Touchstone, 2016-2017 issue 1 by Touchstone ISB

TOUCHSTONE Issue 1, 2016-2017

HIS

Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej will for always be remembered.

He was deeply revered by his people and internationally well respected for his tireless commitment to humanitarian works. His devotion to improve the lives of his countrymen is an inspiration for all of us. –ISB PTA

The Thai PTA will exhibit “HIS Legacy lives on” during 1-16 December, 2016 at the foyer in Chevron Hall and organize “HIS Music in the Park” featuring a selection of his compositions orchestrated by Pro Musica on 15 January 2017 at ISB Field A.

Table of Contents

TOUCHSTONE STAFF

Issue 1. 2016/17

EDITING TEAM LIZETTE VAN BERGEN BOOSTER CLUB: INDERBIR BROCA ES: KHADIJA SIDDIQUE MS: SHARON WANG HS: REBECCA CAREY

DESIGN NATHAN SCOTT

DISTRIBUTION

ANYONE WILLING TO LEND A HAND

CONTRIBUTORS LIZETTE VAN BERGEN, ELINNA BAHRIN AND HEIDI TILLEY, SHEPALI JAIN, REBECCA ARMSTRONG, VARTIKA BAWA, GABRIELA ALVAREZ FOURCADE, LAURA SADOWSKI, CHERYL JUNE, MINDY LORBER, ANDREW DAVIES, GRAEME SCOTT, KELLY ARMITAGE, MICHAEL BOLL, NATHANIEL WHITMAN, KATIE EDSALL, BOB CONNOR, LIVNAT ZISKINDER, AMY HALL, STEVE GROVE, EMILIE HUISMAN, DENNIS HARTER, CARMEL KEAN, MARIO BARON-TOALDO, COLLEEN COADY, KENTARO UDAGAWA, MICHAEL SHARP, PHILIP BRADLEY, SUSAN CANOBIE , ANDY VAUGHAN, KEVIN CALLAHAN, DARIN SUMETANON, DEVI D’OLIVIERA , ESTHER LEE, GENIE PAKVISAL, ANDY MARSHALL, THOMAS MYERS, JESS LEVY, DERRICK QUINET, DAVID SPEIRS, ADAM KIRK, DANIEL BENTLEY, DAVID GILES, COLIN STEPHENSON, SARAH BARNES, CHRISTOPHER BELL, SELENA GALLAGHER, CINDY WARNER – DOBROWSKI, SALLY PLOMLEY, MICHELLE MUELLER IHRIG PUBLISHED BY THE PTA OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK, THE TOUCHSTONE IS DELIVERED FREE OF CHARGE TO ALL ISB FAMILIES. IT IS WRITTEN, COMPILED, EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY AN ALL VOLUNTEER STAFF. YOUR INPUT IS WELCOMED.

2 3 4 5

PTA president & Communities Welcome Wai HS Principal’s Forum PTA Adult Education

PTA

6 7 22

What is Booster Club? Booster Spirit & Pancake Breakfast Parents Booster Spirit

Booster Club

8 9 12 19 27 28 29

Head of School Deputy Head of School for Learning ES Principal MS Principal HS Principal HS Dean of Academics HS Dean of Students

Leadership

New Staff

13 14 16 17

Learning coaches Intercultural Day ES Hub & ES Explore Community Activities

Elementary School

20 21 24

MS Wai Khruu MS Student Leadership MS Activities

Middle School

28 29 30

HS Counselor PantherNation HS Clubs

High School

18 33 34 35 36

Scouts BCIF & Massed Band Peace Day HS Dance Exchange IASAS

All School Activities

41 42 43 44 45

Main Library Challenge and Enrichment Student Services Nurse Cafeteria

All School Services

PTA PRESIDENT man labor redundant. Developments move so quickly that nobody can fully oversee That was the advice of which jobs will remain Eleanor Roosevelt, a and what the long term will be. strong first lady who consequences fought for the rights of workers, children There is wide consensus on and women. It is one of my one issue: there will be a favorite quotes, as I read in shift in the essential traits of it a spirit of personal growth the employee of the future. by taking risks, being flexi- Knowledge and ‘hard’ skills ble and grabbing opportuni- will devaluate. Our children ties when they come along. will need to be excel in being flexible, creative and social. It is a mindset that our chil- ISB is looking ahead and is dren may need even more designing a vision on the edwhen they access the working ucation needs for the future. space. The world is chang- The PTA thinks that it is ing faster than it has during very important that parents our professional years. The are involved in this process nature of jobs will change and we are glad that parents rapidly, as robots and arti- have been invited to contribficial intelligence will make ute. At the Futures Forum on much of the current hu- September 14th many par‘Do one thing every day that scares you’.

COMMUNITIES Dandiya Garba Ras night in Nichada

Nichada. It was a great fun filled night with everyone wearing colorful Indian costumes n taking part in traditional dances with enjoying yummy Indian home cooked food by all the families.

This festival comes every year and celebrated with great rigor in all North India. It is celebrated for nine days. Families get together, wearing their best traditional dressThe Indian community at es and take part in fun speISB celebrated Navratri for cial dance called Garba Ras. the first time, this year in Sometimes we use colorful 2

ents showed up and shared their thoughts. I hope that many more will follow. At times when the future is so unclear, visions and experiences from as many angles as possible should be collected. Maybe you work at a HR department which is thinking ahead, maybe your work in the IT branch gives you insights on interesting developments or maybe this is just an issue that you are interested in and you are willing to think through. Please share your thoughts and help the school to prepare our children for their future! Lizette van Bergen

wooden sticks, Dandiya dance. Hence it is also Dandiya night. Kids, n old folks all enjoy

in the called adults same.

This is the first time we organised in Nichada. It is important for our kids, to see the spirit of Indian festivals and culture, here in Bangkok. A big thanks goes to Nichada Community Church for providing the space, without their help it would not have been possible. Shepali Jain

WELCOME WAI The PTA Welcome Wai wel- in answering questions they and see them as an integral part comes new families to ISB and helps connect them to the school and community. In June, Welcome Wai began preparing for the new families by packing 250 welcome bags filled with helpful information and souvenirs from ISB. On 13th August

2016, the Welcome Wai together with our volunteers and the PTA Community Representatives hosted a coffee event on the HS and MS Orientation Day, where we met most of the new HS and MS parents. This coffee event, including about 120 guests, was geared towards giving these new parents, many of whom were still jet-lagged, a break during their hectic day and also

might have about the school of the learning community. life, community life in Nichada or life in Bangkok or Thailand. The September Welcome Wai coffee held on 07th September The PTA Welcome Wai togeth- 2016, served as another opporer with the Hospitality team tunity for parents to make conalso organized a Back to School nections with each other and Coffee for all ISB parents, new learn about activities available to them not only in ISB, with the introduction of our fantastic and comprehensive classes offered through the PTA Adult Education program, but also within the Nichada community, where opportunities to engage in athletics, service projects and social opportunities abound. Representatives from Phoenix Gym, Moms Run this Town, After the Boxes, White Elephant, Bumble Bee Library, and Nonthaburi Neighborhood Reach gave us a taste of their purpose and role in the community. The coffee ended with a lively showcase of dances from the Bollywood Belles, Latin Rhythms, and returning on the 15th of and Zumba ladies, who invited August 2016, where the excite- everyone to join in the fun! It ment of another school year was hard not to leave this cofwith many opportunities for in- fee with a spring in our step! volvement was clear as we heard from the Head of School, Dr. We also had another 80 welcome Andrew Davies, PTA President, bags packed on 14th September Lizette Van Bergen, and Boost- 2016 for new ISB families in the er Club President, Laura Sad- coming months. The PTA Welowski. All three school prin- come Wai team certainly had cipals also joined us to show a wonderful start to the new that they value all ISB parents academic year of 2016/2017. We look forward to meeting more parents at our future coffee events. Thank you again to all volunteers and parents who made the time for our events! Elinna Bahrin & Heidi Tilley

HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S FORUM In t h e h i g h s ch o ol at I SB, t h e P TA re pre s e nt at ive s h e lp f a c i l it ate a pro g r am c a l l e d t h e Pr i n c ip a l’s Fo r u m . T h e go a l of t h i s fo r u m i s to op e n d i a l o g u e b e t we e n p are nt s an d t h e h i g h s ch o ol a d m i n i s t r a t ive te am - - Mr. Br a d l e y, Mr. Vau g h an , M s . C an o bi e. Pare nt s are e n c ou ra ge d to s h are t h e i r opi n i ons , c on c e r ns , i d e a s , an d qu e s t i ons , an d t h e a d m i n te am w i l l c ons i d e r an d a d d re s s t h e i s s u e s r ai s e d. T h e Pr i n c ip a l’s For u m i s a u s e f u l to ol i n h e lpi ng t h e a d m i n i s t r at i on an d p are nt s u n d e rs t an d on e an ot h e r. T h e H S a d m i n te am s e e k s to s t ay aw are of an d to u n d e rs t an d t h e c on c e r ns of p are nt s w it h h i g h s ch o ol s tu d e nt s . O f te n p are nt s d i s c u s s c on c e r ns w it h ot h e r p are nt s , but for v ar i ou s re a s ons , c on c e r ns are n ot voi c e d to t h e pr i n c i p a l or h i s te am . S om e p are nt s fe e l it m i g ht b e d i s re s p e c t f u l, s om e m i g ht fe e l t h e i r c on c e r n d o e s n’t apply to e ve r yon e, ot h e rs m i g ht fe e l u ns u re ab out t h e i r abi l it y to c om mu n i c ate cl e ar ly, an d s om e p are nt s w ant to re m ai n an ony m ou s . Ta l k i ng ab out i s s u e s i s i mp or t ant , e ve n w h e n t h e c onve rs at i on i s u n c om for t abl e s om e t i m e s . Ins te a d of goi ng d i re c t ly to t h e a d m i n te am , 4

p are nt s c an s e n d i n t h e i r t h e n pre p are s i n for m a c on c e r ns to t h e H S re p s t i on ( an d u s u a l ly a s l i d e to br i ng to t h e pr i n c ip a l. s h ow ) to s h are w it h t h e p are nt s at t h e Pr i n c ip a l’s Pare nt s are v it a l to t h e For u m Pare nt Me e t i ng . s u c c e s s of t h e Pr i n c i p a l’s For u m ! T h re e t i m e s T h e Pr i n c ip a l’s For u m t h rou g h out t h e s ch o ol ye ar Pare nt Me e t i ng i s for a l l p are nt s are e n c ou r a ge d to H S p are nt s , n ot ju s t t h e s u bm it t h e i r qu e s t i ons , p are nt s w h o s u bm itte d s u g ge s t i ons , an d i d e a s c on c e r ns . Pare nt s are e n for c ons i d e r at i on i n t h e c ou r a ge d to l i s te n t h e t h e Pr i n c ip a l’s For u m m e e t - i n for m at i on pre s e nte d, i ng . T h e s e s u bm i s s i ons are a s k qu e s t i ons to f u r t h e r s or te d t h rou g h an d org an - cl ar i f y u n d e rs t an d i ng , i z e d by t h e H S re p s . T h e s e e k m ore i n for m at i on H S re p s t h e n h ol d a m e e t - f rom pre s e nte rs , an d voi c e i ng w it h a s m a l l g roup of opi n i ons . T h e s e m e e t i ng s p are nt s , re pre s e nt i ng t h e are a to ol for b ot h p ard i f fe re nt c om mu n it i e s of e nt s an d t h e a d m i n i s t r a I SB, to re a d t h rou g h t h e t i on to h ave a c onve rs at i on i s s u e s , d i s c u s s , an d d e c i d e ab out t h e i mp or t ant i s s u e s w h i ch are of m o s t c on c e r n t h at af fe c t H S s tu d e nt s . to t h e H S p are nt s . S om e - A l l p ar t i e s - - t h e p are nt s , t i m e s , i s s u e s r ai s e d af fe c t P TA , an d administraon ly t h e ch i l d of t h e p are nt t i on - - h ave t h e s am e go a l : s u bm itt i ng it , an d t h e H S c re at i ng an at m o s ph e re at re p s w i l l e n c ou r a ge t h at I SB w h e re a l l h i g h s ch o ol p are nt to go d i re c t ly to t h e s tu d e nt s w i l l b e s u c c e s s ot h e r p e rs on i nvolve d. O c - f u l an d re a ch t h e i r p ote n c a s i on a l ly, p are nt s e m ai l t i a l. T h e Pr i n c ip a l’s For u m qu e s t i ons t h at are n ot s p e - c an h e lp a ch i e ve t h i s go a l. c i f i c to t h e h i g h s ch o ol an d R e b e c c a A r m s t ron g a n d wou l d b e s t b e a d d re s s e d Va r t i k a B aw a i n a w h ol e s ch o ol s e tt i ng . T h e s e w i l l b e for w ard e d on to Mr. D av i e s for c on s i d e r at i on . A f te r t h e s m a l l p are nt g roup m e e t s to d i s c u s s t h e i s s u e s an d s e t t h e a ge n d a , t h e H S re p s m e e t w it h Mr. Br a d l e y, Mr. Vau g h an , an d M s . C an o bi e to pre s e nt p are nt s’ c on c e r ns . T h e H S a d m i n te am

