by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
Happy New Year to our ISB Middle School community. As you will have seen from the schoolwide communication from Dr. Davies, ISB will open the new semester with online Virtual School for one week, January 10-14.
On Sunday, all students (cc parents as well) will receive an email containing their full ISB schedule along with the necessary Zoom links to join classes.
Virtual School Schedule
We will be following our standard MS Virtual School schedule, as detailed below. All times are Bangkok local time.
We will alternate only between Day 1 and Day 2 schedules to maintain consistency and predictability through this one week of Virtual School, starting each day with a short Advisory to reconnect our community, check in with students, and make sure they are prepared for the day ahead.
For the first week, athletics and activities will not take place. Further communication will come from the Athletics and Activities directors.
New Students to ISB
With the campus closed, we will adjust our orientation plans for the first day of the semester and provide online Zoom links to have new students meet with ambassadors, administration, and counselors. New students will start by meeting with their Advisory at 8:30 AM on Monday, as scheduled above.
Virtual School Guidelines
We understand that families may find themselves in a range of circumstances as we start the term. Reliable internet connections are essential for Virtual School to be effective.
We ask that parents help their children have a successful learning experience by helping to ensure a few guidelines for Virtual School:
- students should have a quiet place to engage in Virtual School, relatively free from distraction (we recommend putting other devices like phones away from them during class)
- while uniforms are not required, students should be appropriately dressed (not pajamas, for example)
- backgrounds should be appropriate for school (real or virtual) and not violate student’s own right to privacy and safety
- members of the household should be aware that there will be live video recording with an individual to avoid appearing in the background inappropriately
- students should maintain on-screen, respectful and attentive behavior during Zoom sessions, engaging positively with others
- students must use their own real names on Zoom so that teachers may recognize them in the waiting room and can ensure a safe environment.
More information will be in the Sunday email containing the student’s schedules for each day.
We hope that everyone stays safe and well. Please feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions.