Message from HS Principal
Justin Alexander
justina@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
Thank you for your support this week as we kicked off school on Wednesday with nearly 630 High School students all arriving on campus in fresh, clean, and in some cases brand new uniforms. Whilst the first day was super busy for our students with short visits to all 8 classes, and presentations about Athletics, Arts, Activities, and Service, there was still time during the day to connect with old friends and make new ones. Their HS Principal was also able to take a ‘0.5’ selfie photo with each class to kickstart the year (see photo below). There were lots of high-fives, hugs, and smiles from our students to help energize our teachers as they too get back into school!
Speaking of teachers, we were excited to introduce our new HS faculty to our students at Wednesday’s opening assembly.
High School
- Emily Besley – Mathematics
- Michael Bycraft – Robotics
- Stephanie Fletcher – Dance
- Alex Hemmerich – Science
- Rebecca Lebel – Learning Support and English
- Sophie Leebrook – Learning Support Associate
- Doug McQueen – University Counselor
- Dr. Selena Robinson – Science
- Wawa Tsai – Yearbook
Whole School
- Dr. Sascha Heckmann – Head of School
- Will Randall – Director of Student Services
We will share a few more details about our new faculty in next week’s ENews, but please do keep a look out for them around school and give them a warm welcome to the ISB Community.
Upcoming Events:
In next week’s Enews, we will be sharing with parents a list of all of the HS parent meetings scheduled for the first semester with dates and times to add to your calendars. You can have a look at our online ISB calendar by clicking HERE, but many parents like to have all of those dates in one document which we will share next week after we finalize the details. In the meantime though, I do want to highlight the HS Open House which is taking place on Wednesday, September 13th starting at 6 pm. This will be a chance for parents to follow their child’s schedule and meet all of their teachers and discover the wonderful learnings that lie in front of them this year.
Other meetings coming up
Wednesday, September 6th, 10 am – HS Academics for new parents
Friday, September 8th, 10 am – HS IB Matters (for Grade 12 parents)
Thursday, September 24th, 6.30 pm – Senior Parent University Night (Grade 12 parents and students)
Keep a look out for more information about these meetings in future ENews.
Regular Links
If you have a question relating to the High School and you are not too sure to ask please either email me (justina@isb.ac.th) or you can click on HS QUESTION LINK 2023-24 and we will get you the answer you need.
‘0.5’ Photo taken on the first day of school with each Grade level.
Justin Alexander
High School Principal
(justina@isb.ac.th)
Biking & Driving to school
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
For personal safety considerations, appropriate bike helmets should be worn (and properly strapped) by both students and adults entering campus. Administrators and security guards may periodically monitor the front gate and offer reminders and encouragement. Thank you for helping to support and model a safe environment at ISB!
Driving to school
Only students with a valid Thai driver’s license may drive/park a car on campus with a motorbike or golf cart.
Students who are 15 years or older may drive/park a motor scooter on campus provided:
- The student has a Thai driver’s license for their age group
- The student obtains a parking permit sticker from the HS Office
- An appropriately strapped motorcycle helmet is worn and the driver only carries passengers with helmets on and off campus
Golf carts must also be operated safely and be affixed with a parking pass from the security office. Only students with an approved drivers license will be permitted to park a golf cart on campus and such students must obtain an approval from the High School Office.
Drivers licenses from other countries are applicable certification for students driving golf carts to school.
Excusing Absences
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
Any absence that is necessary for a HS student should be excused by parents via email to our HS Attendance secretary, Khun Tukta 02 963 5883 (ext. 3305) or email: hsattendance@isb.ac.th. It is appreciated if this email can be received before 8.00am so that we can alert teachers early.
It is important that we receive this parental contact, because without it, your child is marked as absent (X) on PowerSchool. Unexcused absences may result in additional consequences, such as a discipline consequence or loss of credit if excessive absences take place within a subject. You can see whether your child has been marked absent (X) on any day using PowerSchool. If we receive confirmation from parents that the absence is excused/explained, then we adjust the code to reflect that. Please help us to ensure we best understand the reasons for your child missing school.
