‘Communication’
Dear HS Parents,
I hope that you are all well and getting ready for tonight’s Spirit Night where our Varsity Volleyball and Soccer teams will be competing against other Bangkok and Thailand international schools in a fun tournament. There will be food trucks and games to watch so please come along.
Volleyball – begins at 15:00 in Rajendra
Soccer – begins at 15:30 on Field A
Cross country – 3km Time Trial begins at 17:00
Thank you to our parents who joined us on Wednesday night at our Open House and followed their children’s schedule on the night in order to meet their teachers and learn about the great learning opportunities at ISB.
HS PTA meeting
We will be hosting our first HS PTA meeting of the year on Friday, September 23rd from 9 am – 10.15 am in the MPB (Multi-Purpose Building – 2nd floor). Agenda items will include a welcome from our two new PTA reps (Afshan Asad Junaid and Apiphawadee Snidvongs (Tik), DELVE, Athletics (including IASAS), Activities (including MUN), a short presentation from our school counselors on student support, an Advisory presentation, and a list of upcoming HS parents events. In order to attend the PTA meeting, we ask that parents please REGISTER HERE so parents can register and also leave any questions that they have in advance of the meeting.
Student Parent Teacher Conferences
Parents will have an opportunity to meet with teachers at the Student Parent Teacher conferences which take place at the HS on Thursday, September 29th, and Friday, September 30th on campus. Parents will be able to sign up for a 2-hour slot on one of those days in order to meet with teachers to learn about the progress and areas of growth of their children. Students are required to attend as well. We will send out details regarding the sign-up procedure on Tuesday, so please keep a close look out for that email so that you can sign up and secure your slot.
Upcoming meetings / Improved communication with HS Parents
You will have already noticed that there have been quite a few informational and welcome meetings for HS parents at the start of the school year and it has been great to see so many of you coming and joining us. We have many more informational meetings and HS PTA meetings (four) lined up for the year ahead and we look forward to sharing the right information at the right time and being available for questions from parents at any time.
Some highlights of these changes include:
- A contact list (names and email addresses) of who parents can contact if they have a question (see next article in the Enews).
- A link to an HS Question form in each Enews edition – where parents can list any questions that they might have for the HS admin team to answer or to redirect to the right person.
- Pre-registration for HS Parent meetings where parents can also list any questions that they would like addressed in the meeting
- QR codes are available at each meeting to scan so that attendees can ask questions in real-time to be answered at the meeting (if they feel uncomfortable raising their hand or asking out loud).
- Copies of the presentations of parent meetings shared electronically so that parents that could not attend can still see the relevant information shared.
- Regular meetings with our HS PTA reps in order to hear of any hot topics or areas of interest that parents might have.
- Sending out a full list of the HS parent meeting for the year ahead for parents to print and keep in a prominent place. (The full list of parent meetings is being finalized this week and will be ready for distribution next week)
With the increased number of parent information meetings, PTA meetings, and new mechanisms for collecting questions/concerns from parents, we no longer need to run the twice-yearly Principals Forum sessions. We believe that with the new measures listed above we will be able to respond to questions in a more timely and effective manner, be able to let parents know when certain information will be shared, and provide parents with a variety of different options to raise questions at any time of the year.
Thank you again for your support and attendance at our Parent meetings already this year, it has been great to see so many of you on campus.
Have a great weekend and see you at Spirit Night
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
‘Who to contact in the HS’
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Have a question? Who do I contact?
From time to time parents might have a question about school that they need an answer to but are not sure to whom they should direct their inquiry. Please see below a list of contact names and email addresses so that you can direct your question to the right person.
If your question is concerning your child’s performance or progress in a particular class then your first contact should be that teacher (their contact details are in Powerschool). If your question has not been answered then you can reach out to your child’s school counselor (their details are also in Powerschool).
Additionally, if you are not sure who to direct your question to, we will include this HS QUESTION LINK in the HS Enews every week. You can enter your question and contact details and by the following Monday, one of the HS Admin team will either respond to your question or redirect it to the correct person.
