ISB BOOSTERCoee Couny

By: Heather McCain, President

The ISB Booster Club is made up of a passionate group of parents and community members who come together to raise funds, organize events, and create a sense of community spirit around the school’s athletics and arts and activities to support and promote the students. The Booster Club’s connection to the community is an important one, and it plays a vital role in connecting our students and promoting pride in the International School Bangkok.

The ISB Booster Club is connected to the community through events and fundraising efforts. By organizing events like the Pancake Breakfast, participating in Spirit Night, and designing and selling Spirit Gear; the Booster Club is able to raise money that goes directly towards supporting and celebrating our student’s participation in athletics and the arts and activities. This creates a sense of school pride, community involvement and investment in our school’s success. Sponsoring our students’ participation in end of season banquets and awarding the Spirit of ISB awards bring together students, parents, and community members to celebrate our students’ achievements. These events not only create a fun and festive atmosphere, but they also foster a sense of pride and school spirit. This can be seen through the club’s efforts to create merchandise like t-shirts, hats, and banners that showcase the school’s colors and logo. By wearing and displaying these items, students, parents, and community members are able to show their support for the school’s teams and create a sense of unity around a common goal.

One of the ways that the Booster Club has been able to enhance its impact is by collaborating with student groups. By working together, the Booster Club and student groups can create a stronger and more cohesive community around the school’s student groups. In addition to facilitating custom t-shirt orders for student clubs and organizations, the Booster Hut has partnered with student groups and local organizations to facilitate their own fundraising efforts. Currently, our community can purchase reusable canvas shopping bags from the Booster Hut to support the student club, the Green Panthers. The Green Panthers are raising money for the organization, One Tree Planted. The Booster Club is proud to support their efforts for this worthwhile cause.

Overall, the Booster Club’s connection to the community is an important one. By raising funds, organizing events, and promoting school spirit, the club is able to bring people together and create a sense of community pride and investment in the school’s success. Whether you’re a student, a parent, or a community member, there are many ways to get involved with your local Booster Club and help support our students.

By: Kelley McKenna + MS student contributors

There is something special about the afternoons at ISB. Classes might be over, but learning certainly isn’t done. Slowly the breezeway fills with laughter and noise as athletes make their way to the gym. The bleachers fill with backpacks as athletes chat with each other while getting ready to step on the field. The pool deck is a meeting ground for athletes of all ages, greeting each other before they start their workouts. There is an energy in those minutes before training and games begin, one that’s filled with the joy of being with teammates and anticipation of the sessions ahead.

Practice begins and you will find athletes… on the field, practicing passing in the pool, counting laps on the court, practicing serves around the campus, running tempo at the course, lining up their putts in the gym, running sprints working hard to become better together.

Better together. Two words that carry so much meaning. Together our athletes work to be the most competitive they can be. They work on their areas of weakness, they build each other up and learn to play as a team.

Together our athletes navigate life lessons on and off the field. How do we win with humility, how do we lose with grace? What does it mean to be committed and how do my actions impact those of others? What does it mean to put “we” before “me”? How do we live out our values in our daily lives?

Together, we become better, as athletes and as members of our ISB community.

In the words of one of our student athletes, “being a part of sports at ISB has really changed me as a person because believe it or not I used to be a very quiet kid at school and I was also alone for most of the time until I joined swimming. Once I did I was able to build so many friendships that I still have years later and along those years I tried many other sports bringing me closer to a lot of people and it making me or more openminded person and also just a great person in general since it really helped me step outside of the box that lead to many other great things.”

This year, we’ve seen record numbers of students joining our scholastic sports program. During each of the first three seasons of the year, we had around 480 athletes involved in our U11, U12, U14, JV & Varsity programs. That’s over 1,000 students who might build new friendships and gain confidence from being a part of a team.

Another student athlete told me that “Being involved with sports has enhanced my experience at ISB because it invites you to come out and become more involved with the activities whether that is something you are continuing to do or something that you are going to try out. Being involved with sports has been making me a better person by the minute because I am able to connect way more with others about the same interests.”

Providing athletes with opportunities to challenge and develop in sports is what our program strives to do. With 53% of our ES students, 64% of our MS students and 55% of our HS students participating in one of our 14 sports on offer, we believe that our robust athletics program has something for everyone.

They are our U11 athletes, putting on their Panther jersey for the first time. They are our U12, U14, and JV athletes competing in their season-ending BMAC tournaments against schools from around Bangkok. They are our Varsity athletes representing ISB at their international IASAS competitions.

They are our athletes, they are Panthers, they are ISB and we are better together.