ISB PTA ADULT EDUCATION The PTA offers this program is to the entire ISB-Nichada Community. It runs twice a year during the Fall and Spring seasons providing a wide variety of classes, such as languages, cooking classes, dance, fitness, sports, arts and creativities. This program is open to all adults; you are not required to be an ISB parent. It is a nice opportunity for all to meet new people while learning a new skill or just refreshing an old one. This is a volunteer run fundraiser for the International School of Bangkok. All of the continued support from teachers, students, and the ISB community is greatly appreciated. All funds raised from this program go to support the activities of your PTA, including grants supporting our students at ISB. Thanks to all of you who shared your comments and experiences about this Program. Gabriela Alvarez Fourcade “I’ve loved the Adult Education Program offered by the PTA. There are many kinds of classes offered every term. Variety of skills can be learned and most of all, you get to meet new people with similar interests!” (Vartika Bawa, India)

“The sushi class was really fun. We not only got to learn how to prepare it but also to learn a little about the culture and traditions. The hosts prepared tea, soup and sushi for us to enjoy after the class. I met lovely friends and enjoyed a great morning of fun and delicious food” (Gabriela Graham, México) “The empanadas workshop, was a treat!! We made dough, 3 different types of empanadas fillings and prepared them ourselves. We ended the workshop sitting around the table, eating yummy empanadas, chatting and laughing. AND we got to take a box FULL of them for our family to have at home too! Highly recommended!!” (Irit Namatinia, Israel) “The Spanish classes for adults are fabulous for anyone who wants to learn Spanish, whether for self-enrichment, due to an anticipated trip to Latin America, or any other reason. The teacher keeps the class interesting and fun! You will be able to hold a decent conversation in Spanish! Gracias! “(Irit Namatinia, Israel)

WHAT IS THE BOOSTER CLUB? Promoting school spirit and cheering on our students in all activities makes for a happier learning environment and a more positive educational experience.

ademic group, and help build school spirit. Inform and invite parents to events, support coaches/advisors and organize snacks. AWARDS BANQUETS & CEREMONIES

How does the Booster Club support the students? Some of our activities are listed here: Help plan the end of season Cultural Convention, IASAS/BISAC EVENTS MUN and the thrice-annual sports banquets to honor Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a sports tour- students, coaches and adnament or a cultural event, visors for their hard work Booster parents show up and and accomplishments. cheer on our students! We provide hospitality for the BOOSTER HUT School spirit items including t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, etc., are sold in the hut near the main cafeteria. Open on most Fridays while school is in session, we welcome shoppers of all ages and parents coaches and directors and who would like to volunteer. we help with housing the students visiting from the five other IASAS schools. PANTHER SPIRIT NIGHTS Held at least one evening per season, these fun filled events are great for the entire family. Join us at the Spirit Tent to sell food and drinks while watching the games! TEAM PARENTS/ ART ADVOCATES Choose your favorite athletic team or arts and ac6

ther Pop baker! Panther Pop cookies are sold on the last Friday of every month near the Booster Hut. PANCAKE BREAKFAST This annual fundraiser has been a part of ISB for two decades. Enjoy a sit down breakfast of pancakes, bacon, bananas, and juice with your family served to you by Booster volunteers. Our fundraising activities provide opportunities for involvement and give us funds that are returned right back to the students. Booster money supports the banquets, HS graduation flower garlands and senior gifts, recognition boards and photos, catering for cultural events, IASAS bags & gifts for traveling students, visiting coaches and advisors hospitality rooms, athletic equipment, theater equipment, the bronze panther at front of school, and other one time purchases.

Everyone in the ISB community is welcome to join us! Watch for volunteer PANTHER POPS sign up sheets, come to our monthly meetings, or Our famous can- contact any Booster board dy bar wrapped member for more informain a cookie and tion. Go Panthers! Go ISB! sold on a stick is popular with Laura Sadowski everyone. Learn the secret recipe and be a Booster Club Pan-

BOOSTER SPIRIT

Season One Spirit Night was a huge success Friday, Sept. 23rd. Hundreds of people turned up to watch our Varsity and JV teams play soccer and volleyball, to enjoy some food and hang out with friends. The panthers, face painters, Zumba ladies and cheering fans in black and gold made it a special night. The Booster Spirit Tent spread more cheer selling lots of drinks and candy.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST

The Pancake stacked up tall

Breakfast Club. This is all made possible by this year! the parent volunteers, the students of the Athletic teams and The ISB Booster Club hosted its Arts Council, the Girl Scouts Annual Pancake Breakfast on and Boy Scouts, Bob Connor, Saturday, 20 August 2016. Be- Anthony Giles, Building and ing at the forefront of the school year, and in conjunction with the CAO Registration Day, it was a fantastic way to welcome new families to the ISB community and to catch up with returning families after the long holiday as they made their way to and from the activities registration. Grounds, and the Community Activities office, Michelle Ihrig We served over 430 custom- and the friendly staff at Epicure ers and brought in a profit of A special thank you to Hilltribe over 50,000 Baht for the Booster Organics for sponsoring our

A big thank you to ISB for organizing the evening and to all the students & families who came out to enjoy our wonderful community and the famous ISB Spirit.

GO PANTHERS! Karen Mitchell

breakfast this year by donating organic eggs, coconut water and giving a cash donation. Hilltribe Organics is founded by ISB graduates and we are proud that they were a part of the ISB Booster Pancake Breakfast this year, a relationship we will continue to foster. Last but not least, THANK YOU to all those who came out to have breakfast in support of out school and help make this years Booster Club Pancake Breakfast a phenomenal success!! With the funds raised, we will be able to support the Arts and Athletic programs for our ISB students. Cheryl June and Mindy Lorber 7

HEAD OF SCHOOL ISB is proud to be a very learning focused school and to this end we have for many Andrew Davies, years used ISB Head of School a Strategic Learning Plan to guide our school improvement work - as opposed to a Strategic Plan that mixes operations with learning. Non-learning related aspects such as finances, facilities and resources are all important, but most of the energies of the school must be deliberately and relentlessly focused on improving the learning and welfare of students. Our Strategic Learning Plan always looks four years into the future and is designed around the four aspects of our Mission & our Definition of Learning (see graphic). As we plan for each coming year, administrators analyse our annual survey data from parents, students and teachers, review trends

in our standardized testing, look at what is happening in educational research, solicit views of faculty, and reflect on our own observations of what we see in classrooms. We then decide on goals

that will have the most impact on student learning and wellness. For the 2016/17 school year (see diagram), as a Pre-K to 12 school we will be focusing our energies on ensuring the diverse learning needs of our 1820 students are being met, that students are appropriately challenged and that we are better able to meet the needs of students with learning differences. In a nutshell, as educators we must

ensure we intentionally plan for all students, from those that have already mastered the learning outcomes and need extension to those that need additional support. Also as a whole school, we will be exploring how we can further develop our culture of care and better meet the social & emotional needs of our students. We have put in place advisory structures and professional development so that we can make a strong impact in 2016/17 and in future years. Over the last few years at ISB, the way we view learning has expanded from the academic to also include the skills and dispositions that students need to be successful and happy in life. This adjustment is in response to current educational research and the desirable attributes many employers are now seeking. We also have in place a few small teams that will be working on the development of an outdoor education program, improvements in our mother tongue language provisions, and an ISB 2025 Vision where we better align our programs and learning to what we know about the future needs of students. If any ISB parent would like a discussion on ISB school improvement I would be very happy to meet. Alternatively, parents are warmly invited to â&#x20AC;&#x153;First Fridays With Andyâ&#x20AC;? at 8:00am on the first Friday of each month. Andrew Davies

DEPUTY HEAD OF SCHOOL Recently we were delighted to welcome Tracey Tokuhama Espinosa to ISB. Tracey is an expert in the fields of mother tongue education, the future of learning and educational neuroscience. She is currently an educational researcher based in Quito, Ecuador and teaches a course at the Harvard University Extension School entitled ‘The Neuroscience of Learning and Achievement. She taught Kindergarten through University and is the former Dean of Education at the Universidad de las Américas in Quito, Ecuador and ex-Director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning (IDEA) in the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.

parent forum on this subject and will arrange another later in the school year. Tracey has access to some of the finest thinkers in the world (being one of them herself ), and one in particular she has worked with is John Hattie.

John Hattie is a New Zealander who explored the factors that really impact student learning. His work is a summary of over 1200 meta-analyses, making it one of the most significant studies ever undertaken on student learning. He identified 195 factors that made a difference to student learning; 189 of them made a positive difference with only 6 having a negative impact. So, in other words, alTracey worked with our lead- most all things we do help but ership team, our teachers and some help more than others. also our parents. If you were at one of her sessions, you will For your interest, those that know that she spoke with tre- actually harm learning are; mendous authority and passion long summer vacations, welabout how to support students fare policies, retention (e.g. with mother language edu- keeping a student back for a cation and how we can help year), corporal punishment at our children thrive in 21st home, television (it is a onecentury education, explain- way medium with little ining some of the shifts that teraction, so children are acwe are seeing in society. Her tually better off gaming than thinking is closely aligned watching TV) and mobility. with the work we are doing The last of these is of parhere at ISB. We have done a ticular interest to us, as many great deal of research into the of our students are regularly skills and attributes that will transitioning to and from difbe needed for our students ferent schools and countries. to flourish in society and to make a positive contribution. What about some of the facWe have already hosted one tors with the largest positive

impact? Two that stand out are teachers having high expectations for their students and students having high expectations for themselves. It is therefore important that teachers and parents continuously reinforce the belief in students that they CAN achieve great things and if they are not achieving them now, remind them that they may not achieving them YET…but they will. Once a student performs at a level greater than that which they thought they were capable of, they gain greater confidence in their own ability. We are fortunate here at ISB to be able to tap into the minds of some of the best thinkers in the educational world and we are happy to share this learning with you. To learn more about Tracey and her work, go to her website, www. traceytokuhama.com and for more on John Hattie’s work, try http://visible-learning.org Graeme Scott

TS 9

NEW STAFF 2016-2017

Name: Keesha Archard From: Canadian Academy, Kobe Japan Born: New York Likes: Running, reading, spicy food, and travel

Name: Keith Collins From: International School of Beijing Born: West Virginia, USA Likes: Running, playing the dulcimer, skiing, scuba diving

Name: Elliott Bowyer From: WAB, Beijing, China Born: Wanganui, New Zealand Likes: Golf, traveling, the outdoors.

Name: Colleen Coady From: American Embassy School, New Delhi Born: New York Likes: Travel, cooking, exercising, reading

Name: Kathryn Bowyer From: WAB, Beijing, China Born: Palmerston North, New Zealand Likes: Traveling, the outdoors, reading.

