Welcome back

Dear Parents,

We are excited to welcome our students back onto campus on Monday, January 17th as we resume face-to-face classes. It will be Day 6 for our students and teachers and we will be following our regular daily schedule as we were just prior to the Winter break. We welcome 13 new HS students onto campus and they are looking forward to meeting theirnew classmates and potential new friends in the semester ahead.

Parents received information yesterday confirming that we are opening campus on Monday. This communication also included details about daily ATK tests next week and a survey for families who may not be on campus next week. Please do follow the instructions in that communication so that we know who to expect in classes on Monday.

We are aware that there will be some students that are unable to join us on campus next week and for them, the learning will still continue but in a different way. We move away from our virtual school format (online zoom classes) but these students will still have access to their learning materials and resources and opportunities to interact with their classmates and teachers as is appropriate. There is not a one size fits all approach to the learning format for our off-campus students as it will depend on the nature of the class, the activities, and the learning that is planned on a given day.

The learning model for off-campus students will focus on providing resources and assignments online through our usual means of Google Classroom, along with direct email contact between teachers and students. Our teachers will determine the best means with which to deliver learning for students unable to join on-campus classes on a day-to-day basis. This may include access to learning resources (videos, screencasts, lesson presentations, notes), instructions via email, opportunities for check-ins with teachers, zooming in for certain periods in a lesson, or continuing to work asynchronously on assignments, etc.

We will be asking our teachers to initially reach out to students that are away to let them know the plans for the week’s learning and how they can best continue with their learning during their absence. For students that are unsure about what they should be doing during their lessons, please ask them to contact the teacher directly and their school counselor if required.

We appreciate the ongoing support of our parent community as we continue to adapt to the different circumstances in front of us and do the best we can to provide learning for all of our students.

Welcome back
Regards
Justin AlexanderHS Principal

Check and Update Your Details in Powerschool Parent Portal

Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th

We are in the process of updating phone numbers, addresses, passport details and emergency contacts.

Please take the time to login to Powerschool Parent Portal

Instructions

Step 1. Login to Powerschool

If you are new, you should have received an email with your login details, if not please contact help@isb.ac.th
If you have forgotten your password, please contact arisap@isb.ac.th,

Step 2. Please click “Personal Information Update” on the left hand side.

Review your information that ISB has on record. Please update if necessary. It is really important this information is accurate, as we use this in emergency situations.

This information will then take a day or two to update (we manually check for accuracy).

If you have any questions or queries, contact arisap@isb.ac.th

IB Basics for Parents and Students

Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th

An information session on the basics of the IB Program will be held virtually as a Zoom meeting on Thursday, January 20th at 6:30 PM. This session is primarily aimed at parents and students who are interested in learning more about the IB Program at ISB, which includes information about the IB Diploma, IB Courses and Assessment. We particularly encourage current Gr10 parents and students to join.

No pre-registration is required for this session. To participate, please use the following Zoom link.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9849139583

If you have any questions about this session please contact Justyna McMillan, the Dean of Academics.

Grade 12 IB Predicted Grades and December Practice Exam Grades

Justyna McMillan
justynam@isb.ac.th

The next round of IB Predicted Grades for IB Year 2 students will be uploaded onto PowerSchool by the end of day on Monday 17th. You can download the PG report on the Quicklookup screen as a PDf file. IB Predicted Grades are an estimate of student performance based on a ‘body of evidence’ of the student’s work and the teacher’s knowledge of IB assessment standards. These predicted grades are shared with colleges and universities if they are requested by the institutions. The main purpose of these grades is to communicate to IB students the grade they are most likely to achieve, based on current evidence of their learning.

Grades awarded to students for the Practice Exams held in December, will also be available as a separate document.

If you have any questions about Predicted Grades or exam grades, please reach out to your child’s teacher for further information.

News from the University Counselors
Debbie McDowell
debbiem@isb.ac.th

Welcome back to Semester Two!

