‘Time for a break’
Dear Parents,
It has been wonderful having the vast majority of our students back on campus during the past week and a half working with our teachers in our classrooms. Please pass on our thanks to your children for following the regulations and protocols we have in place in the cafeteria, classrooms, and around the campus, as we continue to keep ISB a safe environment for our students.
Thank you to parents and students for remembering to complete your ATK and for submitting forms during the hours of 4-8 pm. Please be sure to keep that testing routine going and remember to fill out the ATK form on Sunday 17th October between 4-8 pm.
Student Parent Teacher conferences will now take place on November 18th and 19th. More details will be provided in the weeks leading up to the conferences, but please note that these will be held online and parents will need to register and sign up in advance.
Enjoy some time away from the screens and I hope that you and your family take some time to be together and have some fun over the break. See you after the holiday!
Regards
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
Attendance during Hybrid Learning
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.thIt has been fantastic to have a high proportion of students attending school in person since we were back on campus last week. Tracking attendance and having the most accurate data for teachers about students’ mode of learning has been challenging. This is due to the multitude of scenarios that our students are currently learning in, whether it is accessing learning from a very different time zone or country, being in-country but virtual or attending live.
In order to assist teachers in planning for assessments and classes, once a decision has been made for your child to start attending school in person, your child should remain in that mode of learning and not move back and forth between virtual and in-person learning. Please also note that students should not choose to attend school virtual for a day or for a class. In situations where there is an in-class, in-person assessment, students who are listed as attending school in person will need to take this in-person.
When your child needs to be absent from school for a particular reason (e.g. visa or medical appointments or sickness), please continue to email Khun Gade with a request for these absences (sasivimb@isb.ac.th).
In situations where there is a need to shift back to virtual learning for a longer period of time, please email Justin Alexander (justina@isb.ac.th) or Andy Vaughan (andyv@isb.ac.th) to request this change and to ensure this can be communicated to the teachers of your child.
Many thanks for your support in these past two weeks in making in-school learning a possibility. We wish you a relaxing and restful October break.
Principal’s Forum – October 26th
Dhooleka Raj
HS Principal Forum
FALL 2021 – HS Principal’s Forum – Now inviting all questions from parents
We are inviting questions from parents for the next Principal’s Forum. The HS Principal’s Forum (PF) is a channel of communication between parents and the administration. It is a platform to allow all parents to bring forward any questions, suggestions, or concerns to the Committee composed of parents representing grades 9-12 and EAL language communities.
All HS parents are welcome to attend PF scheduled 9 am on October 26th (location and format TBC by the school administration). The meeting will be led by Principal Alexander with Dean of Academics, Justyna McMillan, Dean of Students, Andy Vaughan, and HS Team members. There is one HS PF each semester, two per academic year.
All questions are shared with the administration anonymously: only the content is presented. The topics are addressed and discussed in an open meeting between the administration and HS parents. Parents are invited to send their questions/suggestions/concerns to us before October 15th via: HS Principal’s Forum- Questions from Parents- Intake Form. We review, code and submit all queries to the administration; the administration organizes the presentation to parents. Your specific question may not be addressed during the public forum meeting as the topics covered during the meeting depend on the number of queries received on the topic.
As always, if there are time-sensitive questions and individual concerns, please reach out directly to the teachers, The HS Principal’s office, counselors, and the Admin team. They are always your first port of call and will be happy to assist and support you.
Please feel free to be in touch with us if you have any questions, or would like to understand more about the HS PF: hsppforum@isb.ac.th
On behalf of our HS Principal’s Forum Parent Committee, we look forward to seeing you on October 26th.
Dhooleka Raj
DELVE has a date!
Peter Assimakopoulos
petera@isb.ac.th
DELVE has a date!
We are excited at the possibility of offering our service trips in May later this year. We know how rich and transformative these experiences are for our students.
DELVE will be in semester 2 on May 30th, 31st, June 1st, and 2nd. Some trips might leave as early as Sunday, May 29th. More information on the course offerings and registration process at a later date.
We wanted to take this opportunity to share the date with the community so you can add it to your calendars.