HS Administration
HS Principal – Justin Alexander justina@isb.ac.th
HS Dean of Academics – Justyna McMillan justynam@isb.ac.th
HS Dean of Students – Andy Vaughan andyv@isb.ac.th
General High School Queries
Attendance questions -Khun Gade sasivimb@isb.ac.th
Cafeteria – Khun Tip – cafeteria@isb.ac.th
Health or Nurse’s Office – nurse@isb.ac.th
Making an appointment with HS Admin – Khun Vijit – vijitl@isb.ac.th
Athletics
Athletics including IASAS – Chris Mott at chrism@isb.ac.th
Arts/Activities
Arts (curricular and co-curricular) – Anthony Giles at anthonyg@isb.ac.th
IASAS Arts & Activities – Anthony Giles at anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Panther Activities – Anthony Giles at anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Panther Athletics – Khun Fon at punnanuw@isb.ac.th
Service/CAS/DELVE
CAS program – Peter Assimakopoulos petera@isb.ac.th Khun Pat patrinb@isb.ac.th
DELVE (Week Without Walls trips in December) – Peter Assimakopoulos petera@isb.ac.th Khun Pat patarinb@isb.ac.th
Service-related questions – Peter Assimakopoulos petera@isb.ac.th Khun Pat patarinb@isb.ac.th
Counseling/Support
HS Dean of Students: Andy Vaughan/School – andyv@isb.ac.th
Head of School Counseling – Jackie Valenzuela jackiev@isb.ac.th.th
Other school counselors – Shannon Leoni shannonl@isb.ac.th & Frank Sambula Jr franks@isb.ac.th
Head of University counseling – Debbie McDowell debbiem@isb.ac.th
Other University counselors – Alex Becker alexb@isb.ac.th , Curt Nichols curtn@isb.ac.th , Swati Shrestha swatis@isb.ac.th
Academic Questions
Academic or curriculum questions – IB Diploma / AP coordinator Justyna McMillan justynam@isb.ac.th)
Tech questions
EdTech help email address – help@isb.ac.th
General HS questions
High School Principal – Justin Alexander justina@isb.ac.th
Alternatively, you can click on this HS QUESTION LINK, where you can leave your name, contact details, and your question and we will pass your question on to the correct person on the following Monday. We will include this link in every Enews so that you can find it easily.
Regards
Justin Alexander
HS Principal
DELVE Registration Continues
Peter Assimakopoulos
petera@isb.ac.th
What is DELVE
The Discover Explore Learn Volunteer Enrich DELVE program is designed to give students the experiences that will inspire them to become caring global citizens. Students will engage in sustainable service and/or gain awareness of issues that transcend borders. They will develop an understanding of issues of poverty, indigenous peoples, and environmental degradation and preservation while simultaneously helping people. Students will often plan and work as teams, strengthening their teamwork for a common goal of the greater good.
Our DELVE programme runs from December 12th – 16th, 2022, with some trips leaving as early as Saturday, December 10th.
DELVE & COVID Regulations – Important Safety Requirement
For safety reasons on overnight trips outside of Bangkok, please note that parents could be required to pick up their children if they test positive for COVID. We understand that this may be an obstacle for parents to permit their child to attend an overnight trip.
Registration
A registration form with the course selections will be emailed directly to students on the dates listed below.
- September 14 Grade 12 Registration Opens
- September 19 Grade 11 Registration Opens
- September 22 Grade 10 Registration Opens
- September 26 Grade 9 Registration Opens
Students will be asked to place four trips of equal weight on the form. The selection order will have no value or weight, and students can be placed in any of their four choices. To help with their selection, we will initially look at the first-choice option when placing students. If the course is full, we will move on to the second, and so forth.
All our trips have a limited number of spaces for each grade level. Some trips can be quite popular and fill up quickly. Therefore, students must select a variety of trips they are interested in. Students that duplicate their selection by choosing the same trip are placing themselves at a disadvantage. By not providing a second, third and fourth choice to choose from, the student will be placed where spots are available after placing their entire grade level first.