The University Counselors send their best to all ISB families and wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Application Results. Seniors should have heard back, or will soon hear, about the results of their Early Application or Early Decision applications. Universities making decisions on a rolling basis have also started releasing decisions. Please encourage your child to check their application portals, email inbox and spam folder regularly to watch for those decisions or in case other information or materials are required. Please be sure your child shares their university application results with their university counselor! The next Senior Seminar is 23 February.

University counselors will be sending out the Mid Year Reports to all universities that require those updates and to which the seniors applied. That material will be submitted next week by the counselors. Students should monitor their application portals to ensure all materials are received by the university.

College Coffee: The next Parent College Coffee will be on Monday, 17 January, 2022 at 1:00 PM. The topic will be US Higher Education 101 and the university counselors will cover the basics about what parents need to know regarding higher education and applying to universities in the US. All grade 9-12 parents are invited to attend. Please join the counselors by registering in advance here. Watch this space for a future announcement about other Parent Coffees during Semester 2!

Juniors should now be taking the driver’s seat for their university research and selection process. The next Junior Seminar will be on Monday, 17 January. University Counselors will be introducing the Juniors to a new web based platform, Maia Learning, which will be used for university research and the delivery of application materials. In addition, the juniors will be given the template for their Junior Lead Conferences and some time to start working on their presentations.

Juniors & Parent University Night will be on Thursday, 20 January. If you have a grade 11 student, please join the university counselors for the zoom presentation at 6:30 PM by registering in advance here. The counselors look forward to the webinar and presenting to both students and families about the upcoming university research and selection process as well as providing information about the Junior Led Conferences that will take place in February and March. See you there!

Junior Led Conferences begin 1 Feb through 31 March (University Counselor office and/or Zoom). All grade 11 students are required to schedule a Junior Led Conference with their university counselor and their parents during the months of February and March. The meeting will be the starting point for the university research and selection process for each student and family. Please work with your child to set that appointment well in advance during the student’s free period or after school. This is a mandatory meeting and both parents are expected to attend, in person or via zoom. The counselors look forward to hearing from the students about what their plans are for after ISB!

Virtual university visits: Be sure to check the Virtual University Visit list for university presentations that are available for students and families to join. 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

News from School Counselors

Shannon Leoni
shannonl@isb.ac.th

Happy New Year! Once again we have started a semester online, but as always it has been wonderful to reconnect with one another on Zoom, and to look ahead to next week when we are all back together on campus.

As a reminder, Wednesday, January 19 will be the last day for students to make changes to their class schedule.

Most importantly, during the week of January 24, we will focus on the theme ‘Words Matter.’ Students will explore this theme in Advisory through small group discussions, videos, and reflection time. The aim is to discuss the importance of the language that we use, and what it means to be an upstander in creating a respectful community. Our hope is that students will engage in dialogue about self-respect, diversity, how to be an ally, and how to navigate tricky social situations. While this may not be an easy discussion, we are hopeful that by dedicating time to this topic, we are continuing to commit to the ISB values of integrity, care, courage and responsibility.

Thank you,Shannon

iCare – a huge thank you

Peter Assimakopoulos
petera@isb.ac.th

A huge thank you to all our students and parents that helped make the holiday season extra special this year. Thank you for all your donations and gifts to iCare last December. The blankets, toys, gifts were successfully delivered over the holiday season. Have a look at this short video – you will see that getting to the village was not an easy task this year.

Have a look at the email and update from Michael from iCare below.

Bringing Christmas to the children of Bangsanook is hard under the best of conditions. Located 86 KM into the Thung Yai Protected Jungle reserve in Kanchaburi, and 410 km from Bangkok, 12-14 hours to deliver the 300 blankets, 300 sets of warm clothes, 300 Christmas presents, and 30 bicycles was what we were expecting the trip to take, based on previous experience.

This year, however, would not be a normal year. Battling mud, vehicle breakdowns, and fallen trees, the trip turned into a gruelling 28-hour slog, a number we hope to never have to experience again anytime soon.

