Message from the Principal
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
Thank you for your attendance in the online student parent teacher conferences over the past two days. We once again enjoyed over 80% attendance at the conferences and so far reports coming in from teachers and parents have been generally positive about the format. We would like to collect some feedback from our parents and teachers about the experience and would appreciate you taking a moment (2 minutes) to fill in this short SURVEY to help us improve future conferences.
Wednesday is an Early Release Day with classes finishing at 1.10pm so that teachers can engage in professional learning opportunities school wide. A modified HS schedule runs on that day and students will be informed through the daily student notice messages as to the timings of lessons etc. On Friday, HS parents are invited to join an information session about the Advanced Placement program at 10.30am. We will be adding a few new AP classes in the HS alongside our IB and ISB curriculum offerings for the coming year so please come along to hear more. More details including how to register are included elsewhere in the ENews.
Have a great weekend
Justin Alexander
HS Principal
Uniform Reminders
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
We have started to see an increase in dress code issues. In particular we are seeing an increase in students wearing incorrect Hoodies and/or pants. Specifically for pants is the need to have plain pants, they should be free of any logos and should be of appropriate length. Please also note that PE shorts are not part of the High School uniform.
Our dress code policy can be found in the online student handbook under ‘Uniform and Dress Code’.
For a quick summary please note the following:
- School pants can be purchased from the bookstore, but we do allow non-bookstore pants, so long as they are in the same design limitations. Pants must be appropriate length (defined as 1/3 of the hip to knee). Tighter pants are allowed however, spandex and ‘branded’ sports pants are not allowed.
- Hoodies and sweaters must be purchased from the Booster Hut. All other team hoodies are not to be worn on Monday to Thursday.
- Every Friday students will have a specific focused alternative dress day in which they will be able to wear ISB Team-wear, class shirts, ISB club wear or themed dress as per the planned schedule for that week. Our Student Council will be sharing these dress days with students directly.
- Footwear should be comfortable, practical and safe. Open toe shoes are not allowed such as slippers and flip flop sandals.
Please note that any student not in uniform will be required to purchase the right uniform from the ISB Bookstore.
Senior Gate Passes Issued
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents of the ISB Class of 2022,
Students in grade 12 who applied and were approved a gate pass have started to receive their Senior Gate Passees this week. With the Senior Gate Pass, seniors may arrive late, leave campus during the school day, or leave early with permission from the HS Office provided no class time is missed.
When exiting campus, seniors need to show their gate pass to the guards to indicate they have this privilege to leave campus. Student RFID cards have been approved for this access only if a student has been given a Senior Gate Pass. Passes are to be kept by the student at all times and may be requested to be shown at the front gate when exiting the campus grounds.
Parents need to be aware that students who leave campus are not covered by the school’s insurance policy, since they are unsupervised during this time. While off campus, the Parent assumes responsibility for their child.
For approval, a parent or guardian must sign the waiver form, which was shared on Thursday with the class of 2022. The student must be in good academic, behavioral and attendance standing. Students need to be up to date with EE/CAS requirements to receive their gate pass. Administration reserves the right to refuse the issue of or revoke a Senior Gate Pass if a student does not maintain this standing. Students with excessive tardies or unexplained absences are not eligible for a Gate Pass.
For any questions regarding the Senior Gate Pass, please contact Andy Vaughan (andyv@isb.ac.th)
Advanced Placement (AP) Informative Session for Parents – November 26th @ 10:30 AM
Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
We are pleased to announce that we have added a number of AP offerings to our Program of Studies, for next academic year. AP Courses will be open to students in Gr10 – GR12.
If you are interested in learning more about the AP courses, please sign up for this informational meeting.
The Agenda for the meeting includes:
An overview of Curricular Options at ISB
Why the AP?
AP Courses for 2022-23
What to expect in a AP classroom
The College and University Perspective
Please register for the meeting using the link below. The registration link also includes a space for you to enter a question you would like to have answered during the meeting. We can use these questions to help guide our discussions.
There will be a separate IB Basics evening on January 20th, and a Course Information Night for Gr10 students moving into GR11, on February 1st.
Hope to see you on Zoom!