Name: Andrea Dawson From: Jakarta Intercultural School Born: Macomb, Illinois- USA Likes: Beach, hiking, photography, designing indoor spaces.

Name: Geoff Buck From: International School Moshi, Tanzania Born: London Likes: Camping, hiking, cycling, aviation, music, tennis, dining.

Name: Matt Enders From: International School of Beijing, China Born: Lancaster, Pennsylvania Likes: Cooking, hiking, camping, biking, traveling.

Name: Susan Canobie From: American International School of Kingston, Jamaica Born: Warragul, Australia Likes: Carpets, art, going to the gym, learning Turkish.

Name: Adam Farrell From: The International School of Curacao Born: Kitchener, Ontario Likes: Scuba, camping, trekking, inline skating

Name: Fraser Carver From: Frankfurt International School, Germany Born: Edinburgh, UK Likes: Traveling, sport, good food and good company.

Name: Becky Hall From: American International School of Budapest Born: UK Likes: Traveling, reading, baking and math.

Name: Shujuan Cao From: Concordian International School, Bangkok Born: Jing De Zhen, China Likes: Reading, movies, badminton, traveling

Name: Tracey Jochmann From: United World College of South East Asia Born: Australia Likes: Yoga, reading, family time, catching up with friends.

Name: Karen Kinsella From: Shanghai American School Born: Kansas City, Missouri Likes: Traveling, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking

Name: Adam Kirk From: International School of Beijing Born: Kettering, England Likes: soccer, golf, running, swimming, rugby, tennis, travel reading & hiking / backpacking.

NEW STAFF 2016-2017 Name: Jill Jablan From: Satit Kaset International School Born: Boise, Idaho Likes: Anything in the arts and scuba diving!

Name: Carole Henriot From: Istanbul International Community School Born: France Likes: swimming, cooking, photography, and sleep!

Name: Kelly Hevland From: Shanghai American School Born: Portland, Oregon, USA Likes: Friends and family, reading, making my own jewelry the ocean. Name: Jacob Ortwein From: Pechersk School International, Ukraine. Born: Pennsylvania, USA Likes: Being active and creative outdoors and the workshop.

Name: Jérémy Brassart From: Graduated from Aix-Marseille University Born: Haguenau, France Likes: Traveling, reading, writing, and smiling.

Name: Megan Shaffer From: Hokkaido International School, Sapporo, Japan Born: Michigan, USA Likes: Reading, dancing, singing, cooking, hiking

Name: Mary Stalnaker From: Gypsum Elementary Born: Minnesota - USA Likes: Hiking, skiing, camping, photography, gardening, kayaking, playing with grandkids

Name: Suchanan Singhara Na Ayuthaya Born: Bangkok, Thailand Likes: Spending time with family and friends, traveling, and exploring nature.

Name: Sarah Stewart From: Dulwich College Suzhou, China Born: UK Likes: Scuba diving, rock climbing, yoga.

Name: Lianne Taruc From: St. John the Evangelist, Georgia, USA Born: Philippines Likes: traveling, dancing, reading, learning different cultures.

Name: Ellen Thomas From: American School Japan Born: Washington State, US Likes: Hiking and biking. I am also a quilter and a textiles addict.

Name: Zoe Trodden From: Magic Years International School, Bangkok Born: England Likes: Drawing and playing music

Name: Avery Udagawa Born: Concordia, KS, USA Likes: Reading and translating Japanese children’s literature

Name: Rachel Zammuto From: The American International School of Muscat Born: Colorado, USA Likes: Yoga, dancing, camping, learning new languages

Name: Beth Sauers From: Geneseo, NY Born: Rochester, NY USA Likes: Traveling, reading/discussing books, yoga, volunteering with animals, dancing

Name: Joseph & Sarah Barnes From: American School of Doha Born: New Zealand Sarah likes: Yoga, working out, reading. Joseph likes: snowboarding, surfing, golf 11

ES PRINCIPAL Coteaching, and meeting the needs of learners At ISB we are an intercultural community with a broad range of perspectives and Kelly Armitage, ES Principal strategies in how we approach learning. Analyzing and discussing this diversity enables us to “learn to learn” in different ways, activating new thinking and deepening our metacognitive processes. One of our foci this year is

improving how we meet the needs of our diverse learners. An instructional approach that has been shown to effectively meet these various needs is called “coteaching.” Recently a group of teachers spent a day with educational consultant Ochan Powell to explore, design, and extend coteaching models at ISB. Coteaching is when two teachers work together with groups of students, and share the planning, organization, delivery, and assessment of instruction, as well as share the physical learning space. This approach facilitates flexible and specialized instruction for students with diverse learning needs, including highly able students. In fact, the approach has been shown to help successfully meet the specific learning needs of most students in a classroom. It is not uncommon to walk into an elementary classroom at ISB and see two teachers, along with trained instructional assistants, working

with small groups of students. Additionally, another classroom down the corridor will reveal a large group of students with one teacher, while another teacher in the same classroom works with a student partnership on targeted goals. Yet another room will have 2 teachers planning together and evaluating anecdotal notes taken during coteaching. These notes serve as data, and play a significant part in the on-going assessment of learning for each student. These are just a few of many coteaching structures being applied at ISB. We feel fortunate to have the resources, time to collaborate, and professional learning opportunities to further explore and implement the coteaching approach to better meet the needs of diverse learners at ISB. Kelly Armitage

LEARNING COACHES Taming Student Distractions On Laptops

concerned, worried, stressed or even freaked out. They explain that their child is able to access all types of content on the Internet including images, videos and othTeens, pre-teens and post teens er people. Furthermore they do it (adults) all have access to technol- out of sight and we have no idea ogy in unprecedented ways. In fact, what they are really looking at! as I write this article, my iPhone is in my lap and my iPad is calling for my attention to read a Facebook comment and my Apple Watch keeps buzzing me to say I should use the meditation app as promised. Access to this constant stream of information will continue to flow and how we inter- As expected, our first reaction is act with all this information is to head back to our root response: the only thing that will change. block it and lock it. But unlike 18 years ago, this method no longer When something is new to us, we works. Today our students and usually fear it and try to contain children are very savvy users of or block it. I remember this stark- technology. They quickly, often ly, 18 years ago, when the Internet with the help of YouTube and other came to my school in Saudi Arabia social sharing sites, find their way and I was advocating for students around the blocks. Parents and to have their own digital port- teachers think students are blocked folios. The administrators were from the content, but they are not. very worried that students would Parents and teachers feel they have put up inappropriate content and solved the problem; they have not. they would be exposed to all sorts Instead of block and lock, of evil doers. They chose to lock try a program called block and and block until they could figure talk. Take time to physically stand it all out. Today we use Word- between the device and your child press, SeeSaw and other portfo- and talk to them. Have converlios to share students content like sations about what is appropriate crazy. How we have changed. and inappropriate. Set expectaFast forward 18 years and devic- tions and follow up. Be available for es are omnipresent in schools and them if they have a problem or have homes. Suddenly, and seeming- encountered an inappropriate site. ly without warning, our children have figured out how to manipulate There is hope and it comes in them at a pace adults can only envy. the form of applications such as my personal favorite, Self ConAs a parent and technology coach, trol. It also comes in the form I talk with many parents who feel of technique called the Pomo-

doro method. Essentially you work in sprints of about 20 minutes, then give yourself a break for five minutes, then repeat. The free Self Control app is a simple timer that users start at the beginning of their sprint. You can set it for 15 mins up to a full day. The app has two options: blacklist and whitelist. The blacklist asks you to put in the sites you want to block. The app has a handy list you can import if you want as well. For example, Facebook, Twitter, etc. ThewhitelistmeansEVERYTHING is blocked but the sites you say should NOT be blocked. This is my personal favorite for students. The beauty of the app is once it is turned on and the start button pushed, it canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be turned off until the timer expires. The other beauty is that it is student controlled. Hooray! They are teaching themselves good habits. A simple blocking program that is always on is simply an invitation to hack until the program is defeated. We know students will make poor choices and mistakes on the Internet; it is up to us to be there for them. Guide them while they are still young enough to listen to us. If we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, our students and children will be left to find answers on their own. Michael Boll

INTERCULTURAL DAY

If you walked through the halls of the elementary school on November 18, you likely witnessed something pretty fantastic happening in the classrooms. You may have seen excitement, respect, learning, and fun. Maybe some sharing, teamwork, or celebration? Surely you saw joy, wonder, and loads of diversity. That’s because it was the ES Intercultural Day when parents, representing over 25 cultures, took command of the lesson plans for the day and brought the world to our children. Through games, food, song, dance, and storytelling, the elementary students experienced many beautiful new cultures. Intercultural Day began with a parade as all the students, dressed to represent their culture or country, marched through the school hallways to Rajendra Hall. An outstanding assembly followed. What a fantastic display for all students, faculty, and parents to enjoy. When the assembly was done, it was back to the classrooms, which had been transformed to represent many beautiful cultures from all over the globe. Some classrooms took students back in time. They made butter like American colonists or they experienced the traditions of early 20th century Tibet. Other classrooms focused on modern-day cul14

ture with foods, native animals, sports and more. In total, parents prepared 34 classrooms for this great day! Intercultural Day was not only fun, but also incredibly important. Each and every ISB family has their own starting place, journey and story. What a joy to see parents sharing their cultures with other elementary students, and everyone discovering the ways diversity enriches our human experience. Each and everyone one of us owns a culture that deserves celebrating! Our kids love this day. Our school cherishes this day. Our world needs this day. Sharing where you come from shows a bit of who you are and takes away fear of differences for those expanding their world view. The PTA is very proud to sponsor and help organize this event and we thank all the parents, teachers and administrators who gave their time, talent and treasures on Intercultural Day. This world becomes a better place with events like this. Thank you for doing your part in expanding all of our children’s worldview! Katie Edsall

“I get to go to all 3 countries that represent me. It makes me feel really excited!” -Kate, Grade 4

“This day teaches us not to judge people by how they look.” -Keanna and Ella, Grade 3 “You can wear different clothes. And make things and eat things.” -Peppin, Ariana, and Marine, Grade 2

INTERCULTURAL DAY

ES HUB The HUB had an exciting opening to the year with the addition of our new Reading Terrace. This new learning space invites students, staff and parents to enjoy reading and collaborating in a relaxed

outdoor setting. Elegant benches, coffee tables, gorgeous plantings and mist fans await users of the Reading Terrace. Student sculptures add a point of interest and color to the scene. There is also a lovely wrap-around chalk-

board wall where students have brought us the highly-accan express their creativity. claimed Babymouse, Squish and more! A big thanks to The Reading Terrace serves the ISB PTA for funding a as a popular meeting place generous grant to welcome for parents and students af- these authors to the school. ter school. Please stop by the If you stop by the HUB on December 7, 8 and 9, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be surprised to find a bunch of excited students welcoming this author/illustrator duo. Matthew and Jennifer have been working together for years and have developed many graphic novel hits including the very popular Babymouse series. Jennifer is also an accomplished HUB Reading Terrace to meet, author of historical fiction relax, read a book and enjoy! and several of her novels for middle-grade readers have This year, the ES Learning been honored with awards. HUB is thrilled to welcome We look forward to learnvisiting authors Jennifer and ing from this amazing team! Matthew Holm. They are a sister and brother team who Nat Whitman

ES EXPLORE PROGRAM

This semester the ES Explore program is well underway with over 40 different activities in session and over 500 applications!! Old favorites have returned ranging from Parkour to Lego challenge and Amazing Science while new additions such as Team Connect Volleyball and Zumba are proving extremely popular. The ES Explore Program brings students and adults together in meaningful and rewarding co-curricular activities. These activities are an important piece in your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s learning experience and at the same time having 16

lots of fun! Our ES Explore instructors are parents, teachers, instructional assistants and other professionals who are eager to spend this valuable time with our children. ISBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ES Explore program recognizes and celebrates that learning can take many different forms. Some activities like: cooking, drawing and science are in the classroom and some activities like basketball, volleyball and Floor Hockey are played out door. Because of the wide ranging interests and needs of our ES chil-

dren, the Explore program aims to give all our students the opportunity to explore and develop new interests, as well as having the chance to develop interests or skills they already have. We are planning the new ES Explore program for next semester so if you are interested in sharing your skills and talents with our students, please contact me at the CAO or write to esactivities@isb.ac.th. Hope to see you all after the winter break. Livnat Ziskinder

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES OFFICE The Community Activities Office (CAO) at ISB has been busy at the start of another school year, registering many students at all grade levels for a variety of activities. Many of our programs have begun, with training and/or instruction taking place each day after school. The BYS (Bangkok Youth Soccer) program works closely with BSS (Bangkok Soccer Schools) to provide quality coaching and weekly competitions for our students. An exciting addition this year includes two new competitive teams - the Panthers FC U9 & U11 squads. This is a new year-round program. The boys on these teams were selected after tryouts, and they receive an advanced team training session each week, with matches on Sunday afternoons.