All trips have an allocated number of seats for each grade level. Therefore, a trip cannot be filled by one grade level.
It is essential that during this time and before your child registers for DELVE, you have conversations with them that clearly limit the cost of trips you are willing to pay.
Registration Guidelines
- Students may not select a course they have already participated in during previous years.
- Students are not assigned to courses “to be with their friends”.
- Students must submit the parent permission form to their DELVE sponsor by the deadline.
- Payments must be made directly at the Cashier or online. Instructions on how to pay online will be communicated directly to the parents.
- The number of participants in a course determines the final cost; hence final costs may be adjusted once sign-ups are known. As such, once a student is assigned, a student should not change courses. Payments are non-refundable to cover costs for the original course; all new costs associated with a new course must be paid in full.
For any questions, please email Mr Assimakopoulos directly at: petera@isb.ac.th.
News from the University Counselors
Debbie McDowell
debbiem@isb.ac.th
Thank you to all the parents who joined us for our first Parent Coffee of the year. We started off with a large crowd to find out about the ISB University Counseling Program. The slide show from the presentation will be posted here. If you scroll through that page you can also find a recording of last year’s presentation on that same topic. The next Parent Coffee will be on 5 October at 9:00 AM and the topic will be Standardized Testing. Please join us on that day if you can.
Next week will be a busy one for the University Counseling team. Curt Nichols will be traveling to the United States to visit multiple universities and attend the National Association of College Admissions Counselors Conference in Houston, Texas. Swati Shresta, Alex Becker and Debbie McDowell will be out of the office on Friday as they attend the Council of International Schools/EARCOS Institute for University Admissions in Bangkok. All three of the counselors are involved in presentations for other counselors and university admissions officers at CIS/EARCOS. At both conferences, all of the counselors will be participating in school and university fairs to liaise with university admissions officers.
The big day is nearly here! The ISB Greater Bangkok University Fair will be on Thursday, 22 September, 8:30 – 10:40 AM in the MPB and Rajendra Hall. Approximately 200 universities from over 20 countries will be present to speak about programs offered at their institution. All grade 10, 11, and 12 students will be released from class to attend the fair. Parents are invited to attend as well. The list of universities joining the fair is here. As an added bonus, an ISB Service Clubs Fair will be set up in the hall near the cafeteria and the breezeway near Rajendra to highlight their work from 10:30-12:00. Please stop by to check out what our students are doing!
In connection with the Greater Bangkok Fairs, there will be a UK University Panel Discussion on 21 September, 5:30-8:00pm at Harrow International School. During this event, parents and students will have the opportunity to hear from admissions experts from a number of UK universities and learn about how to make their application stand out. The event will take place in the QEII Hall at Harrow International School Bangkok. The following UK universities are scheduled to attend: Aston University, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, The University of Manchester, University of Bath, University of Cambridge, University of Glasgow, University of the Arts London, University of York. Those interested in taking part in the event, should have completed this registration form by Friday, the 16 September. Places for this event are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
US Case Studies
As part of the 2022 Greater Bangkok Fairs, Bangkok International Preparatory & Secondary School will be hosting the US Case Studies Evening (Open to Grade 11 and 12 students and parents) on 22 September, 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Participants will experience a mock admissions exercise guided by university representatives from the United States. If you are interested in attending, registration is required. Please complete the form found here. Space is limited, so please register soon if you want to participate.
Senior Seminar will be on Wednesday next week. We will work with the students on how to best use the Greater Bangkok University Fair on the following day. Students will have class time to work on transcript request forms, writing and reviewing essays, completing application forms and creating accounts for their applications at different locations around the world.
