Have a Wonderful Holiday!
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
Congratulations to everyone in our Middle School community for completing a challenging first semester of the school year. In a term that saw us in Virtual School, Hybrid School, and finally on-campus again, our parents, students, and teachers once again proved their adaptability and self-management to ensure we were learning and building relationships.
Our students studied from other countries, isolated in their homes, from hotel rooms, and finally in our classrooms again. And families managed challenging situations with travel, separation, and worries about extended family and loved ones. Through it all our ISB MS community has remained strong, caring, and connected.
I want to share my deep appreciation for my teammate, Vice Principal Cindy Plantecoste whose leadership and partnership has helped lead us through these challenging times, as well as our immense gratitude to the faculty and staff of our middle school, who day-in and day-out demonstrated their professionalism, passion for learning, and care for students. Despite the challenges of a closed campus, we continued to foster the partnership between home and school to look after our students and their growth and development.
Now EVERY single one of us has earned a break. We hope that the coming three weeks of holidays brings peace and joy to our families throughout the community. May the break be full of rest, fun, family, and friends.
2021 may have been a challenging year for us all, but I am so proud of this school, this community, and these students. We have a lot to be grateful for, even as we take on ever-changing circumstances.
Happy Holidays! See you in 2022!!
MS Schedule in January when we return
When the new semester starts on January 10, 2022, MS will start the rotation again with Day 1. Most students will have new elective classes in their schedule. They may also have schedule changes as a result of the semester change.
Students should check PowerSchool in January to see their semester 2 schedule. We will start with Advisory on Jan 10th, so students will receive a copy of their schedule at that time, as well.
Please note that now that we have returned to Day 1 to start the semester, the printed ISB Calendar will be accurate again with the “numbered days” in the rotation.
Field Day was Fun Day
Normally in the final week of the first semester, ISB Middle School runs our annual MS Olympics, hosted by our PE team. This year, due to COVID restrictions, we’ve delayed the event until second semester.
So this year, our amazing PE team put together a fun afternoon of some Field Day events, with COVID-safe PE games, for Thursday afternoon. Yesterday’s event was a wonderful success with student playing games within their grade level like Sheet Volleyball or Human Hungry Hippo.
Frankly it was wonderful to see our MS children running around, having fun again. Events like these are normally the hallmark of being in middle school. They are so important for these students to play and have simple fun together, now more than ever. We hope your child enjoyed the afternoon … it was a warm one (we kept kids hydrated with plenty of breaks).
A terrific way to end the semester …
What can kids do over the holiday? Read Read Read!
We will always be advocates for students to read. Research has shown that student learning is improved by regular and frequent reading, but it is also a way to build emotional intelligence in children, as well.
In the linked article from Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, author Katy Bowman shares ways that parents can encourage reading, find good books for their children, and talk to them about what they are reading to build empathy, understanding, and greater sense that they are not alone. As shared in the article,
“Books are fantastic for teaching empathy, because you can’t live every life, but by reading books, you inhabit the lives of different characters and explore different worldviews without the risk,” said Michelle Muratori, senior counselor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY).
As parents, we can model good reading habits, but reading in front of our children, taking time as a family to put devices away and read together, and to read a shared story aloud (yes, even at MS age!).
It’s also a great way for students to connect again with their home cultures and native language(s) .
The ideas in the article are the kind of work that our English teachers do regularly with students, as they also study the “moves” authors make to tell a story. We hope that the article provides you with some strategies at home to encourage emotional intelligence in your children too.
MS Report Cards
Middle School Semester 1 report cards will be uploaded and available on PowerSchool on Monday, December 20th, at 4:00 PM.
Please note, that the break and holidays are important for teachers to recharge, so that they return to the new semester ready to engage rested and energized. As such, if there are questions regarding the report card, we ask that parents wait until we resume school to ask them. Teachers will be asked to pause their school communication to enjoy their holiday, so any emails or questions sent during the break should expect a response after January 9th. Thank you for your understanding and support for our teachers to have a break, themselves.
Repeat Announcement: Summer Program and Teacher Prep time
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
Our teachers have received some requests for recommendation letters for summer programs, with the application portals opening later this month. In order for teachers to do a good job and represent ISB and the student positively, our teachers need time to write these. They also need time for their holidays to recharge so that they can be the best versions of themselves when with students.
It has been our experience with summer programs that while they emphasize early submission of applications, we have never seen them turn down an applicant in January. These programs are still accepting students (and their money) well into the later months of February and March (and even into the start of summer).
With all of this in mind, our teachers will prepare these recommendation letters in January, after they return from the holiday. We will not ask teachers to do this during their well-earned holiday.
For those that require these recommendations, thank you for your patience and understanding so that we can best support your child with a quality recommendation.
Repeat Announcement: Learning Models for Semester 2
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
As we approach the 3-week December holiday, we know that everyone will appreciate the break. Students and teachers have done an amazing job through the first semester, as we shifted from Virtual School to a hybrid of Virtual School and on-campus learning to finally a fully on-campus model with a small number of students connecting virtually.
As previously communicated, ISB MS will no longer provide online learning in semester 2. We expect that all enrolled families will return to on-campus learning and our teachers will focus their planning, instructions, and energy on making the at-school learning experience the best it can be.
We understand that families have varied travel plans and some make decisions to return to Bangkok after we have started school. Please note that while assignments will be posted using our online learning platforms (Google Classroom, PowerSchool Learning, etc.), we will no longer be providing explicit instruction online. Students who are absent, will have access to the missing assignments and opportunities to complete and submit them.
Of course, ISB will also be keeping an eye on global and Thai circumstances. The MS, along with the rest of the school, will adjust as needed according to any required changes.