Out on the tennis courts, our Panther Tennis program has differentiated the classes, with Learn to Play (Recreational) sessions; and a Competitive (Intermediate-Advanced) group. Students are improving their skills as they work with our Panther Tennis coaches. Additionally, the Panther Tennis Parent Committee (PTPC) has been meeting regularly, working on various initiatives to support the program. The new Panther Tennis Newsletter is one example, which is being enjoyed by all student participants and their parents! Nearby at the 50-meter pool, our ISB Panther Swim Team held a very successful and spirited season Kick Off & Gala Dinner last month! They now look forward to hosting their big annual Swimfest event on Nov. 12-13. This invitational

meet includes swimmers from all over Thailand, with approximately 1,000 participants! The ISB Panther Gymnastics Program is also up and running, with daily training sessions, as they prepare for upcoming competitions. First on November 19, some of our gymnasts will travel to NIST to participate in the Junior Falcons Gymnastics Championships. Three weeks later, on Saturday 10 December, ISB Panther Gymnastics will hold their annual In-House Competition. On the non-sports side, the After School Dance program and the ISB Music program have also started; along with meetings and activities for the Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, & Boy Scouts. Stay active, ISB! Bob Connor

BYS Recap As we come to the end of the Bangkok YouthSoccer(BYS)soccerseason2016, we’ll miss the very many happy, and some teary faces. This season brought us amazing displays of girl power, spoil the sparkle of the game. The teamwork and sportsmanship, as well Minis (ages 4-6) up until the Premier as many beautiful celebration of goals. League and Super Division (grades 9-12) attended professional weekBangkok Youth Soccer, one of the ly training sessions, led by Bangkok many great programs offered by the Soccer Schools. On the weekends 33 CAO, kicked off on August 27th for teams played friendly but competanother great soccer term. Played itive games against rivals, cheered on the lush grounds of ISB, BYS pro- on by their passionate coaches. The vided the opportunity for about 300 Cup Tournament in November was youth players to improve their soc- the grand finale to a great season. cer skills, stay active and have fun! It was a ‘wet’ season, but that did not The 2016 season of BYS would not

have been possible without the generous sponsorship of Suphanburi FC, and all of our amazing volunteers. A special thank you goes out to our dedicated BYS commissioners Maria van Zant and Rosalina Hernandez! If you are interested to help organize BYS 2017, contact: emilie.huisman@ live.nl. For more information: https:// www.isb.ac.th/community-soccer Emilie Huisman 17

SCOUTS

Girls Scouts

Girl Scouts kicked off a year of making the world a better place with a fun ice cream social and a more formal (but still fun) Investiture and Rededication Ceremony, in which girls dedicated themselves to the ideals of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. We have more than 80 girls, from kindergarten through middle school, registered to be Scouts this year. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of girl power.

some great outdoor adventures. All of the troops will be working on service projects throughout the year, so please watch for opportunities to support the girls as they learn to take action.

the high mountains of New Mexico at the world famous Philmont Scout Ranch. Five Scouts and four adults from Bangkok and Taipei logged close to 90 miles backpacking over rugged terrain. They carried everything on their backs in packs that weighed between 35 and 50 pounds and the Scouts cooked all their own meals. Highlights included: Climbing Mt Baldy (12, 440 feet / 3791 meters) on an epic 14 hour day, black-powder and cowboy action shooting, mountain biking, trail construction, archaeology, cross country navigation, and back-country camping skills.

For more information about Girl Scouts USA in Thailand, please contact Amy Hall at amersuec@ yahoo.com or Julie Swierczewski at julieswierczewski@yahoo.com. We are always looking for volunteers or service opportunities.

Boys Scouts

The Scouts even had a snowball fight high on Mt Baldyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Copper Ridge For 12 days in July, Boy Scouts and with a crew from Texas. Meeting adult leaders from Troop 701 tested Scouts from around the US was a big their courage and commitment in part of the fun at Philmont. The crew

Daisy, Brownie, Junior, and Cadette Girl Scout troops are already working on projects to improve themselves and our community. One Junior troop learned about women who have changed the world and then posted their work on a bulletin board outside the HUB to teach their fellow students that anyone can choose to be a leader. A Brownie troop has been learning how to properly care for pets. Cadettes are gearing up for 18

trained hard for months preparing for the trek and their hard work paid off -- every Scout and adult who started the trek finished together. Boy Scouts is a faith based organization and the Scouts led prayers at all meals and reflected on God’s incredible natural world through daily devotions.

MS PRINCIPAL Ensuring MS students learn in a culture of care

On behalf of our Middle School faculty, staff, and administration, it’s my Dennis Harter, pleasure to Middle School Principal welcome our parent community to the 2016-17 school year. We have had a wonderful start already and we are looking forward Congratulations to these young men to a great year of learnwho accomplished one of Scouting’s ing, growth, and fun ahead. greatest challenges: Colin Patrick, Chin Chao Huang, Khunsig Redmon, Middle school is a time of Josh Grove and Adam Maston (for- change and exploration for mer ISB student now living in Taipei). our students. Young people between the ages of 11 and 14 experience significant changes in their brain development that are only surpassed by the brain growth they experience as a babies. And while sometimes we can still picture those babies as we look at them now (I’ve got Thank you to the parents and adult two in middle school, myleaders who made the trip possible. self ), in fact these young adolescents are exploring and Steve Grove making sense of the world around them. Our students seek out social interaction and gratification, start to care deeply about how their peers see them (and less about how we do), and look to discover their interests, passions, and strengths. The one thing consistent about

middle school is change. This year we are very excited to have started our advisory program for students. This advisory program has students meeting every day with a small group of samegrade students along with their teacher-advisor. Our advisory program provides us an opportunity to work with students on executive functioning skills and social emotional learning - areas that research demonstrates are essential for students to learn best. The advisories also ensure that each student is known and appreciated every day at school by peers and adults alike, as they have fun and learn important interpersonal skills throughout the year. Already, there is a palpable feeling of positivity and warmth in our classrooms and hallways after a few months of this program. We are excited about the year ahead and the great learning that your students will experience with us this year in the middle school. We continue to work towards ensuring strong instruction of a well-chosen and articulated curriculum in a culture of care so that our students progress in their learning for future success. It’s going to be a great year! Dennis Harter

MS WAI KHRUU On Tuesday, September 6th, the entire middle school gathered in the Chevron Theatre during the last 40 minutes of the school day for the MS Wai Khruu Assembly. In thai culture, all schools hold a wai khruu ceremony at the start of each new school year to provide students with an opportunity to show respect and gratitude to their teachers, and to remind them that the holidays are over and it’s time to learn! 8th graders Todd Amatayakul and Earth Mokkamakkul MC’d the first half of the assembly. They introduced the purpose of the assembly and of a wai khruu ceremony. They reminded all of the importance of the day and that we were gathered together “to recognize the people who made a big impact on our lives - apart from our parents, they’re the people who always wish us to do well and excel in all areas”. A very informative video was then shown about the wai khruu ceremony which was put together collaboratively by 6th graders Mig Charoentra, Tee Chindasook, Pryn Khamkanist, Mats Mahattanakul, Palm Punnaket, and 7th grader Kaitlyn Weir. Our MS Wai Khruu Ceremony for the 2016-2017 school year then began with the ISB Senior Administrators, 20

MS Administrators, School Psychologist, MS Counselors, new MS Teachers, and the MS Teaching Assistants all being invited to the stage where there was a row of chairs waiting for them. Our MS Student Ambassadors then ascended the stage carrying flower garlands which they then presented to the educators while kneeling in front of them. Todd and Earth then invited students to show RESPECT and APPRECIATION throughout the rest of the week and encouraged students to show their respect and appreciation in different ways such as saying thank you, giving flowers, or writing a thank you card to their teachers, family members, friends, and ISB staff. 7th graders Logy Hamdy and Firishta Wadia were then introduced as the MCs for the second half of the assembly. Logy and Firishta introduced 6th grade students Nod Charindhorn and Serge Artinian, 7th grade students Min Kim and Firuza Wadia, and 8th grade students Elm Piyasombatkul and Zach Schonauer, as representatives of their respective grades, to give speeches to their very special teachers! Logy and Firishta next invited all students in the audience to participate by say-

ing Thank You, in thai, to all teachers to appreciate them for all their hard work during the whole year. There was a mini competition to see which grade level could say it the loudest ending with all three grades as one middle school screaming “Khob Khun Kha / Khob Khun Krab”! Logy and Firishta then invited the MS Dean of Students, Mr. Oms, and MS Principal, Mr. Harter onto the stage for some closing remarks and to call the assembly to an end which ended with everyone giving a big round of applause to our two Thai teachers, Khun Piyanuch Sootornwipart and Khun Pongsatorn (Tommy) Kaewngam and everyone else involved for all their hard work they put into organizing the assembly. Mr. Harter then dismissed all. On their way out the doors, all the MS teachers received a flower garland from one of the representative students! Maurilio Baron-Toaldo

MS STUDENT LEADERSHIP Our ISB Middle School approach to leadership is to encourage all students to participate in leadership opportunities. This year, we have introduced a new three-part leadership model: Leadership Round Table. Seven students from each grade volunteer from their advisories each month. At the Leadership Round Table Meeting, which takes place during lunch, students have a chance to meet with the middle school administrators to discuss what is working well, to influence decisions, and to propose positive changes they would like to see at ISB. Leadership Committees: Our new steering committees are designed to model what students are likely to encounter in the real world workplace. All students are invited to join committees related to the issues that are most important to them. Our current leadership committees meet during lunch and include a school climate committee, an athletics committee, and an arts committee. Coming soon...a library committee, a tech committee, and a service committee. Leadership Seminars: Periodically, students will have the opportunity to participate in a leadership workshop that focuses on developing and practicing leadership skills. These skills can be applied within our leadership model, but also in every arena of life from friendships to group work. These

opportunities are also open to The JUMP foundation comeveryone in the middle school pleted a survey with the students and the results sugOn September 10th, the Middle gest that the experience was School held our first leadership very helpful to our students. seminar of 2016-2017. 35 students spent their Saturday morning enjoying fun activities with peers and learning about leadership. The seminar was facilitated by an organization called the JUMP FOUNDATION. JUMP is a non-profit social enterprise that uses experiential education 82% of participants reportto advance a world in which ed that they are more likely individuals , community lead- to collaborate with classmates ers , and global citizens realize 73% of participants felt they their passions and potential. gained collaboration skills 55% of participants felt they gained communication skills 55% of participants are interested in further developing confidence within themselves

The experienced JUMP facilitators led the students through a series of activities to create participation-driven learning. Participants were challenged to create their own experience, emphasizing their responsibility and autonomy over the learning process. Students explored their own personal experiences, strengths and challenges, and identified different components that make up leadership. The aim of the session was for students to to become aware of their personal leadership style and to recognize that leadership comes in many forms.

The Middle School is committed to developing leadership skills in students through opportunities such as the JUMP program. It is our belief is that ALL students have the potential to be leaders and, if encouraged and supported, they will be able to contribute their skills to their communities. Please encourage your child to participate in the many leadership opportunities being offered this year and to be a leader in the middle school! Colleen Coady

ISB PARENTS SHOW

BOOSTER SPIRIT!

