Weekly Message from Principal Allen
On behalf of all of us in the elementary school, have a wonderful February break holiday! We look forward to welcoming students and families back to classes on Monday, February 20. It will be Day B.
Your partner in education,
Michael Allen
MichaelA@isb.ac.th
Student-Led Conferences: March 2 – 3
We are looking forward to seeing you at Grades 1-5 Student-Led Conferences on March 2-3. PreK and KG conferences will take place on Thursday, March 2nd.
As we purposefully calendar conferences well in advance, we ask all families to cooperate by attending conferences on these dates and avoid making any requests for a conference on an alternate date. Please contact ES Principal Michael Allen directly if you have a family emergency that conflicts with your scheduled appointment: MichaelA@isb.ac.th
Please access your child’s individual letter containing additional details by logging into your PowerSchool account. Find “Parent Conference” on the left hand side. At the bottom of the letter you will find the link to schedule conferences through Pick-a-Time. Scheduling for the conferences will open Tuesday, February 21 at 8:00 AM and close Tuesday, February 28 at 2:00 PM. Please note that all appointments need to be scheduled through Pick-a-Time. If you have trouble logging into PowerSchool, please contact Khun Benz in the ES office, or email her at: chatnaps@isb.ac.th
Before the Conference:
- Sign up for a time via PowerSchool before February 28th @ 2PM
- Be prepared to talk to your child about his/her strengths and areas for growth
- Understand this is the time for your child to take the lead and demonstrate their learning
During the Conference:
- Use the language with which you are most comfortable
- Be an active listener
- Be present (no mobile telephones, emails, texts)
- Avoid critiquing, instead focus on successes and new learning
- Ask questions of your child to help them reflect on their learning growth.
- Be mindful that what might seem small to you, might be a huge accomplishment for your child
- If your child seems nervous or shy, give them time and/or ask guiding questions about they work they are showing you
- If you want to take photos, please wait until the end of the conference
After the Conference:
- Talk with your child about the conference and develop a plan to implement any strategies that were discussed and goals that were set during the conference
- Remember to periodically check-in with your child regarding progress toward his/her goals
Supervision of Students on Conference Days
- Chairs will be set up outside classrooms for siblings to wait.
- The ES HUB will be open and hosting our spring book fair. Parents may accompany their child/ren to this event.
- Students may only use the outdoor play spaces if they are actively supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.
ISB understands that parents may need to leave town on a short term basis for a variety of reasons. In these situations parents must appoint a temporary guardian to supervise their child. Please note that household help (i.e. maebann or driver) and school aged siblings are not suitable guardians.
Please inform the office if you will be leaving their child with a guardian. In order to create a common, streamlined approach, this has now moved into an Operoo form. If you are ever away from home, please complete the form in your Operoo account through the Form Library or via these links:
Temporary Guardianship Form
Grade 5 Parents: MS Course Registration Process
The MS team extends a warm welcome to Grade 5 students and families! The course registration process for the 2023-2024 school year has begun. For Grade 5 students, this process is quite simple as the Grade 6 course load is relatively straightforward. Click here for more information.
Lego Robotics Tournament
Congratulations to our ES and MS Lego Robotics teams who jointly competed in the Thailand National First Lego League tournament on Feb 3rd and Feb 4th at the National Science Museum in Bangkok. It was an action packed and fun-filled 2 day tournament. We had 2 ES teams (Crafty Piggies and Creative Penguins) and 2 MS teams (Axocats and TwomuchTrouble) who represented ISB and competed in this global tournament with over 28 other teams attending from around Thailand. We had many parents attend both days and help out with this event and there were about 400 people at attendance including the US Ambassador. All our rookie teams collected awards including Rookie Inspiration Award, Mentor Award, Team Spirit Award and Sponsor Award. Here’s a video of the highlights and ISB Twitter’s video recap of our in house tournament here on Jan 20th.
Raising Multilinguals: Unlocking the World with a Family Language Plan.
On Tuesday, February 21, from 7:45-9:15 a.m. in MPB 1, ISB faculty and administrators will offer a workshop for parents from all divisions (ES, MS, HS) about maintaining students’ native languages while they also study in English at ISB. This will be similar to the Raising Multilinguals workshop offered in prior years, and is especially useful for new families.
At this workshop, faculty and administrators will:
- Present reasons to maintain native language, based on research
- Describe language classes and resources available at ISB
- Discuss the importance of making a family language plan
Please join us! Parents of students in PreK through Grade 12 are welcome. For further information, please email: nativelanguage@isb.ac.th
ES Explore (ES After School Activities)
After School Activities are well underway.
Please note that during February Break (February 13 – 17) there will be no Panther (ES) Explore in session.
Remember once the ES Explore schedule begins there are NO REFUNDS.
I am in the office daily from 2:00pm – 4:00pm if you have any questions or concerns.
Regards,
Livnat
ES Cafeteria Menu
Please find the Pre-K – G5 ES Cafeteria menu for next week linked here, and here is the menu for Allergy Free.
Calling all aspiring young musicians!
The first round of applications for the Kinnari Music Festival ends this Sunday, February 12th. Those who apply by this deadline will receive priority consideration for our program. The second round of applications opens Monday February 13th and ends Friday March 31st
Successful applicants will experience an immersive week-long classical music program that includes master-classes, ensemble lessons, and inspiring talks. The festival culminates with TWO concert performances together with the award-winning THAI YOUTH ORCHESTRA.
Whether you have had two years or 10 years of music lessons we encourage you to apply. With two programs within the festival (Aspiring Artists and Young Artists), and over 18 instructors for 50 artists, our festival is designed to support your needs. All we ask is for you to come ready to immerse yourself with fellow music lovers, to collaborate, and to be inspired.
For more details and to apply, please go to www.kinnarimusicfestival.com.
For all inquiries, please call 084-3569633 or email kinnarimusicfestival@gmail.com.
CELEBRATE THE MANY CULTURES OF ISB @ IFF
Calling all performers with acts that highlight the many cultures represented at ISB. If you are interested in joining the line-up for the February 25th, 2023 IFF World Concert Hour hosted by the HS Arts Council, please sign up HERE on or before Friday, February 17th to reserve a place on stage, and to provide more information about your act. Know others that have something culturally significant to share at this year’s event? Just send them the link.
Arts & Activities @ ISB
February
21-23 HS IASAS Showcases for DDT, FAD and Music
22-26 AMIS MS Honor Band @ American School of Bombay
28 ES Visual Art Exhibition Opening @ Chevron Gallery
March
1-31 ISB Arts in March (ISBAM)
1-31 ES Visual Art Exhibition @ Chevron Gallery
1-5 IASAS DDT, FAD & Music CC @ ISKL, SAS & JIS
7 ASAS DDT, FAD & Music CC Banquet
9-10 HS Drama Production Auditions
16-18 AMIS MS Honor Orchestra @ ISB
25-27 THAI Model United Nations @ Brighton College
28 HS Jazz Night 2 @ CCT
30 ISBAM Festival and Concert Hour
31-A1 MS Model United Nations @ ISB
April
4 IB Visual Art Exhibition Opening @ CC Theater Gallery