Middle School’s Year Community

By: Dennis Harter, MS Principal

As we near the end of the 2022-23 school year, we find ourselves reflecting back on the year that’s been, the learning experiences we’ve had, and the community we’ve built. Looking back to August, we remember starting the year with some COVID restrictions still in place, yet now they seem a distant memory. As we returned to “normalcy” this year, we were able to get back to the key elements of our Middle School program - so many of which we were only able to do partially in recent years. It’s been terrific to celebrate the Middle School’s commitment to learning, creativity, and compassion, throughout the year.

As we’ve visited classrooms this year it’s been wonderful to see students fully engaged in coursework again, collaborating on problems, discussing issues, and grappling with challenging ideas. Science classes have returned fully to inquiry through hands-on experiments, engineering and coding through robotics work, and further development of the scientific method. Popping in on mathematics classes we see students regularly collaborating on complex problem solving as they discuss and develop their conceptual understanding. In English and Social Studies classes, students make sense of the world, the human condition, and the craft of writing and communicating, while growing as readers. Equally important, it was terrific to see our students active and together again for a whole year, engaging in PE-Wellness learning that taught teamwork, build coordination and stamina, and developed fitness and overall well-being.

Students have also had opportunities to develop in ISB’s Attributes, as well, including Global Citizenship, Social-Intelligence, and Creativity. In our most “normal” year since the pandemic began, students shared spaces, collaborated in class projects and discussions, and gathered again fully in assemblies and fun spirit events. Activity clubs became active again kicking off with a bang at the start of the year with our biggest Club Fair ever. Middle School Model United Nations participated in two conferences (one hosted at ISB) with many honorable mentions and best delegate awards.

Eleven ISB MS students participated in the World Scholar’s Cup, earning many medals among a Bangkok round of over 400 students. Our art exhibits and theater performances were back in front of packed audiences, with amazing concerts in choir, band, and orchestra and Charlie Brown the Musical showcasing our student-actors’ talents. It’s been a real showcase of talent and creativity throughout the year in middle school..

It has also been a year of compassion and service to others this year. With the club fair showcasing our various service initiatives, we had students giving of their time and efforts to enrich the communities around them.

Students collected items for iCare, sponsored school events for pet adoption, raised environmental awareness, participated in service-minded conferences, and engaged in eco- and grade 7-trips focused on Thailand’s environmental and human needs. Students connected with local sustainable farmers, organizations that protected wild elephants, and became shark Ambassadors just to name a few. Students took these learning experiences and developed Action Plans for sustainable service, showcased at the G7 Action Fair on May 19th.

It has been a full year, including so much of the learning we value for our students. Middle School is a time of learning experiences, developing passion and interests, and contributing to the wider good. We are proud of our MS students and teachers for their dedication to the commitment of enriching communities and we are so incredibly grateful to have been able to provide such rich learning experiences.

“Usually, I’m a nervous person who begins doubting themself before giving a presentation, but I felt more confident at this concert than I’ve ever felt before.”