Want to be part of the Booster Team? See page 6 for info!

MS SPORTS BASH The first middle school social of the year, our annual MS Sports Bash, took place after school on Friday, September 2nd, 3:00 - 5:00pm with 114 students attending. During the first half, students had Dodgeball, Floor Hockey, Soccer, and Ultimate Frisbee venues to choose from. Students participated in 3 of the 4 rotating from one to the next every 20 minutes. For the second half of the social, stu-

dents congregated into the ES AC-Gym for the dance portion where some dancing did take place, along with some informal dance pit forming periodically where students circled around to watch and cheer their peers brave enough to jump into the center to show some of their dance moves! In addition to the dancing, there was a lot of running around and jumping together with friends, eating of

pizza, and some sitting around hanging out with friends sharing a great time together! Students danced to music provided by our DJs, 8th graders Akhil G. and Zach S., and 6th grader Delaney E., who all did an excellent job! A big thank you to our MS PTA for providing the pizza and refreshments! Maurilio Baron-Toaldo

MS BAND KHAO LAK “Everyone Was Smiling”

al growth, the joy of sharing music, and the opportunity to connect with others, even though the students had never met each As suggested by this article’s other and had a language barrier: title—the words of Kentaro Hamada (Gr. 8, trumpet)—the “I enjoyed getting to meet new recent Symphonic Band trip to people and play in a band at R-35 school in Khao Lak was Khao Lak.” —Paddy Jokowhighly memorable for 44 MS idjaja (Gr. 7, alto saxophone) Symphonic Band members traveled to R-35 school be- “I enjoyed going to the R-35 tween September 23-25, 2016. school and playing and dancing with their students.” — R-35 school, located in the vil- Natalia Yepes (Gr. 7, flute) lage of Bang Sak in Phang Nga province, about 100 km north “I enjoyed seeing the R-35 of Phuket, was devastated by the students being happy when 2004 tsunami; the school build- we played with them” —Jai ings were destroyed, a number Thampakkul (Gr. 8, trumpet) of children and parents lost lives, and many were left homeless. “I loved spending time with ISB and the After the Wave pro- the R-35 students. They were gram, founded by ISB teachers so nice and funny and amazin 2004, have been continuous- ing and happy and so full ly contributing to help rebuild of energy that I never wantthe R-35 school and support ed to leave.” —Orisa Thanastudents and their education. In jaro (Gr. 8, also saxophone) association with After the Wave, this was the seventh visit for ISB “I really liked the R-35 school MS band students since 2008. and the students. Even though I Over 200 MS band students have had to go way out of my comnow participated in the trip. fort zone, it was really fun spending time with them.” — At the R-35 school, the ISB MS Gal Ronen (Gr. 8, clarinet) band students performed for the R-35 students, observed as “Our lives are similar in a way R-35 students performed Thai . . . we both love music and we traditional dances, and enjoyed both value friends.” —Axel interacting with R-35 students Nyborg (Gr. 8, percussion) through activities and games. “Some R-35 students were very Following are some students’ re- surprised when I said ‘I go flections on the trip, regarding home everyday.’ We take that for how much ISB students gained granted, and don’t even realize from the visit, including person- what a privilege it is.” —Bobby

Blumenthal (Gr. 8, percussion) “I wish the trip could last longer and to have more time at R-35 school.” — Jingmin Wang (Gr. 8, clarinet) “We are all kids and it doesn’t matter if we have a language barrier or don’t understand because we want to have fun and laugh.” —Bryan Chen (Gr. 8, alto saxophone) “My life is at an advantage, this is because I was born lucky. I was born into a world where opportunities came to me everywhere. The students at the R-35 school were born into the exact opposite. This does not mean that we are different people though. Just like today, you saw that 2 kids from Khao Lak and Bangkok can still have fun together and dance.” —Ryan Minckler (Gr. 8, trombone) Kentaro Udagawa

MS THEATRE On the Spot Some of us have a lot of difficulty from time to time thinking “On the Spot”. We can sometimes let the ground swallow us up when we are put in front of others and asked to talk about something, do something or be something that makes us uncomfortable. “On the Spot” is this years Middle School Theatre Sport’s theme. Relevant on so many levels for an improvisation show. What does performing “On the Spot” mean for it’s young actors in the middle school? They would say: being free, being in the moment, being spontaneous, saying yes to everything, working as a team, owning it, listening and empowering, staying positive, exploring the unknown and never blocking. All of these analogies ring out like a bell being struck in a cathedral on top of a mountain. It resonates a song that we sing about our culture of care and how developing relationships is fundamental to the health and wellbeing of the middle school child - well any human being for that matter.

Building relationships is key to developing good improv. In Theatre Sports and Creative Improvisation students are continually asked to work with a variety of different groups. They are challenged to create, be positive and work as a team to build coherence in their theatrical performance. They find tremendous reward when the magic happens in front of an audience and yet they acknowledge failure and reflect on what went wrong, continually being supportive and encouraging of their group members. This to me, speaks volumes about character, care and resilience. This year we had a resounding number audition for the Theatre Sports team. They are all working exceptionally hard to learn games, learn about good improv skills, but more importantly, they are learning about each other and have become a wonderful community of learners. Sessions are fun, full of life and very supportive. There is still a long way to go for them, as the show date on November

22 looms, but I can promise you that it will be a great show full of spontaneity, hilarity and good old fashioned, “On the Spot” fun! Recently, we heard from a Paralympian, Andy Barrow, who has won multiple gold medals. His departing gift to us was his mantra: Always say yes, be in the moment and work hard. Opportunities are there and we need to take them, meet them, run with them and play with them. They make us better people and more alive, so why wouldn’t we? Take the opportunity to support the Middle School Theatre Sports teams as they battle it out on November 22 at 4pm in the CCT theatre. You’ll be pleased you made that “On the Spot” decision, took the opportunity and came. Tickets will be on sale from November 14 in the cafeteria. Michael Sharp

HS PRINCIPAL as we seek to improve, ourRecently I selves or the wider world. have been reading Couldn’t we at least? and sharing some of the Is at the beginning of all prothoughts of gress since it allows us to go Philip Bradley, High School Principal Dean James beyond disagreement and arRyan from rive at consensus. Ryan also Harvard Graduate School promotes this as a way of getof Education (HGSE). His ting started when you are not thinking resonates well with sure where you might finish. several new initiatives in HS. How can I help? Ryan’s humorous 2016 graduation speech at HGSE Ryan hints that often times stressed the importance of in our eagerness to help we asking good questions – can miss out on valuable questions that promote good partnerships from experts thinking, reflection, action who can make our help more and fulfilment. His bold effective and more empowerclaim is that if we all get into ing. Asking “how” makes all the habit of asking these sim- the difference, rather than ple questions we will be both telling others what you will successful and happy. And, do for them. It is at the base we will be in a position to of all positive relationships. positively answer what Ryan calls “the bonus question”. What really matters (to me)? Ryan’s five questions are: Allows us to reflect upon the heart of an issue and disWait, what? cern where our energies and resources should really go. The question you should ask before drawing conclusions or making decisions. In sim- Ryan’s bonus question is ple terms, it often pays to slow a line from the Ameridown and enquire before you can poet Raymond Carvadvocate. This question is at er’s work, Late Fragments: the root of all understanding. I wonder why or I wonder if ? Is at the heart of all curiosity and often the starting point

And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so?

Even so, represents the pain and disappointment that inevitably makes up a full life, a life that also offers the possibility of joy and contentment. Ryan’s claim is that if we all regularly ask the five question we are very likely going to answer “I did” to the bonus question. Ryan’s concluding call to the HGSE graduates is that they make schools and the world a better place by ensuring students feel beloved. Beloved by their teachers and by their fellow classmates - it makes all the difference. In the context of ISB, at home and at school, it is critical we make our students feel beloved by being valued and respected for who they are and who they will become - it makes all the difference as we seek to guide them towards their full potentials. Please Youtube or Google “Dean James Ryan’s 5 Essential Questions In Life” and watch Ryan deliver his message. Philip Bradley

TS 27

HS DEAN OF ACADEMICS Assessment and Learning

when students care mainly about the grades, their brains are focused on the assessment rather than the learning of ISB has an As- the subject matter and how sessment Pol- the learning can be applied. icy in place which has the The best student learning fogoal of con- cuses on improvement goals tinuing to use and learning targets, rathSusan Canobie, Dean of Academics grading and as- er than percentages and ensessment to im- courages/motivates all levprove learning. In order for els of achievement. There is that to happen the assess- false precision in a 100 point ment of student work needs scale, given the inevitable to be meaningful, reliable minor variability in human and sensible, with the goal to judgement - is a student who challenge students at every has one % more in an Englevel, rather than focus on lish test obviously a better percentages. The ISB Grade writer? The percentage scale Descriptors, found in the often leads to a misclassifiStudent Planner describes cation, especially when the levels of achievement pro- assessment task is not set up gressing towards excellence. to mirror the content/skills The Grade Descriptors de- percentages of the course. scribe what the student performance looks like. Per- It is at this time of year that centages are less informative the IB students receive ‘preand limiting. If a student dicted grades’. Faculty use a receives an 87%, what does body of assessment evidence that tell the student about to estimate what students the learning and perfor- may achieve on their final IB mance? Is the learning goal score. This includes Interto reach 100% and then once nal Assessments and Exterreached, does improvement nal Exam based assessments. stop? Grade Descriptors give There is a degree of uncerthe students the incentive to tainty, like most predictions strive for excellence, consist- in the world. The best thing ently and apply the learning about Predicted Grades is to a variety of situations. the conversation that results Immordino-Yang writes in Emotions, Learning and the Brain, “We only think about things we care about.” Hence 28

from this. Students make their own predictions, faculty make their predictions, and counselors then have discussions with students. Often

the most vigorous and emotional discussions are when there are discrepancies between estimated scores. Predictions cannot be made on ‘hope’ and ‘good intentions’. How does one deal with a disappointing prediction? Aghast horror, disappointment, pleading for more…………or “wait…….. what?” The “wait…….. what?” gives time for thought and reflection – with the next thought being “What do I need to do? What do I need to learn and get better at?” The confidence to overcome, look at one’s achievement honestly is the path towards improvement and excellence. It is also the belief to reach beyond predictions through academic conversations between students and teachers. The opportunity provides for students to see where they are and what they need to do to reach their goals. I encourage the ISB community to read the Thomas Guskey (2013) paper The Case Against Percentage Grades. Susan Canobie

HS DEAN OF STUDENTS & COUNSELOR New Schedule

This year has seen considerable change to the daily life of our High School Students as we implemented a new daily schedule. Andy Vaughan, Dean of Students The new schedule provided two major changes, the first being an addition in the middle of the day of what is called ‘Panther Block’ and the second being the addition of HL time at the end of the day. Panther Block achieves an amazing variety of goals and is being well received by students and faculty. It provides a targeted time slot for HS Clubs and Activities, which in the past took place at lunch or afterschool. The separation of lunch from clubs means that our High School Students are now getting time to eat and have a break in the middle of the day, which we know is positive for learning and well being. As one student said in a recent survey on the schedule: ‘I love that I can meet with my club and then go to lunch’. The Panther Block has also created space to implement a new Advisory Program in the High School, which from feedback thus far is also showing good success. The Advisory Program is very much focused on building relationships and life skills that don’t fit into the typical academic curriculum. Panther Block has also created space for regular Assemblies and Class/GCW Meetings, teacher planning and for students who have no commitment during that time it has created an excellent study space in the middle of the day. HL time at the end of the day is providing Higher Level students with

more hours that are needed to meet the suggested 240 hours of HL time provide by the IB. Teachers are using this time in a variety of ways, some such ways include introducing new HL topics, providing extra focussed study and support or using the time to guide students in their work on I.A.’s. In general the feedback received so far has been very positive and we will continue to gather this feedback as we progress throughout the year. Andy Vaughan

Panther Period

igated this to a significant degree. Students no longer need to gobble down their lunches so often as they run from one activity to another.

