, who flexibly adapted their lessons to suit an online environment, and thank you to students who developed a routine, kept their focus, and made it work.
There is no doubt that we can all use this break now. We hope everyone has time to step away from screens, and safely get outside, read books, play games with siblings, and connect personally with people. We hope it’s a time for everyone to RECHARGE.
Our MS/HS Library has updated our RECHARGE page to provide families with ideas to pass the time this summer. Ways to stay curious, ways to build, ways to get out into nature, and ways to learn. We hope that this is a useful resource for everyone over the summer, as we look for things to do to connect with each other and disconnect from screens.
(of course, the irony of pushing a website encouraging “disconnecting” is not lost on us … we hope the site provides ideas that students can then take off-screen)
There are also opportunities for academic enrichment and a Summer Reading Challenge.
We wish everyone a safe and restful summer. Take care of yourselves and each other.
The 2020-21 school year has been one of uncertainty and disappointment. It has also been a year of renewed social interaction, celebration, and success. I continue to be proud of our MS community for both their dedication to learning and their care for each other.
Congratulations on completing the 2020-21 school year. Have a wonderful holiday break.
Once a Panther …
For all of our families who are leaving ISB this year, we wish you a fond farewell. The past few years have been unique in both the history of ISB and the educational lives of your children. We hope that the memories you take away with you of these times are positive, even as they are unique.
Please stay in touch with us and let us know how your children are faring in their new schools. If there is ever any way that ISB can continue to support your child or provide more information to their new school, please feel free to contact us.
Every year the community we have is unique to that year and the specific combination of families we have. That said, there are always some constants to the ISB MS family. We continue to support and care for children. Our partnership for their success will always be a highlight of any school year.
We wish you well in your family’s new adventures ahead. Stay in touch and visit if you find yourselves back in Thailand.
Once a Panther … always a Panther!
Grade 8 Upstanders Project – Honouring the Heroes
HONOURING THE HEROES – A GRADE EIGHT VIRTUAL MUSEUM PROJECT
We invite the ISB Community to view the work of our Eighth Grade Social Studies students, who have created museum exhibits to recognize and remember some of the upstanders, rescuers, and resisters who did not sit idly by in times of conflict and atrocity.
The exhibits include examples from a diverse range of place and time, from the Armenian Genocide of World War I, though to the Holocaust and events in Cambodia, Rwanda, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, and more.
We invite you to browse through the rooms of our virtual museums spread across the Parisian landscape, and perhaps learn something new. You can sign the guest book if you like, and leave some feedback for our students, who will take pride in knowing their work has been shared.
Pick up still available next week
Middle School will continue to collect and distribute school materials on Monday to Wednesday of the week after school ends, June 14-16. For safety reasons, we will limit how many people interact by using an appointment system that manages numbers. The appointment also allows us to know who needs to be there for the pick-up (instrument collection, ed-tech, etc.)
All students will be able to collect their yearbook during this time.
For departing families, school documents will be available for collection.
Students may also need to collect:
- locker contents (bagged and labeled by our staff)
- artifacts from class (incl. art pieces)
- Grade 8s only: Class photo & Certificates of MS completion
Students may need to return:
- instruments
- text books
- library books
- robotics kits
- art supplies
- Departing students only: school laptop and charger
Please book an appointment using the system linked. Students will be informed of what school materials they must return (if any) by their teacher.
Materials that aren’t returned may result in school reports and documents being held at school and not sent to families or next schools.
If you are unable to return items to campus, please contact Mr. Harter.
Your confirmation about Virtual Summer School…
Dear Parents,
Scheduling of our virtual summer school classes is almost complete. By the end of this weekend, you should receive an email confirming your child’s scheduled class(es), or a note stating they are on the waitlist. In the same email, it will also state which classes still have space available and steps to follow if you’d like to join one of those.
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 21
-
Closes – Friday, July 2
-
Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Bangkok time
For any questions you may have, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mr. Maurilio Baron-Toaldo
ISB Summer School Director
Repeat Announcement: Student Schedules to be sent in July
With enrollment having been uncertain as families make and change plans to complete the year, the MS has not completed it Master Schedule process for 2021-22. Staffing adjustments are being made to account for an improved enrollment projection and as such we will be continuing to build the Master Schedule into the summer months.
As such, the MS will send students their planned list of courses for 2021-22 in the week of July 26th. We are delaying sending this so that we may spend more time trying to schedule students for the electives that they requested.
Hopefully students can disconnect from school in the meantime and enjoy their summer break.
Repeat Announcement: Middle School Schedule and Timetable 2021-22
ISB Middle School will return to the school hours used prior to this year for the 2021-22 school year. The MS school day will run from 7:20 AM to 2:25 PM, according to the schedule shared below.
- First semester: Aug 16 – Dec 17
- Second semester: Jan 10 – June 17
The significant changes to the schedule from 2020-21 include:
- Start time returns to 7:20 AM
- School day ends at 2:25 PM (no change in length of school day)
- Advisory or a flexible use block will be at the start of the day
- MS Athletics and Activities will take place 2:35-3:35 PM
- Early Release Days (about once per month) will be on Wednesdays not Tuesdays
- MS students will have lunch at 10:45 AM (15 minutes later than this year)
