Students are back!
What a joy it has been this week to welcome middle school students onto campus. We appreciate the confidence our community had in our safety measures, allowing your children to join us in classrooms on campus again.
With our split cohorts, we had a wonderful two-day start with our newest middle schoolers – the Grade 6. Students met their teachers, explored the campus, tested out our new playground equipment, and most importantly spent time with peers and classmates.
Today, we got to have another “first day” as our grade 7s and 8s came onto campus for the first day. It was fun to see so many familiar returning faces (everyone seems taller!) along with a chance to welcome our new students to ISB. Student ambassadors joined our new students for lunch and ensured no one got lost. We look forward to the grade 7 and 8 students having their second day on Monday.
Thank you to all of our teachers and students for their efforts this week. We appreciate everyone following our safety measures, even if it requires the occasional reminder. Also, thank you to our parents for following our ATK testing guidelines to ensure your children have a smooth arrival each day.
We know that we don’t have all of our students back on campus yet. Our Virtual School model will continue to allow us to connect with our off-campus students and help them feel engaged with ISB.
We look forward to when we are all together on campus again!
Next week schedule
We will continue our schedule rotation into next week, beginning on Monday with Day 8.
Noteworthy highlights include:
- Monday is Day 8 – the second day for grades 7/8 on campus and grade 6 in Virtual School.
- Grade 6 will be on campus again on Tuesday and Wednesday
- Grades 7 & 8 will be on campus on Monday, Thursday and Friday
- Virtual School times are different than they were before we opened campus. Times for the start of class are the same whether on-campus or virtual
As always, teachers will provide students who are unable to come to campus instructions for the learning days that their cohort is on campus.
Grade 6 Schedule for Oct 4-8
Grade 7 & 8 Schedule for Oct 4-8
Attendance for Student vaccine appointments on October 6
On Wednesday, 6 October, a large number of middle school students will be getting Pfizer vaccinations at Medpark Hospital, through prior registrations with ISB. ISB will run school as usual this day. We understand that students will be absent for this important vaccine opportunity.
If your child has an appointment for this round of vaccinations, you do NOT need to notify our office as we have their names on our lists already.
If you have an early morning appointment, your child can come to school after their appointment and enter campus with their ID card as normal.
If your appointment is later in the day, please arrange directly with your child what time you will pick them up from school and ask your child to come to the MS office to get a gate pass in order to leave campus. We have a record of all appointments and will release your child to meet you at the front of school.
All students who have an appointment will have the attendance code ‘SPC’ (Special Event) on PowerSchool for all their classes for this day. Please note that this code is an indicator for teachers if your child is not in class and does not count towards absences in any class.
Learning for Online students during On-Campus Days
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
We have had a successful start to reopening campus in our two cohorts of students. With all of the information that was shared ahead of reopening, we know it was hard to keep track of all the details being shared. This post is an attempt to provide some clarity around our model of learning for students off-campus, when their cohort of classmates are engaged in on-campus learning.
The main guiding principles of our model for these students are:
- Teachers know the learning outcomes, the students, and the lesson plans best
- It is not always possible to match online learning to face-to-face learning
- Zooming into a class is not the same as being there
- We must ensure online students feel connected and engaged with their classmates and the learning
- Clear communication between teacher and student is essential
We believe a “one-size-fits-all” approach to learning for students who are off-campus is not good for learning. Instead, we ask our teachers to consider their lesson plans, the class activities, and most importantly, the desired learning outcomes.
Depending on the learning circumstances, subject matter, lesson plans for the day, etc. the best way to access class learning should be and will be different. Teachers share specific instructions with students who aren’t on campus that may or may not include joining live on Zoom through email or other school communication tools (google classroom, PowerSchool Learning, etc.).
Maybe students will be asked to work on things asynchronously and manage their own time. Maybe for some classes they will be invited to join “live on zoom” with their classmates on campus. Each class is different to match the learning that’s happening. Most students will not be on zoom the whole day, but possibly would have some classes this way.
Teachers communicate the model to best match the learning.
While we understand that this makes it more unpredictable for students, we believe with good teacher to student communication, it is better for learning than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Classroom teaching is necessarily different from online teaching and it is most important that our teachers – who know the learning, the students, and the circumstances – make the decisions about how off-campus students access that learning. Watching an 80 minute lesson from afar through the computer screen, as others interact with the learning and each other, is not positive for learning or for students’ social-emotional wellbeing.
Our learning model as we reopen is a new shift for everyone. While we adjust to this shift there may have been some hiccups, especially on these first days. We are confident that teachers will continue to ensure that students who are not able to come to campus still feel connected and have awareness of their learning expectations and assignments.
No matter what, on the Virtual School days, teachers will see ALL students in the same online environment and be able to work directly with our online-only students.
We are only in the first days of this incredibly complex new model for learning. We are very proud of how quickly our community has adapted. If there have been some questions or glitches, we have learned from them and are already better than we were just days ago.
We appreciate the support of our parent community, as our teachers repeatedly adapt with professionalism and care to the frequently changing circumstances.
Reminders for Students On Campus days
Now that we’ve had a few days with students on campus, here is what we’ve learned are helpful reminders for your MS children on their on-campus days:
- Bring their ID card – this is essential for entering campus
- Bring a water bottle – otherwise it’s a long time without hydrating
- Pack your backpack only with materials for the classes THAT day – otherwise bags get really heavy
- Have some extra masks, especially for PE days – it’s nice to change out of a sweaty one
- On PE days, you have to have PE uniform to change into and a uniform to wear for classes
And finally, we remind all families that regardless of what day the student will be on campus, the ATK tests and forms should be submitted on Sunday and Tuesday evenings, 4-8 pm.
Reminder: High School Student Tutors Available
Can your Middle School student use a little extra help in a specific subject area? Our High School Peer Tutor Club has excellent high school students who want to help! Students are matched according to subject and spend an hour a week together with the goal of helping students get a better understanding of subject material, plus improved organizational skills.
If this sounds like something that could benefit your middle schooler, contact Mr. Callahan (kevinc@isb.ac.th) to begin the process of getting some quality help for your student!
Athletics Up Coming Events
2nd & 3rd October: Panther Pride – Run, Ride and Walk
5th October: Last day of MS virtual practices
6th October: Last day of HS virtual practices
Panther Pride – Walk, Run, Ride
The Shakespeare Tournament Tuesday, October 5th 5:30pm
Shakespeare has been a tradition for over 500 years, and now he’s coming to ISB! In this special webinar event, some middle school students are flexing their drama skills in the first-ever Shakespeare Tournament. Monologues, poems, and group scenes have been prepared, and the Judges are ready. Friends and family of our contestants are welcome. October 5, 5:30 pm, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84276919181