Justyna McMillan. Curt Nichols, Jennifer Delashmutt and Justin Alexander
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Nov 26, 2021 10:30 AM Bangkok
Topic: AP Informational Meeting
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-7ZWN2XfR9qNEgJEpydgwA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
News from University Counselors
Debbie McDowell
debbiem@isb.ac.th
Good news! Ms Gordan, who will be taking Ms. Shrestha’s place during her maternity leave, will be on campus starting Tuesday, 23 November, and will be available to meet with students in person! Many students have started connecting with Ms. Gordon virtually as she has already begun reviewing essays and applications as well as submitting documents to universities for seniors. We are excited to have Ms Gordon on campus and on our team!
ISB, in conjunction with other international schools in Bangkok, will be hosting the first ever Virtual Thai University Fair on 30 November, 2:30-4:30 pm. The early list of universities that have confirmed their participation include 50 Faculties. The preliminary list of universities/faculties can be viewed here. A final list with table assignments will be made available closer to the time. Pre-registration will be required for students and parents to participate. A school email will be required to register for this event. Official sign up for the event is here. As a parent, if you do not have a school registered email, please list your child’s email on the form. If you are interested in attending this Virtual Thai University Fair, please register by November 24, 2021. All sessions will be delivered via the Aimeet platform, so if you wish to join the event via a mobile device please download the Airmeet application in advance of the fair via Airmeet’s mobile app on both iOS and Android, should that be of convenience. We hope to see you there!
A note about virtual fair etiquette: There are many reasons for students to attend a university fair. One is to learn more about a university to which the student may be interested in applying. Another important reason is to show demonstrated interest in a university–to let the university know that the student is keenly interested in attending that institution. A great way to do that is to connect with the university admissions representative who may be reading their application. So it is important that students and parents make sure that they have their cameras on while they are in a breakout room with a university rep. Not only is it common courtesy but it gives the university admissions officer a chance to actually have a conversation, not just speak to blank boxes on a screen. ISB students are required to have their cameras on during a virtual university visit and/or fair! Please keep this in mind the next time you join a virtual university visit and please have this conversation with your child.
Seniors met with a university counselor on Wednesday during Senior Seminar. A great deal of information was passed along to the students. Please remind students that they can review the presentation by looking at the slide show, which is posted in their Google Classroom, again. Topics covered: details about the UC and UCAs applications, a review of how to complete the Thai university transcript requests and information about applying to Thai universities, and a reminder about upcoming deadlines. Students who will be applying to universities in the second semester, with deadlines after 1 February, were instructed to set an appointment with their university counselor in January to set a plan and timetable for their applications. Please note: Requests from parents regarding transcripts and documents will not be processed. Only transcript requests submitted through the online system by students will be accepted.
The next big deadlines that the Seniors must be focused on are 23 November for all transcript requests for applications due before 15 February, 30 November for applications to the University of California and California State institutions, and then 1 December for all students applying to the UK through UCAS. Please encourage your child to submit well before any deadline.
Juniors should have finished and submitted their Mission Statement on Wednesday 17 November. This was an assignment from last week’s Jr Seminar. Please ask your child if he/she turned that in and for them to share it with you. In addition, students were provided with a Priorities and Preferences University Research Spreadsheet that lists many Elements of Research. Students were given the assignment to review those elements of research and record their ideas/preferences/priorities about each category on the spreadsheet. Then, the second part of the assignment is to interview their parents about their ideas/ preferences/ priorities and record those on the spreadsheet. This assignment is due on 21 November. There are also columns for students to put in universities they are considering and make notes about how the university matches with their own and their parent’s preferences and priorities. This is the most important part of the university research process. If this work is done well, the student will find university selection and essay writing to be much easier! So, please have conversations with your child about the Priorities and Preferences they have about universities to which they are considering to apply.
Virtual university visits: The university counselors are hosting many virtual visits with universities from around the world (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 other 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!
Want to find out more about the University Counseling program at ISB? Please visit the ISB University Counseling website.
Ms. Debbie McDowell (she, her, hers)
Head of University Counseling
New from HS Counselors
Jackie Valenzuela
jackiev@isb.ac.th
On Wednesday, November 24th, the 10th graders will take the Morrisby Profile for some really valuable information about their abilities, interests, and what future studies and types of careers they might find interesting and rewarding. This is an exciting opportunity for our 10th graders as they gather valuable information in consideration for planning for the future; whether it be 10 years down the road or for choosing next school year’s courses. Please have a conversation with your student later this week and ask how it went.