There are many university visits scheduled for the next few weeks. Check out who’s planning on visiting ISB in the near future:
- 19 September @ 3:00-3:30: Dickinson College, HS Small Conference Room
- 19 September @ 3:00-3:30: Berklee School of Music, HS Large Conference Room
- 22 September @ 8:30-10:30: Greater Bangkok University Fair, Rajendra and MPB
- 26 September @ 11:00-11:40: Elon University, HS Conference Room
- 26 September @ 11:00-11:40: Hong Kong University, HS Large Conference Room
- 26 September @ 3:00-3:30: School of the Art Institute Chicago, HS Small Conference Room
- 27 September @ 3:00-3:30: State University of New York-Albany, HS Conference Room
- 27 September @ 6:00-8:00 pm IASAS Virtual University Fair (registration details have been sent to grade 11 and 12 students)
There are many virtual and off campus university events taking place which our students are invited to attend. Check the Virtual and Off Campus University Events spreadsheet to know what’s available. Please note that pre-registration is needed for some events.
Please check the ISB University/College Counseling website for loads of information. You will find university research tools, transition resources for students and parents, recordings and slide shows from Parent Coffees and family presentations, virtual and off campus university visits, information about testing and how to sign up for the SAT at ISB, a list of summer programs about which the counselors have been informed, and the ISB School Profile.
Kindly,
Debbie
Ms. Debbie McDowell (she, her, hers, Ms.)
News from School Counselors
Shannon Leoni
shannonl@isb.ac.th
We know it has been quite busy these past few weeks! We encourage all of our students to take advantage of this day off and get more sleep, log off the computer, hang out with friends, spend time outdoors, and generally focus on self-care. We know it can be challenging at times to find the balance between school and personal life, and as always, we are here to chat with any students or parents who need support.
As a reminder, schedule changes can only be made for the following reasons and by the following dates:
-
- If a teacher recommends a level change due to misplacement (i.e. Math HL to Math SL, Extended Math to Core Math, Spanish III to Spanish II), a change can be made with counselor, parent and administrative approval. The original class will not appear on your student’s transcript. Deadline is Friday, September 16.
- Between the sixth and tenth week of a course, if a student needs to move down a level, the dropped course will be listed on the transcript with a WP (Withdraw Pass) or WF (Withdraw Fail). WP or WF grades are not included in the calculation of GPA nor is credit granted. The grade calculated in the new course will start fresh and only include work completed for the new course. Deadline is Friday, October 21.
- No level changes after October 21.
Please reach out to your student’s counselor or ask them to speak with their counselor (Mr. Sambula Jr., Ms. Leoni or Ms. Valenzuela) if you/they have any questions.
Spirit Night
Kelley McKenna
kelleym@isb.ac.th
Friday the 16th is SPIRIT NIGHT at ISB! Make sure to come to campus on Friday the 16th to be part of the fun! Wear black and gold to show off your Panther Pride as you come to cheer on our Varsity Soccer & Volleyball players. Come hungry as we will have food trucks and boosters available for food & drinks!
Link to schedule
News from HS Library
Christopher Bell
christob@isb.ac.th
Please click News from HS Library
International Day of Peace
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Dear ISB Students, Parents, Faculty and Staff,
Due to COVID restrictions still in place for our student assemblies, ISB’s International Day of Peace event, originally scheduled for September 21st, 2022, has been moved to March 21st, 2023. This new date, chosen to coincide with the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Descrimination, not only assures a unified experience for our entire student body, but also allows the Global Initiatives Network student organizers a better opportunity to gather ISB stories that address this year’s UN Peace Day challenge, End Racism, Build Peace and highlight the March 21st theme, Voices for Action Against Racism. Look for more information soon about this student- led initiative and how you can share your own personal experiences about racism, and stories about others in our community who you have observed using their voices to fight against racism.
In unity with Peace Day events held around the world, ISB will observe a moment of silence at 9:15am on September 21st to remember those who have suffered because of racism, and given their lives fighting against racism.
Peace,
ISB’s IDP Committee
ANOTHER IASAS FILM MEETUP!
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Keep it on your radar – we have another IASAS Film Meetup next Thursday afterschool, then the next Tuesday!
As always, you’ll need a number of attendences to complete your IASAS Film Delegate process
On the agenda– people check-in, progress check-up,
22 Sept, Thurs., 3:00 in the Film Attic (Upstairs from the Main Library)