News from the College Counselors
Debbie McDowell
debbiem@isb.ac.th
Seniors were welcomed to University Counseling Virtual Office Hours on Friday to ask questions and receive support from their counselor. Seniors should be completing Transcript Request Forms, writing essays, personal statements and supplemental essays, and completing applications (Common App, UCAS, University of California, OUAC, and specific university applications) online. Ask your child about their deadlines. There are many coming up on 1 Nov, 15 Nov and 30 Nov. Now is the time to polish their application and begin submitting it BEFORE the deadlines!
Senior Family Conferences should be completed by this time. It was amazing to meet with each Senior family to discuss their child’s post secondary plans.
Parent Coffees: Thanks to those who joined the University Counselors for the presentation on Thursday covering Standardized Testing. Here is the link to the recording and slides. The next Parent Coffee will be on Wednesday, 3 November @ 9:00 am. The topic will be University Rankings: What you should know!
PSAT for Grade 11: All Juniors are scheduled to take the PSAT at no cost to the student/family on the morning of Tuesday, 26 October. Students received a PSAT booklet in their Advisory class last week so that they can familiarize themselves with the test. A practice test is also included in the booklet. On the day of the test, students will report directly to Rajendra Hall at 7:50 AM. The test will take approximately 3 hours. Juniors who will not need further standardized testing may opt out of taking the PSAT by speaking to their University Counselor and completing the Opt Out form (with parent signature), which was distributed with the practice book, by Tuesday, 19 October. Junior Seminar the week after break will be devoted to starting the registration of those students taking the test. University Counselors strongly encourage Juniors to take the PSAT as it is an opportunity to get an idea of what it is like to sit a standardized test and results will not be reported to any university. When scores are returned, a detailed report will provide the student an opportunity to study for the SAT at no cost through Khan Academy.
Virtual university visits: The university counselors are hosting many virtual visits (7:15-7:45 am, 12:50-1:15 pm, and 3:00-3:45 pm) for ISB students and parents. Be sure to check the Virtual University Visit list for university presentations that are scheduled exclusively for ISB students and parents (highlighted in yellow). In addition, there are many virtual events available for any students interested in gaining more information about particular institutions so please check the Virtual University Visits list on the ISB University/College Counseling website for loads of information!
Have a great October break! Relax and enjoy your family! University Counselors will be away from their offices and emails doing the same
Ms. Debbie McDowell (she, her, hers)
Head of University Counseling
News from School Counselors
Shannon Leoni
shannonl@isb.ac.th
Wow, we are finally at the October break! To say the beginning of this year has been a whirlwind would be an understatement. We have continued to be impressed with how students have handled a unique hybrid school model, and how committed they remain to their studies and their engagement with the ISB community.
As we head off on a much-needed week of rest, relaxation and fun, we encourage everyone to find time away from their screens. Due to the pandemic, we have found ourselves relying on our screens even more, and we’d like everyone to consider using technology in a more balanced way.
Here are some great tips for parents on how to work with their children around screen usage. One tip is, “ have a family conversation: You should definitely start by having this as an important conversation. Make the kids understand the need to reduce screens. Also, make them understand that the screen is a right not a privilege.”
As always, counselors are here to support you and your children through these times. We wish everyone a wonderful October beak, and look forward to welcoming everyone back on campus soon.
News from HS Library
Christopher Bell
christob@isb.ac.th
Please click News from HS Library
High School Season Two Athletics
Chris Mott
chrism@isb.ac.th
From Monday the 18th of October High School students will begin all season two athletics programs. Sign ups for season two athletics can be found HERE. Further information will be sent to all registered students on Sunday the 17th of October.
Due to current restrictions only registered students will be allowed to stay for the after school programs. If any assistance is needed in this process please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. Mott or Mr. Jaspers in the Athletics Office.
Free Dance Workshop (Repeat)
Jaleea Price
jaleeap@isb.ac.th
FREE DANCE WORKSHOP with Contemporary artist, PATRICE LEROY Join on Zoom for a chance to join a unique dance project, One Minute. Workshop / audition is Monday, Oct. 4 @ 3:30 – 5pm. Join Ms. Price’s Zoom or email for any info.