News from the Athletic
Chris Mott
chrism@isb.ac.th
Season 2 Athletic Shirts
The Booster Club will be selling the Season Two Athletic Shirts at the below times for all U12, U14, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. They will be set up in the Breezeway outside the Rajendra Hall. You can stop by before or after practice on Tuesday or Wednesday. Student athletes are also able to purchase the Season Two athletic shirts directly from the Booster Hut on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Tuesday the 23rd of November
2:30pm – 4:30 pm – Junior Varsity and Varsity Teams
Wednesday 24th of November
3:40pm – 4:30 pm – Junior Varsity and Varsity Teams
Spirit Week
Monday the 29th of November to Friday the 3rd of December will be this semester’s ISB Spirit week. Our Spirit Week is for our entire ISB community to enjoy and we encourage everyone to get involved. Thank you to our High School Varsity Council for their organisation. Please see the designated days below
Mon (29th November) – PJ Day
Tues (30th November) – Dress like a teacher
Wed (1st December) – Jersey Day ***this is senior class photo, seniors wear blue
Thurs (2nd December) – Intercultural Day
Fri (3rd December) – Black & Gold
News from HS Library
Christopher Bell
christob@isb.ac.th
Please click News from HS Library
PANTHER ACTIVITIES ARE BACK!!!
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
New Session: Now through December 16th.
Missed the registration deadline for Panther Activities? Please contact the coordinators for art, baseball & softball, basketball, dance, golf, gymnastics, music, soccer, swimming, tennis, and volleyball directly at the addresses below
PantherArts@isb.ac.th, PantherBasketball@isb.ac.th, PantherBoyScouts@isb.ac.th, PantherBaseballandSoftball@isb.ac.th, panthercubscouts@isb.ac.th, PantherDance@isb.ac.th, PantherGirlScouts@isb.ac.th, PantherGolf@isb.ac.th, PantherGymnastics@isb.ac.th, PantherMusic@isb.ac.th, PantherNativeLanguageAcademy@isb.ac.th, PantherSoccer@isb.ac.th, PantherSwim@isb.ac.th, PantherTennis@isb.ac.th, and PantherVoleyball@isb.ac.th.
Or, for general questions reach out to Lucas or Anthony at PantherActivities@isb.ac.th.
ISB Dance Presents “Alone Together” 3:30pm Thursday, November 25th
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
The ISB Dance Department presents the annual Fall showcase, “Alone Together”! This collection of dances from IB, HS, and MS students explores the resilience of the human spirit connecting through dance together – even when we’re alone or in virtual settings. In addition to class dances, “Alone Together” features a screen dance collection of IB Dance solos by guest artist, Patrice Leroy. His choreography, “One Minute”, joins together six dancer’s individual glimpses of dancing alone.
Join us for the live Webinar at 3:30pm November 25th!
Welcome to the Invention Center – Open Workshop!
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
We are pleased to have the workshop, digital fabrication (CNC, laser cutter, 3D printers), and robotics rooms open for G7-12 students after school daily Monday through Friday from 2:30pm to 5:00pm and Saturdays 8:00am to 2:00pm! Come by to discuss your project ideas and how we can support you. Scraps are available for tinkering, and we now have an easy mechanism for individuals to order and purchase new material as needed.
Complete the safety form linked HERE, if you are ready to start creating.
Hope to see you in the Invention Center soon!
IASAS Dance Auditions – Monday, November 22nd
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Anyone interested in different styles of dance
and making their own choreography with a great group of creatives?
Join IASAS DANCE AUDITIONS next week by signing up HERE.
IASAS CC Drama Auditions November 29-30, 2021
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
IASAS CC Drama auditions will take place in the HS Drama room (8-201) on Monday November 29th and Tuesday November 30th, from 3:30-5:00pm. This year’s show is The Climate Monologues by Sharon Abreu, a musical play about climate change. It brings to life onstage the stories of real people around the world – people affected by climate change, and people working to solve the climate crisis. Their stories are told in their own words and through original songs that complement the stories. For Monday’s audition, please prepare two monologue excerpts from the show itself HERE of no more than one minute each. Tuesday audition materials will be distributed at the Monday audition. Questions? Contact Co-Directors, Anthony Giles or Rebecca Lebel at anthonyg@isb.ac.th or rebeccal@isb.ac.th.