In the rotating 8-day schedule, five Panther Periods are scheduled for club meetings, one day is set for class meetings or assemblies, and two days are for a teacher – student interaction known as Advisory. This is a planned period in which teachers meet with their small group of students (anywhere from 8-12) and non-academic topics are engaged. Themes are built around the relevant year groups; 9th graders do units based around the theme of “Preparedness for High School”. 10th graders work with “Preparedness for Life Choices”; 11th graders do “Preparedness for Balancing Demands”, and 12th graders focus on “Preparedness for Life After High School”. This time offers a great opportunity for students to get to know – and hopefully trust in – one more adult in the High School, and to work on themes and activities that are not assessed, just experienced. All the High School teachers serve as Advisors.

The arrival of the 2016-17 school year saw the implementation of a new schedule in the High School, including an innovation in student-teacher relations. The “Panther Period” in the middle of the school day is intended to enhance the social-emotional learning of students, and provide a time during the school day in which academics take a back seat to the promotion of a healthy, balanced lifestyle that too often gets away from all of the students as they run from one obligation to the next. The Panther Period normally runs from 10:20 to 10:50, with Many schools have a “homeroom” lunch following from 10:50 to 11:35. or “tutorial” or advisory system; the crucial element for any school is Initial indications are that the Pan- to make it meaningful and valued ther Period is a great use (or non- by students and faculty both. The use!) of the students’ time. So many Grade Year Advisors have worked activities that used to take place dur- hard to ensure that the time spent ing lunch, most notably clubs and in Advisory is worthwhile and envisits to teachers and counselors, joyable. The teachers who serve as well as visits with university rep- as Advisors are constantly giving resentatives can now happen dur- input on their lessons and observaing the Panther Period. One of the tions, making this a work in progress most stressful issues for a student that ISB can fine-tune each year. at ISB is to be double-booked for activities and obligations, and the Kevin Callahan Panther Period has certainly mit-

PANTHERNATION The Fundamentals of Caring

of a student ambassador. Poon states, “I sort of wanted to “repay” the deed by becoming [a student ambassador] The experience of transitioning into a myself.” Pim goes on to say, “ I wantnew school is scary. Not only will you ed to help make a new student’s tranbe thrust into a crowd of people that sition to ISB as smooth as mine was.” you do not know, but the curriculum and the entire building is different to All three student ambassadors menyou. At ISB, the Student Ambassa- tioned their own experiences of being dors program, a well loved tradition new, and Isabel Armitage (12) seemed which has been around for many years, to have the same opinion as both Pim helps students with that change. and Poon. She says, “I saw a community of like-minded, kind students who Mr. Davy, who runs the student am- helped present and showcase ISB in a bassadors program, states, “The goal positive light, and I wanted to be a part has been for students to volunteer their ofthat.WhenIwasnewalongtimeago, time to help new students adjust to ISB I wish I had a student ambassador, and and its community and its culture.” He the assurance that I could ask questions goes on to talk about how the program to someone, and sit with them at lunch. manages to help different students Ialsowantedtomakenewfriends,meet needs, saying, “The biggest piece, I be- new people, and make sure that people lieve,istheindividualsthatareinvolved- knew about joining activities and betheir personalities. We have people that coming part of the ISB community.” volunteer and put themselves forward, these are individuals that really can When asked to describe their experimake a big difference to new students ence as a student ambassador, Poon coming in because they want to help, states that it was satisfying and fun, and ultimately, they are really genuine.” saying, “showing them their classes and watching them learn about ISB I, being a new student coming into in general made me really happy.” fourth grade, was not a part of the stu- Pim says, “It was a little intimidating dent ambassador program, nor did I for me, because I knew [I would] be have anyone to show me around that those new students’ first impression day. Coming into the school new and of ISB. [It is] a lot of pressure but [it is] knowing no one was terrifying for me, worth it in the end.” Isabel states, “The and being apart of the student am- experience is fun, as we get to meet bassadors program today made me new people and interact with them in wish that I could have had that as well. our community, and feel like we are The student ambassadors who were helping people and making their day.” interviewed all talked about their experiences in being new, and it seemed The new students all said the same to be a big part of why they chose to thing about the orientation process: be a student ambassador themselves. they talked about how helpful it was and how it made them feel less overPim(12)andPoon(10)Singhatirajstate whelmed, how it made them feel less that their experiences with being new nervous and helped them get famillast year were made easier with the help iar with the school, and showed them 30

the caring environment of ISB. The feedback that came from the new students themselves was all positive. The three new students all mentioned how the help that their student ambassadors gave them didn’t end after orientation day, but extended all throughout, whether it was the comfort of simply knowing someone was there if you needed them, or having a friend. Joshua Buck, a new eleventh grade student, talksabouthowhehashadonetalkwith his ambassador every day to see how the day has gone, if there were any problems, and how his ambassador could help. He states, “he was able to discuss it with me and help me get through it.” Nikki Ling, a new tenth grade student, says, “I knew there was someone I could go to if I ever had any questions about the school.” Simply knowing that she had someone there if needed was enough comfort for her, and made her feel better about being at ISB. Yumi Arashida, a new ninth grade student, talks about how her nonfluency in english made her nervous, but goes on to say, “I could not speak english well; however, [my student ambassador] listened carefully to what I said. It made me relax to talk with her.” The student ambassadors program is in place to make ISB seem like home to new students from the very start, from the first orientation day to the weeks following and the rest of their time at ISB. The program makes a big difference in the student’s school lives, and shows them the culture of care that surrounds everything the ISB community believes in. Darin Sumetanon

HS CLUBS English Service Project

we also encourage the guards to take notes during lessons and practice on their own time. We strive to make our lessons interactive to create a more personal connection to the material in the hopes of making the lesson more memorable. This includes doing skits with the guards to reinforce what they have learned.

The English Service Project was launched last year at ISB. Students who participate in ESP provide English lessons to the ISB Thai staff. ESP has a dedicated group of club members, both English and Thai speakers, so our club is not exclusive just to Thai speak- ESP currently teaches two ers, though speaking Thai is classes of guards on Mondays. definitely a skill we appreciate! However, as our club continues to grow, we are looking to Earlier this year, we start- expand soon by offering lesed lessons with the guards. sons to the cafeteria workers. Though their skill levels in In the future, as our club deEnglish vary, they are very en- velops, we hope to offer more thusiastic and interested. We classes to the ISB staff, and are trying to teach well-round- even open up the possibility ed lessons; our instruction is of offering English classes to quite traditional, with a fo- housekeepers outside of ISB. cus on spoken and written language. In order to make Devi D’Oliveira these lessons more relevant, we started with a few lessons Bake for Change about basic English introductions, including language that may be applicable for the job Community service doesn’t alof an ISB guard. Now, we are ways have to be in direct conincorporating new vocabulary tact with the community and and grammatical structures people can even find joy in that the guards said would small gestures like free baked be the most useful to them. goods. At International School Bangkok in 2014, the baking A challenge our club has faced service club called Bake for is only having time for one Change was started on this class per week. A new lan- belief, with the goal of creatguage is hard to learn, and ing a community of bakers practice is essential … because (and approaching bakers) that of our limited time with the could put their skills to good classes, we try to extend learn- use. As the current president ing by using materials like au- of this club, I can additiondio recordings and handouts; ally ensure that all members

are able to gain experience, polish their ability, and be rewarded with service hours. We also aim to help solve your culinary complications. So what does Bake for Change do? Well, it’s quite simple. Our club bakes baked goods and gives them to disabled or less privileged kids in service clubs that visit ISB. We deliver to service clubs such as Baan Rachawadee, Sparrow Home, and Street Boys and are able to guarantee delicious home baked treats made with fresh, organic ingredients free of preservatives and chemicals found in commercial products for these kids. If there are leftover baked goods after distribution to the clubs, they are then sold to gain money to buy ingredients for the next baking session. Our club meets on a weekly basis in a room near the school kitchens, making it easy to use the school’s ovens. Normally cookies are baked because they are easiest to hand out to kids and to make with beginner bakers. Even if you don’t know how to bake at all, you are still allowed to come participate in Bake for Change, since we always are willing to help people improve in baking. Currently, we consist of mostly girls, with a couple guy members, but all students are welcome. Besides baking for the children at ISB, Bake for Change 31

HS CLUBS participates in various other events as well. In the past we have sold mochi ice-cream for the winter dance, conducted themed bakes sales (such as a Santa Milk and Cookie bake sale to advocate the spirit of giving), and even a conducted a cookie decorating booth at ISB’s annual international food fair. Many other clubs around ISB have also asked for our help in bake sales and supplying goods to sell. It is extremely convenient for Bake for Change to aid these clubs, as we can just bake extra cookies each meeting. So, you might be wondering, if Bake for Change participates in all these fund-raising events, where do the profits go to at the end of the year? Continuing the theme of giving back to the community in small gestures, last year, we donated 30,000 baht as scholarships through an organization called Education for Development Foundation (EDF) to 6 students in the south of Thailand. The students are orphaned high schoolers and this organization provides full year scholarships to them. Bake for Change hopes to continue its impact at ISB and the Thai community around them through small goods. Please continue to watch us grow as a club by liking our Facebook page linked below! facebook.com/Bake4ChangeISB/?fref=ts

Esther Lee 32

Baan Rachawadee Every Wednesday, there are toys scattered all over Room 117 in the High School math quad. It’s Baan Rachawadee. In this direct community service club, kids from the Baan Rachawadee home for mentally and physically handicapped come to visit ISB. We interact with them: drawing, playing with toys, and taking them around the school. After playing, we later feed them supper.

“My buddy loves dinosaurs, especially T-Rex. He often touches the figures on the picture books and then laughs noisily,” says BB Jiruppabha, a 10th grade student. “Although he can’t walk or talk, he’s always smiling. Seeing how happy he is just lights me up every time. I never realized how easy and fulfilling it is to make someone’s day a little better.” Another three-year club member mentioned that over the years, an extremely memorable moment for her during Baan Rachawadee was witnessing an interaction between a Baan Rachawadee kid and an elementary school student. Whilst she was read-

ing a picture book to the Baan Rachawadee kid, an elementary student approached them and starting asking questions. Although most students are understandably shy, this student was extremely caring and truly curious. These interactions are what make Baan Rachawadee so special. Baan Rachawadee helps increase the ISB community’s exposure to people with disabilities and can slowly decrease prejudice and discrimination. For our club members, even though it can be difficult to care for someone with disabilities, it is always so rewarding because it’s eye-opening to experience how they view the world. They’re just like us. They have bad days and good days. They have happy moments and sometimes, things might not be going so great. It makes us want to get to know them more and brighten up their day. For us, it always brighten our day to see them smile. We learn that although we cannot verbally communicate with these kids, the connections that we make are memorable. We learn than rather seeking for differences, it’s more important to seek for similarities. It’s what binds us together. Genie Pakvisal

BICF AND MASSED BAND M.E.N Inspiration from the Northwest

learning happens when the concert is important and meaningful to our community. We hope you won’t miss our BICF concert For over two decades, the Bang- next year or any of the fantastic kok International Choir Festival (BICF) has provided an opportunity for students in and around the Bangkok area to gather together and be exposed to great choral music, great leadership, and a common love for singing. This year we added another layer of intensity to this amazing festival. Instead of one guest conductor we Invited 13! The vocal group Male Ensemble Northwest inspired our concerts that are put on by our young choristers, and put on a fan- hard working arts department. tastic concert which WOWED audiences as well. The special thing Andy Marshall about this singing ensemble is that each (member) is also a choMassed Band Festival ral conductor at their home in the Northwestern region of the U.S.A. 2016 The week preceding BICF, M.E.N. visited all of the schools that attended the festival to deliver individual workshops. In each session, the members of M.E.N. made students feel at ease while showing them how to have fun and be passionate about achieving excellence. It was simply amazing teaching and inspired students. The real magic happened in the Chevron theatre at ISB on Saturday the 8th of October when all 400+ students took the stage and performed with MEN in a grand concert that was received with a unanimous and thunderous standing ovation. Student Learning is at the heart of every concert that we produce at ISB, and the most vibrant and powerful

USA. Dusty has many years of band conducting/teaching experience that he shared with our students, and brought them quite far in just a couple of days of rehearsal.