Please also note if a student misses a class during the day, they are not able to participate in co-curricular activities on that day without prior approval from the Dean of Students.
For extended absences, parents should email Andy Vaughan (andyv@isb.ac.th) and copy in their child’s counselor and Khun Tukta (hsattendance@isb.ac.th) for approval.
Please note that in order to gain credit in a class, students must not exceed 7 absences within one semester (excused or unexcused).
Covid related absences
We still have a mandatory quarantine period for any student that tests positive for COVID. If your child does test positive, please notify the following point people:
ISB Nurse: nurse@isb.ac.th
Justin Alexander: justina@isb.ac.th
Andy Vaughan: andyv@isb.ac.th
For students who are not able to attend school due to testing positive to COVID and the 5 day quarantine period, these students will have a code of NPVS (Not Present Virtual School) listed on PowerSchool.
Please note that this does not count towards their accumulated absences. Students who are isolating due to covid need to log onto their Google Classroom to keep up with their classwork.
PowerSchool Schedule Changes for HS Students
Andy Vaughan
andyv@isb.ac.th
The balancing of classes has nearly finished after a number of late enrolments which has caused new class sections to open.
Please note that the final date that students are permitted to change classes (if possible) is the end of the first 8 day rotation, with the final day of schedule changes being on Tuesday August 22.
News from University Counselors
Debbie McDowell
debbiem@isb.ac.th
The 2023-2024 school year has started well. The university counselors met with the Class of 2024 and the Class of 2025 on Wednesday to welcome them back and give a brief overview of the university counseling program. We are excited to be back and are ready to work with students and families.
Grade 12 parents mark your calendars! The grade 12 Family University Night will be on Thursday, 24 August at 6:30 PM in the CCT. We look forward to kicking off the university applications process with seniors then! Grade 12 students will meet with their university counselor in the first Senior Seminar on Thursday, 24 August. All grade 12 students must schedule a Senior Family Conference with their parents and their university counselor before any university application can be processed. Conferences may be scheduled during the student’s free period or after school starting on Friday, 25 August. Please speak with your child about the best time to get this meeting on the calendar. Seniors should have already been working on their university essays; they are encouraged to share those with their university counselor and set up a time to meet with their counselor to review those. Every senior should see their counselor on a regular basis when they are in the application season!
Grade 11 parents, the Grade 11 Family University Night will be on Thursday, 28 September at 6:30 PM in CCT. Juniors will meet with their university counselor at the first Junior Seminar which will be on Friday, 29 September. In the meantime, the students should be focusing on their academic preparation as well as getting involved in activities, sports, arts and/or service.
Grade 10 students will be assigned to a university counselor in December and will meet with their counselor in early semester 2 prior to course selection. At this time, grade 10 students should be putting all of their energy into doing their absolute best in their classes and exploring activities, sports, arts and service. Getting involved is important.
There are no university visits scheduled for August but there are virtual events that students can join. Virtual events can be found here.
For more university counseling information, please check the ISB University Counseling website. There you’ll find university research tools, transition resources, recordings and slide shows from Parent Coffees and other presentations, virtual and off campus university visits, information about testing and how to sign up for the SAT at ISB, a database of summer programs, and the ISB School Profile.
Kindly,
Debbie
News from School Counselors
Jackie Valenzuela
jackiev@isb.ac.th
Welcome back to those of you who are returning to ISB! We’re off to a great start at the high school.
For those of you who are new, welcome! We hope your transition is going well. We enjoyed meeting all of our new students during New Student Orientation on Tuesday. We know this can simultaneously be an exciting and stressful time for them as they navigate a new country (possibly), community and school all while developing new connections with other students. Please know that we will be checking in with your student over the next couple of weeks. We want to make sure they are settling in okay and, if not, what we can do to better support them.
Most of our time with students this week has been spent making schedule changes. If your child would like to reconsider a class they chose, please ask them to visit their school counselor. The final day for changes is Tuesday, August 22.