There are other numbers that are worth mentioning though, while we’re on the topic of the highest numbers, that are worth celebrating. 148 students are currently enrolled in Bang Sanook School. This is the highest it’s been, and 32 higher than when our dormitory project was launched in 2019.

What does that mean? That means that there are 32 new students who are the first ones in their family ever to learn how to read. 32 students who will now be a part of modern society, by learning to speak Thai, bringing immeasurable change to not only themselves, but their families, and by extension, the entire village. For a brief glimpse into what the trip is like, check out the following video:

https://www.facebook.com/iCareTH/videos/643985210349928

More than 1200 blankets were given out, as were 1,200 Christmas presents at our 17 dormitories, along with 500 sets of warm jackets for those who lack the proper clothes to deal with the temperatures on top of the mountains.

While these are all big numbers, worth celebrating, they don’t detract from the individuals that these numbers represent.

I’m reminded of Nong Na Poe, and the divine providence that led us to her this Christmas in the village of Sala Ching Tong, Mae Hong Son. Approaching 8 years old, she had never experienced the joys of going to school and was headed to a lifetime of ignorance. After a prolonged discussion of the benefits of education with her mother, I am happy to report that she is now enrolled in Phiang Luang 11 school, where we’ll be building a new dormitory this year for her, and 39 other students like her.

So on behalf of Nong Na Poe, and thousands like her, we say thank you, for helping us to change their destiny, this Christmas.

For those that worked so hard to make cards, gather toys, donate blankets and stuffies, those have all been delivered to children who in many cases never had a toy to play with, for which we say thank you.

Happy New Year, and may this new year be filled with joy and happiness,

Michael
iCare Thailand Foundation

News from HS Library

Christopher Bell
christob@isb.ac.th

Please click News from HS Library

Panther Needs Help
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th

At this time, one of our most courageous Panthers, and a proud member of our PK-12 community, is in need of our assistance. Evelyn Durbin, daughter of ISB teachers, Augusta and Charlie, has been fighting cancer over the past year. At this time, complications are requiring daily blood transfusions during her battle in the hospital. A strong show of support via blood and platelet donations through the Thai Red Cross in her name would be greatly appreciated. There is currently a nationwide shortage of blood and platelets, and although we cannot donate directly to Evelyn, this increases the resources so that they have ample resources for her and those like her. For donor-related concerns, please feel free to reach out to the ISB Health Center at isbnurse@isb.ac.th. In addition, several members of the ISB community have reached out to offer monetary support, as we know that the mounting medical costs associated with Evelyn’s care has already topped over 11,000,000THB. To this end ISB has set up a special “Friends of Evelyn” account. See bank details HERE if you would like to contribute.

We will be hosting a Blood Drive on campus February 1, 2022 with the Thai Red Cross, but don’t feel the need to wait, consider donating today! [ Details to follow ]

Donation Centers :

Thai Red Cross [Henri Dunant Road] – contact our office for details
The Mall Ngamwongwan , 5th floor [Government Center] [20 minutes from ISB campus] [Open 12.00-18.00]
Central Plaza Chaengwattana , 6th floor in front of Fitness First [Open 11.00-15.00], 5 minutes from campus
The Emporium , Sukhumvit, 2nd Floor, Building B [Open 12.00-18.00]

We know her family appreciates all the prayers, best wishes, and positive thoughts our community can give during this difficult time.

High School Musical Auditions Extended through January 20th, 2022

Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th

Dust off your dancing shoes and warm up that voice for Virtual Auditions due January 10th-20th. Live auditions will be held the week of January 31st (more details to follow). Still have questions about ISB’s production of High School Musical: The Musical and how you can get involved with the show on stage or off? Contact Mr. Giles, Ms. Fuson, or Ms. Price at anthonyg@isb.ac.th, lindsayf@isb.ac.th, or jaleeap@isb.ac.th respectively.

Remember, We’re All in This Together!