Dusty also visited the local schools during the week to work with individual bands on basic concepts of wind music. Here are some comments from students who participated in the band festival:

“I didn’t have any trouble sitting for 7 hours. I felt Mr. MolyISB once again hosted the annual neaux’s conducting kept me Massed Band Festival, on Friday, interested in the rehearsal.” Sept. 9 and Saturday, Sept. 10, which involved a total of 6 inter- “My favorite part about performnational schools from Bangkok ing in a mass band festival like and beyond. This year our fes- this one is to see the end result. It tival welcomed for the first time was amazing to see how amazing Chiang Mai International School, we performed as a mass band.” whose students are under the direction of Mr. Harvey Nichol- The festival culminated with a gala son. We also welcomed first year concert on Saturday afternoon. A director Kristel Tretter and her wonderful audience was in atband students from Internation- tendance, and the students truly al School Eastern Seaboard, near shined as they were able to play Chon Buri. These students, along with confidence and musicality at with ISB, RIS, TCIS and ICS made a very high level. Thanks to all our up a band of over 175 students ISB certified and classified staff for that performed many styles of their support and help in hostmusic under the direction of guest ing this very educational event! conductor, Mr. Dusty Molyneaux, from Great Falls, Montana in the Thomas P. Myers 33

PEACE DAY “I just wanted to reach out to each of you to say thank you for your role in making this year’s Peace Day Celebration a huge success. From the ES student recitations of our new core values to the beautiful and spirited music of our MS and HS bands, from dancing and community singing to all of those involved behind the scenes, the program, narrated superbly by our GIN club students, celebrated peace the ISB Panther way. Don’t forget to contribute to the Peace Shelter before it comes down next week, or to make a donation to the Habitat for Humanity playground fundraiser. The Media Studies students will also be creating a retrospective video highlighting today’s celebration and peace activities which will be shared with our community very soon. Thanks again for all of your good work.”

“I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to attend yesterday’s Peace Day assembly! It was perfect in every way - from the singing of the Peace Round to the Peace Shelter in the center of Rajendra, from the dancers to the MS/HS bands, from the ES students reciting our new core values to the GIN club MC’s who tied everything together, and finally the Pre-K children walking in with their individual building blocks! It was so wonderful to see the fruits of our initial planning - but it was even better than I had imagined it would be! I think what impressed me most was the seriousness and attention of the audience - all in white - who seemed to recognize that this was a special occasion that called for decorum. Genie and Josh - you were terrific hosts - speaking clearly and commanding the attention of some 2000 people! There was definitely a sense of community in the room; it was a real celebration of ISB and what we stand for as a school.”

“It was a really worthwhile celebration! Everything went smoothly and the ES kids really stole the show with their building blocks. The song, the dancing, the bands, and everything was just perfect! WELL DONE!”

“To one of our HS singers: AMAZ-ING job at the assembly today! You managed to inspire the entire school of ISB to sing in a round. Well done! Hope you are feeling great about it and Happy Peace Day!”

“Thank you so very much for all of your efforts dedicated to Peace Day and our lovely PK-12 celebration. Being together in one room, hearing student voices, seeing creative visuals, beautiful movement, and hearing exceptional music was such a treat. We know how much work it is to pull this off, and we greatly appreciate you!”

HS DANCE EXCHANGE Our HS Dance team recently travelled to Manila to participate in the IASAS Dance Exchange, which was packed from beginning to end with awesome and intense dance and movement workshops. Although there were so many incredible highlights over the weekend, the two that stood out the most were the two workshops that opened and closed the weekend: an Aerial Silks workshop led by AirDance Contemporary Dance Company, and a massive Zumba class

that every single student and coach to end a wonderful Exchange. in attendance participated in. There were so many rich learning For the students learning proper experiences for the dancers over Aerial Silks technique and having the weekend! Other than actualthe opportunity to actually climb, ly exploring new dance styles and hang, and fly around on them was techniques, the dancers also particunforgettable. The Zumba class ipated in new and varied warm-ups was unlike any Zumba class the and many creative movement exdancers had ever experienced. The ercises which will undoubtedly inhigh-energy dances were com- form the eventual creation of their plex and fun and the teachers had IASAS Cultural Convention piece. everyone up and bouncing around the gym - it was the perfect way Jess Levy

IASAS IASAS Recap

finals scheduled for this coming weekend (Nov. 5), the only thing we know for sure is our student-athWhat a season of sports at ISB! letes grew, improved, had fun, and We jump-started the year with the represented our school with imlargest ever Panther Run. Over mense pride. Way to go, Panthers! 200 people, young and old, joined together in health and fitness to The first season provided many catapult our cross-country teams memories, and our teams pertoward an unforgettable season. formed at their peak during There were more students trying the IASAS tournaments in Taiout for season one sports than ever pei and Jakarta. For more in before, an unrivaled spirit night, depth reporting on IASAS, and more excitement, joy, tears, we go to our varsity coaches. and fun than we could have possibly imagined. And that was all D. Quinet within the first month of school! Our Mighty Panthers first flexed their muscles at the inaugural Thailand Cross Country Invitational 2016, hosted by ISB in Kanchanaburi. Our off-road specialists set the pace and the tone for the year with their takedown of defending IASAS boys champions, the SAS Eagles, in the 5km test. ISB proved the class of the competition, finishing tops amongst twelve of the best schools from Asia, including six from China and Hong Kong. This festival of running and team bonding was an undeniable success, and we are already looking forward to the Thailand Invitational 2017! The Middle School teams excelled this season with outstanding coaching efforts and some inspired leadership from new MS Athletic Director Mark Jaspers. The younger Panthers showed immense courage and fight as they duked it out in basketball, rugby, and touch across Bangkok. With the BISAC 36

Varsity Boys Football The season was built around the technical, tactical, physical and mental which then created the environment for the players to perform, and perform they did. To echo the old cliché, “you don’t get anything without hard work,” and that is what made them champions. Everything the coaches asked of the student-athletes, they did as a team and a true ‘band of brothers’. It’s a team that wins tournaments, not egos or individuals, but a team that works together both on and off the field. No player could be singled out on our journey this year, as everyone in our squad has had a big part to play in our success during the season. The team aspect, however, runs deeper throughout our school community and has played a massive part in our preparation, en-

hancing the quality of our football program. We had amazing parents who supported us and brought healthy food after games so the muscles could repair themselves. We even had a mum who translated our emails into Japanese for the Japanese community. The mums were incredible! Thanks to Khun Boonsueb who arranged our games and was relentless and supportive. Khun Chuan and his team prepared the facilities and were very patient and very supportive throughout. The Athletics Department supported us with all of our requests. Everyone contributed in some way in this collective, championship team effort!

Our attention is often focused on that ‘hard and shiny’ end product but the wins, goals, and successes both on and off the field would not have happened without everything else. A Parent from another school community commented on our style of play, “It’s like watching ice hockey on grass.” Another parent commented on how respectful and well behaved we were as a team. The success of this season runs deep within our school community. It was a remarkable team effort, because when everything else falls into place, runs so smoothly

IASAS and peaks at the right time, there faces and you could see rockis no limit to what we can achieve! eting team morale, camaradeOnce a Panther, always a Panther. rie and a true buzz in the squad. This is why we play team sports. D. Speirs

Varsity Girls Football There is no question that sport builds character and I am pleased to announce that our Girls Varsity Soccer team demonstrat- The girls won the hearts of many ed plenty of this in Jakarta. spectators during just 60 minutes of football on that IASAS weekend! We came away from the first day A special thank you to all nine senwith no wins, no points and no iors on the team. You will be trugoals. Fortunately all IASAS cham- ly missed. Also, a special mention pionships have plenty of drama to all the parents who provided so and it never surprises me with many things throughout the seahow quickly things can change. son. The season would never of been such a success without your Early on the second morning we tireless work. From the bottom of got a convincing 1-0 win against my heart, I am truly thankful for the hosts. We followed that up with your help during the whole season. a game [against TAS] that we had been talking about for many weeks. A. Kirk If you remember - a month earlier, at the Exchange in Bangkok, TAS gave us a real lesson in playing Varsity Boys Cross football and crushed us 4-0. We knew at IASAS we had an opportuCountry nity for payback and the girls were ready for the challenge. We proISB’s fielded one of the strongest duced the best performance of the teams ever this season. The team season tactically and technically to was composed of 11 talented and play out a fully deserved 0-0 draw driven young men. Training sesagainst probably the best team at sions were grueling and sometimes the tournament. The TAS coacheven done in the ISB hallways es called the girls ‘THE GREAT as we waited out the lightning. WALL OF BANGKOK’, because they could not get through! A few Saturday morning Panther Talk about GRIT and RESILRuns served as the backbone for IENCE. The girls walked off that our competition. This accurate pitch with the smiles back on their

and flat course helped all team members set personal best times. James Pratt and Rohit Pal both broke 17 minutes over this 5km course. In mid-September, a highlight for our team was hosting all the IASAS schools plus six schools from the APAC conference at our first annual Thailand Invitational XC Race. Our boy’s team consisting of James Pratt, Jackson Carroll, Rohit Pal, Alex Wang and Julian John ran an amazing race to convincingly take the team title on this “true” cross-country course. Later in the season, the boys trounced the BISAC competition placing 8 runners in the top 10 at the season ending championships. Mid-October brought us to Tai-

pei for our final race, the IASAS championships. After such a standout performance a month earlier we certainly had a target on our backs and entered as the team to beat. The boys were challenged on the humid and very hilly course as we had hoped and were edged out by SAS over this 5km course.

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IASAS out of 12 schools but ran many personal bests on this very difficult course. As hosts to 11 schools from all over Asia, ISB was very proud of this special event.

We still had three runners claim “All-IASAS” distinctions with a 3rd place finish from Rohit Pal, 5th James Pratt and William Condra, in an unprecedented finishing kick, picked off 4 runners The BISAC race midway through over the last 100m to grab 7th. the season proved to be the girls’ most successful event. The team On the second day of the IASAS placed 2nd in the race and alcompetition, paced by seven inspir- though the course was a long 6.5 ing runs from team ISB, our Pan- km instead of 5 km, many ran thers edged out SAS for first place a faster pace than normal. Satin the 3km team time trial. This suki Omura was ISB’s first runplaced us in a tie with SAS for gold ner over the finish line followed but unfortunately, the tiebreaker by Divanie Vincent, Emily Doss went to the school with the higher and Rea Desai. The girls were finish in the 5km race. It was a sol- proud of this strong finish and id silver medal finish by the young earning a silver medal at BISAC. ISB squad. With only one graduating runner this year, Panther XC is already thinking about next year! D. Bentley

Girls Cross Country The Varsity Girls Cross Country team was a little United Nations with runners representing France, Mexico, India, The USA, Thailand, Bangladesh and Japan. The girls started the season with great enthusiasm and showed commitment that lasted right up until the end of the season. They were led by captain Sammie March, and her veteran leadership helped guide our relatively inexperienced team. Our First Annual Cross Country Invitational was a roaring success, and our girls’ team represented ISB well. We placed 9th 38

The IASAS race in Taipei was loaded with talent and the hilly course proved difficult for our runners. In spite of this challenge, the girls finished the race with smiles on their faces proud of finishing. The next day during the time trial, the girls ran with a vengeance and ended the season on a very strong note.

about becoming a lifetime runner and fitness enthusiast, and in these areas, our girls XC team was first class. We look forward to next season where we can use our experience and improve our performance. D. Giles

Varsity Boys Volleyball The ISB varsity boys’ volleyball team had a very successful 2016 season, going undefeated through our BISAC league matches and the BISAC Championship tournament. The new and young players on the team, some of who were playing volleyball for the first time at any level, gained valuable experience competing effectively against these Bangkok teams. The IASAS Exchange tournament in Singapore, in mid-September, was a good eye-opener to the level and speed of play of the other IASAS teams. We started off the weekend with victories against JIS and ISKL, but we did not have the required consistency to overcome the ability of the remaining three teams and ended up losing to TAS, SAS and ISM. Our last match of the tournament was a very hardfought 5-set match versus ISM, where the ISB boys really stepped up their level of play and proved to themselves and others that they could compete for a medal in the upcoming IASAS tournament.

