Happy Holidays!
by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
It has been a wonderful first semester to the 2022-23 school year! While the start of the year seems like it was a long time ago, the semester also feels like it’s flown by. We are certainly thankful that Thailand and ISB have been able to ease back on our COVID restrictions and we’ve seen a noticeable difference on campus with more social interactions, activities, and smiles.
Looking back at the semester’s highlights, we’ve returned to full middle school assemblies, hosted performances of Shakespeare Live, concerts, and open mic sessions in our amphitheater. Athletes have been active on the sports fields and in the gyms with U14 and U12 tournaments, matches, and away games. Some of our grade 8 students even played HS Varsity sports!
In the classrooms, students have been collaboratively engaged in their learning with visible showcases of their progress around campus in exhibits, on bulletin boards, and in demonstrations. There has been so much learning growth already this term and we are looking forward to getting back at it again in the second semester.
Meanwhile off campus, all of our grade 8s and half of our grade 7s have participated in their Wild Panthers learning program at the EWC. Grade 6s had their full class trip to Kanchanaburi. And our most keen outdoor adventurers have camped out on one or both of our weekend Eco Trips. Service is in full swing with students working closely with outside organizations on environmental issues and partnering with iCare to support those in need. Our Symphonic Band was able to take part in their music service trip again down in Non Ya Plong. Most recently, our art students visited art exhibits in town.
We hope that our many new families are feeling settled in Thailand and/or at ISB. We see many of our new students enjoying school and connecting with peers. This year, we had many new faculty join the MS and already they’ve become part of who we are connecting with students and colleagues quickly.
We wish everyone a lovely break. May it be peaceful, joyous, and filled with family and friends.
Happy Holidays from the Middle School!
Restart in January
We hope that everyone has a restful holiday break. School resumes on January 9th. Here’s the schedule for that first week in 2023.
- Monday, Jan 9 – Day 1
- Tuesday, Jan 10 – Day 2
- Wednesday, Jan 11 – Day 3
- Thursday, Jan 12 – Day 4
- Friday, Jan 13 – Day 5
Grade 7 trips to the EWC will resume with Group 5 on January 18th.
MS Olympics a big success
On Thursday, our MS PE team, along with our faculty & staff and in collaboration with members of our Korean parent community hosted our annual MS Olympics – this year hosted by South Korea. Rajendra gym looked amazing with handmade contributions from our Arts Council.
The day was a wonderful success starting off with an amazing Opening Ceremony that included the Parade of Flags, a traditional Korean music performance, a gymnastics showcae, two dance performances, opening remarks from Head of School, Dr. Davies, and an incredible Taekwondo demonstration by members of the Thai National team. After our honorary Olympic Flag and Torch bearers lit the Torch, the Games began.
Students participated by grade levels in Cultural Games, Team Games, and Track & Field events. Throughout the day points were awarded and some records were broken, but most importantly, students had a fun time playing together.
A special thank you to our amazing Buildings and Grounds team who transformed the spaces several times through the day. We are so fortunate to have an amazing community that supports our students to have experiences like this.
Here are just a few photos from the Olympics events.
What a great day!
Report Cards available at 2 pm
Semester one report cards will be available on PowerSchool starting at 2:00 PM today, Friday, December 16th. Please note the password provided with the link that is required to open the PDF document.
If parents have questions or concerns, please note that teachers will be out of contact during the holidays. Follow up can take place in January once school resumes.
Possible semester 2 schedule changes
The upcoming change in semesters means that there will be many schedule changes for students. In most cases this involves new elective classes for students. In some cases, a student’s schedule may be changed in order to accommodate a new class or balance numbers after changes in enrollment (either departing or new students). Every effort is made to keep students with the same teachers. In some cases this isn’t possible.
Students can check their semester 2 schedule on PowerSchool starting on January 9th.
Leaving ISB?
Parents of students who are not returning to ISB in January need to notify the MS Office, Khun Namwan (sariyam@isb.ac.th) as soon as possible to enable us to process school records for their next school. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
CALLING ALL YOUNG ARTISTS & DESIGNERS
The United Nations ESCAP Department of Innovation & Sustainability is looking for ISB student artists & designers interested in collaboration! Please see details on the posters above regarding the project but hurry as they are only accepting expressions of interest via this short form through today, 16 December 2022 (Friday). Registration includes access to a virtual tour of the ESCAP Sustainability & Innovation corner in the United Nations Building. The purpose of this tour is to give young artists a better idea of the space and answer their questions to help shape their design proposals which are due in January.
Arts & Activities @ ISB
January
12-15 VEX Robotics Competition @ ASIJapan
16 MS Drama Production Workshop
18 Madappally United Film Screening (6pm) CCT
18-20 Ajay Govind, Alumni Guest Film Director
20 & 23 MS Drama Production Auditions
20 Lego Robotics Tournament (3-4:30pm) Chevron Theater
20-22 IASAS Music Retreat @ EWC
27 HS Wind Ensemble Concert in the Park (Lunches) Outdoor Stage
27-28 “Cinderella” an ISB Panto Benefit Event CC Theater
‘Madappally United’ Screening
6:00pm Wednesday, January 18 CCT
Join us for the screening of the award winning film, Madappally United, and meet the ISB Alumni (class of 2000) and filmmaker, Ajay Govind, who has written and directed over 50 commissioned documentaries, 2 independent feature films, 5 short films, and 6 music videos. Ajay founded his creative agency words. rhythms. Images in 2008 and registered its trademark Sisyphus Rocks Films
as the film vertical.
Season 2 Activities & Athletics Continue in January
As we wind down our Activities & Athletics for Semester 1, please be reminded that Season 2 programs run all the way through January, 2023, with registration for Season 3 (February 6th through April 21st) opening the week of January 16th. Look for more information in the New Year. Happy Holidays!!!
Due to the early release day on Friday, December 16th, all after school programs have been canceled.