We are looking forward to partnering with you this year in support of your high school student. Please stop by our office or send an email if you would like to meet. We can be reached at:
- Shannon Leoni (shannonl@isb.ac.th)
- Frank Sambula Jr. (franks@isb.ac.th)
- Jackie Valenzuela (jackiev@isb.ac.th)
News from HS Library
Christopher Bell
christob@isb.ac.th
Please click High School Library
Hidden Multilinguals
Avery Udagawa
averyu@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
ISB’s after-school Panther Native Language Academy (PNLA) aims to support multilingual students unable to take a class in their native language(s) during the school day, or who need additional support as determined by the daytime teacher.
A native language is generally described as a language used on a daily basis with at least one parent. We typically send PNLA information to families we know use the languages taught in PNLA.
However, we sometimes miss “hidden multilinguals” whose native/near-native language(s) we don’t know about. Examples:
- Korean student who attended school in French in Africa
- Thai student who studied Chinese intensively at prior school
If your child(ren) are “hidden multilinguals” and may benefit from PNLA, please get in touch: PantherNativeLanguageAcademy@isb.ac.th
The after-school language classes open for registration for Season 1 are native Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Thai for PK2.
More details about native/near-native language classes at ISB are here.
Please let us know if you have any questions!
PantherNativeLanguageAcademy@isb.ac.th
Best,
Avery Udagawa
Native Language Coordinator
IASAS DANCE EXCHANGE at JIS September 22-24, 2023
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Dance exchange celebrates collaborative learning through dance-arts within our IASAS community! Each school sends 10 students for the weekend event at a different host city. In one action-packed Saturday, students are challenged in several dance workshops with Master Teachers from all over the world. This embodied learning joins together our international student-artists, and builds lifetime friendships in a true cultural exchange of dance!
To register your interest, please complete this form by Tuesday, 15th of August.
1ST MUN MEETING IS TUESDAY, AUG 15 IN MPB1. JOIN THE AWARD WINNING ISB TEAM!
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Dear Students,
We are excited to inform you that the Model United Nations (MUN) team is now open for new members! If you’re curious about international relations, global issues, and diplomatic negotiations, this is the perfect opportunity for you to get involved. MUN offers an unparalleled opportunity to delve into the world of international diplomacy, debate crucial global issues, and develop skills that will serve you throughout your academic and professional journey.
If you’re interested in joining MUN, please attend the upcoming informational session on Tuesday, August 15th in MPB 1. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about our team, meet previous delegates, and learn about IASAS MUN (hosted at TAS this year). Additionally MUN sessions will be hosted every Thursday from 3-5 pm this year.
Students in MUN last year will also need to attend the beginning of the year meeting. This ensures they will be signed up for the mailing list to receive Thursdays chair reports.
If you’re unable to make it to the Information Session but are still interested in joiningMUN, please email Sara at 20838@students.isb.ac.th for more information.
We hope to see you on Tuesday,
Sincerely,
Your 2023-2024 ISB MUN Secretariat
(Sara, Armaan, Pyn, Suenygyu, Vardhan)
HS Musical – ‘Legally Blonde’ – auditions next week!(Repeat)
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Auditions for the fall musical, Legally Blonde, will be taking place on Tuesday 15th, Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th August in the CCT from 3-5pm. Audition materials can be accessed by scanning the QR codes on the poster. You will need to attend all three days!
Legally Blonde is the story of Elle Woods, a blonde sorority queen who is dumped by her boyfriend for not being ‘serious enough’. After she decides to follow him to law school to attempt to win him back, she learns that there is so much more to everyone than just looks. The musical addresses issues of judgment and stereotyping, and works to empower everyone no matter who they are or what they look like!
Augusta Harison-Denby (augustah@isb.ac.th)
NEW PANTHER DANCE SEASON!!! (Repeat)
Anthony Giles
anthonyg@isb.ac.th
Welcome back to another exciting season of PANTHER DANCE with a performance on stage with costume in May! Registration opens August 7th at 6pm. Relive the magic of our last performances We’re Back, Again! ES Video, MS/HS Video
Interested? Contact Yoona : pantherdance@isb.ac.th