While our overall finish did not earn us a medal, our girls team proved that cross country is more than gold medals and finishing first. It is about personal bests and After returning from the Exrunning to our potential. It is also change weekend with the lessons

IASAS learned from our last game vs. ISM, the Panthers entered our own ISB Friendship Tournament with a high level of confidence. After a nervous start against a strong Wells team, the boys settled down for a pretty consistent performance throughout the rest of the tournament, and were able to claim the championship trophy - going undefeated in the process.

The IASAS tournament in Taipei started off very positively, with convincing wins against JIS and ISKL, but once again we were not able to overcome the top teams at the tournament, losing to TAS, ISM and SAS in much the same way as at the Exchange. Going into IASAS we had the expectation of having to play in either the 3 vs. 6 or the 4 vs. 5 Friday night playoff games, with the winners moving on into the semifinals. We ended up ranked 4th after the round-robin, right where we expected to be, and our playoff game was against ISKL, a team that we beat rather convincingly in our opening match. However, ISKL was coming off a very good victory in their last round-robin game, so they had a lot of confidence and belief coming in to the playoff. They came out and played

one of their best games of the tournament, digging up everything we hit at them, and we did not have any answer to their unorthodox play from the middle and ended up losing to them 3 sets to 1.

result. We ended up coming 4th in the tournament after a tough loss to Taipei in the playoff game, and we are looking forward to building on that result in the coming years.

ISKL went on to win the bronze medal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; trouncing SAS in the process - and we settled for another convincing win against JIS to finish 5th at the tournament. With 5 of the 10 members on the IASAS team graduating this year, it will be left to the returning players to step up their level of play in order for us to get back into the medal round next year. We are thankful for the service of our senior players; Madison WarC. Stephenson ta, Peyton Emery, Natalie Weg, Samantha Mitchell and Jan Sirimongkolkasem and for their massive Varsity Girls Volleyball contributions to girls volleyball at ISB. We also wish to acknowledge Jordan Blumberg in her fiWe had a great season in the Var- nal year at ISB for the valuable sity Girls Volleyball this year. We contributions made and wish all had a bunch of returning players, a these girls success as they move on. couple of new additions and there was a lot of fun and learning that We look forward to welcoming happened throughout the season. back a great core group of players next season to continue what BISAC produced some good will absolutely be a fun and chalgames against other local schools lenging volleyball experience. with the highlight being our games against RIS, which were S. Barnes always fast paced and exciting. Playing against them really tested our systems and discipline executing those systems, and we learned a lot every time we played. Our IASAS tournament this year was in Taipei at TAS. We had a fabulous time and were but a few close points away from a very different

IASAS PHOTOS

MAIN LIBRARY The Main Library at ISB and its staff have hosted some amazing events this year and have loads happening in the near future. Already this year we hosted over 50 classes in the library, a visit from an alumni and leading expert on Jim Thompson. More recently we held a book sale with vendors from Asia Books and Kinokunya. During the last week of September, students and teachers exercised the rights to read during Banned Books week. We had admin, teachers and students who, 'Got Caught Reading' their favorite banned books. We did a banned book scavenger hunt with prizes for the winners and students

participated in the International Virtual Read-Out. We always have wonderful student artwork displayed as well as rotating displays of new and exciting books. We are always excited to hear about any suggestions please let us know if you have book that might fit in our library. Probably the element we are most proud of is the level research our students are now conducted. Last year e began instruction to grades 6-12 on the usage of professional databases, research evaluation and meta-analysis. Again this year we are working with teachers to further improve our student

research abilities in efforts to better prepare them for the rigors of college research. While all of the research is quite exciting some assignments really jump out as exemplars. Specifically, the Habits and Attitudes to Learning (HABL) Magazine project conducted in combination with the Library and the English department. Another is the Scientific Poster assignment in grade 10 Science Biology classes that had students conduct a meta-analysis on an ecological issue in the world. Chris Bell

ISB LIBRARY EVENTS SCHEDULE December 15th: Corey Doctorow January 19th: Ted Talks March 13th - 17th: Matt De La Pena

CHALLENGE AND ENRICHMENT Middle school students Natalie Zhu, Addison Heinecke and Carole Lefeuvre travelled to Australia in October to represent ISB and Thailand at the Tournament of Minds Australasian Pacific Finals, meeting up with former ISB student Angus Drummond for the competition. Another team member, Gabriel Espinoza-Diaz, was unfortunately unable to travel at the last minute due to illness, so the competing team was a little smaller than originally planned, making the event even more challenging. Despite being one of the youngest and least experienced teams in the secondary division, and definitely the smallest, the team rose to the challenge and produced an effective and well-executed performance during the competition, earning some very positive comments from the judges. Their creativity and tenacity was recognised with a well-deserved “Spirit of TOM”

award at the closing ceremony. Australian Outback Spectacular, which provided a dazThe ISB team competed in the zling display of Aussie cowboy Language Literature division skills, an impassioned appreof the competition, which in- ciation of the Australian landvolved developing a creative scape, and some rousing bush ten minute performance in ballads and country music. response to an open-ended challenge, in just three hours, Away from the competition, the as well as facing a five-min- team got up close and personute spontaneous challenge real with some Australian wildquiring fast divergent think- life, worked together to escape ing and excellent teamwork from a series of mind-bending and communication skills. We mazes, took an amphibious vetravelled with two other teams hicle out for a spin, shopped for also representing Team Thai- souvenirs at a local craft marland – a primary Engineering ket, and tested their nerves on Maths team from St Andrews the Sea World rollercoasters. International School, Green They also got to know their Valley, and a secondary So- fellow competitors through cial Science team from Head- some feverish pin-swapping. start International School in Phuket – and were joined by Congratulations to the whole around 700 other students team on their fantastic perforfrom around the Australa- mance and a successful trip! sian region on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Competition Selena Gallagher venues included Griffith University and Sea World, and the Final began in style at the

STUDENT SERVICES Director of Student Services

coach) maintaining appropriate boundaries, using technology appropriately, and taking action when they ISB is committed to pro- have a concern for the wellviding a safe and nurtur- being of another student. ing environment in which our student can grow and All of our students will develop to their full poten- be learning about persontial, and are protected from al safety during classroom harm. Safeguarding refers guidance, Health and Wellto the measures we take to ness classes, and/or through create a safe and nurturing Advisory over the course of environment for all of the the school year. Counselors children we come into con- in each division will be oftact with in our work, as fering workshops for parwell as the procedures we ents to learn about what will use to identify children who be taught and how to supare in need of help and pro- port these concepts at home. tection and to take action to ensure their wellbeing. Cindy Warner-Dowbrowski Every year our team provides safeguarding training in Thai and English for well over 1,000 ISB faculty, staff and associates (Epicure staff, Montri bus drivers and monitors, substitute teachers, CAO, tutors, and student teaching assistants). This year we have expanded our training to include all ISB students who work with our younger students as coaches, peer tutors, and teacher assistants.

These students learn about the expectations we have for them when they take on these positions of responsibility. They learn about managing the multiple roles and relationships they may have with younger students (e.g. family friend and swim 43

NURSE Vaccinations to Consider in Thailand Thailand is an amazing country to live in. It has many amazing places to visit and wonderfully friendly people. Unfortunately along with all the advantages there are also disadvantages. There are several diseases that occur in tropical areas which do not occur elsewhere. We should consider what we can do to prevent getting sick with these diseases. There are some that we do not have a vaccine against such as tuberculosis (the BCG vaccine does not prevent disease), malaria and dengue fever but there are others that are vaccine preventable and vaccination should be considered by those living in Thailand. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) recommend the following vaccines: Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) (2 doses)

to the disease (2 doses) ing developed against Dengue Fever. There is a vacInfluenza vaccination annu- cine that is available in ally some countries (but not in Thailand). Unfortunately Hepatitis A (2 doses at this vaccine is not effective least 6 months apart) against all strains of the virus that causes Dengue FeHepatitis B for some peo- ver so mosquito avoidance is ple (children are routine- still the advised preventative ly vaccinated against Hep- measure for Dengue Fever. atitis B now) (3 doses) There is also no vaccine Typhoid (but need frequent available for Malaria so boosters (every 2-5 years de- mosquito avoidance and pending on the vaccine) and antimalarial medications not 100% effective so need (for high risk area) are to eat and drink safe foods) the preventative measure which should be employed. Japanese Encephalitis (2 dose Further information about schedule at day 0 and day 28) these diseases are available from the Health ClinRabies (pre exposure 3 ic and Health Updates dose schedule at day 0, day are regularly published 7 and day 28 with boost- in the All School eNews. ers required post exposure (animal bite or scratch)) Sally Plomley Many of these vaccinations are included in routine childhood vaccine schedules. Influenza, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Japanese Encephalitis and Rabies are not so you should consider vaccinating yourself and your family against these.

Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (5 doses as in early childhood (DTaP), 1 does as early teenager (Tdap) and a booster With any vaccine there every 5-10 years (ADT)) are potential side effects and contraindications to Polio vaccination (4 doses) the vaccine. Please discuss these with your DocVaricella (Chickenpox) tor prior to vaccination. if no previous exposure A vaccine is currently be44

CAFETERIA Why Meatless Mondays? To those of you who frequent the Cafeteria, you may have noticed that Mondays are ‘Meatless Mondays’, which at ISB means ‘Reduced Meat’ Mondays. It has grown into a global movement since its start in 2003 and was initiated at ISB by the Green Panthers Club many years ago. So why do we do it?? Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve BOTH their health AND the health of the planet. During World War I, United States President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation calling for every Tuesday to be meatless and for one meatless meal to be observed each day, for a total of nine meatless meals every week. The United States Food Administration (USFA) urged families to reduce consumption of key staples to help the war effort and avoid rationing. Conserving food would support U.S. troops as well as feed populations in Europe where food production and distribution had been disrupted by war. To encourage voluntary rationing, the USFA created the slogan “Food Will Win the War” and coined the

terms “Meatless Tuesday” health, animal health, our and “Wheatless Wednesday”. soil, our water, and our forests, to name a few. Earth The campaign returned with Week focus of April 2016 the onset of World War II, was on this and was shown calling upon women on the in more detail from the dochome front to play a role umentary “Cowspiracy”. in supporting the war effort. During this time, meat At the Cafeteria we are inwas being rationed, along creasingly aware of the imwith other commodities portant role we have in prolike sugar and gasoline. moting a better practice in the areas of our nutrition, Meatless Monday was re- our planet, and mass meat started in 2003 as a public production. We invite all our health awareness program diners to enjoy ‘less’ meat, noting the huge negative ef- and explore the wonderfects of mass meat produc- ful abundance of non- meat tion on current problems of menus available. We enclimate change and on hu- courage all readers to find man health. Meatless Mon- out more. With your supday is a non-profit initiative port, we hope to create an of The Monday Campaigns environment of good nutriInc. in association with the tion AND a healthy planet. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (The facts from above are Center for a Livable Future, in large part taken directly founded by marketing pro- from Wikipedia. Thank you.) fessional Sid Lerner. Healthy Monday encourages people Michelle Mueller Ihrig to make healthier decisions at the start of every week. Other Healthy Monday campaigns include: The Kids Cook Monday, Monday 2000, Quit and Stay Quit Monday, Move it Monday, The Monday Mile, and others. At ISB, we have taken Meatless Mondays one step further by reducing the overall offering of pork and beef dishes throughout the week. Mass production, especially of these two items, has a large impact on our 45