TOUCHSTONE A PTA Publication Issue 2 / 2019-2020
“Some days you just have to create your own Sunshine”
PTA President
Booster Club
ISB Board of Trustees
Selma Benmoussa
Chantal Bremner
President
Chairman
Vice President
Teresa Caravelli
Vice President & Spirit Coordinator
Maria Van Zant / Ginny Condra
Vice-Chairman
IFF Coordinator
Secretary & Communications
Treasurer
Black & Gold Ball Coordinator
Treasurer
Secretary
Sponsorship Coordinator
Academics, Arts & Activities Coordinators
Board Member
Athletics Coordinators
Board Member
Secretary
Banquets Coordinator
Board Member
Treasurer
Booster Hut Coordinator
Board Member
ES Co-Coordinators
Purchasing Coordinator
Board Member
MS Co-Coordinators
Middle School Liaison
Board Member
HS Co-Coordinators
Elementary School Liaison
Board Member
Junior Varsity Athletics Liaison
Board Member
Recognitions Coordinators
Board Member
Clare Chen / Bettina Bremsteller Bettina Bremsteller Ying Preyamon Adult Ed Coordinator
Amy Patel / Vartika Bawa Pooja Revanur Tommi Jayaraman Gayatrika Gupta / Moneesha Kapur
Ferda Sayhan / Kelly Kabat Elinna Bahrin / Ginny Condra Communication Coordinator
Kandes Tobin
Hospitality Coordinators
Supalak Chairoj Unchun Vivithkunaporn
Liz Garrigan
Elinna Bahrin
Vartika Bawa / Kelly Mott / Susan Bu
Torill Olufsen / Carolina Bulow Jingbo Du
Amber Moore Karen Leung
Heather Clary
Jennifer Zwierynski Rose Holske
Wendy Wilson / Tiffany Romasanta
Meredith Page
Host Country Reps
Mary Ann Banker / Meredith Page
Lost and Found
Heather Clary / Ynna Millana
Popcorn Coordinators
Wayne Skaggs / Rosemarie Bender
Dr. Navandr Chevangkul
Natalie Lollback
Dr. Henrietta Bullinger Andy Chan Andy Richter Dr. Prathip Chiaravanond Soravit Chairoj Ira Blumenthal Juniper Neill
Gurdist “Chan� Chansrichawla Tim Bulow
John Heinecke
Christopher Helmkamp Phantipha Thongchindavong
Panther Pops Coordinator
Welcome Wai Coordinators
Tomo Saita / Mayuko Mibu / Yukiko Oguchi
Janewit Kraprayoon
Pancake Breakfast Coordinators Friday Marketplace Coordinators Booster Club Committees
Kathleen Mulhauser / Emi Tokai Storage
Pooja Revanur Touchstone
Gunjan Mullick
Touchstone Team
Contributors
Chief Editor
Gunjan Mullick, Dr. Andrew Davies, Jennifer DeLashmutt, Chantal Bremner, Bettina Bremsteller,
Gunjan Mullick Elementary School
Gunjan Mullick Middle School
Gunjan Mullick High School
Cassandra Waters Art & Activities / Community / Booster
Tomo Saita, Mayuko Mibu, Yukiko Oguchi, Trista Meisner, Joanna Husack Miho Yamaguchi, Lucas Rivera Andy Marshall Rie Atagi Thomas Myers Adrianna Gricius, Yukiko Saito, Anthony Giles, Phil Walther, Matt Piercy, Kelly Armitage, Sarah Fleming, Johanna Nichols, Rika Gupta, Moneesha Kapur, Angela Wong, Nate Bailey, Nat Whitman, Dennis Harter, Iwan Meaker, Melinda Kehe, Maggie Hagen, Aryana Raj, Justin Alexander, Andy Vaughan, Jaleea Price, Plengrhambhai Kruesopon, Sarah Steward, Jacob Ortwein, Pinkie Temcharoen, Jenna Jokhani, James Chie, Sara Khan, Derrick Quinet, Mark Jaspers, Torill Haga Olufsen, Vaanya Kapur, Yuya Tokai, Elinna Bahrin
Shoshi Brod, Laura Dodge
Graphic Designer / Social Media Coordinator
Emi Tokai
Cover Credit
Nutdanai Pongnikorn This publication has been designed using resources from freepik.com, pngtree.com, rawpixel.com and KeepCalmAndPosters.com. Published by the PTA of the International School Bangkok, the TOUCHSTONE is delivered free of charge to all ISB families. It is written, compiled, edited and distributed by all volunteer staff. Your input is welcomed.
CONTENTS
Notes from the Editorial Team 02 Spread Love not Virus!
Leadership 04 ISB Connects in Silicon Valley 05 Podcasting at ISB: Making Learning Connections
Booster Club
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Get Involved with the Booster Club!
PTA 08 ISB PTA GREAT GATSBY GALA 14 International Family Fair 2020 20 Come and Join Welcome Wai Events! 21 PTA Grants Community 22 Art Studio Saturday / Chinese New Year - The Year of the Rat! 23 Oh Canada! / Welcome Back Coffee 24 TriKids 26 Bangkok International Choral Festival 27 Choral Union 28 ISB Band Holiday Concert 29 String Bash 30 The Young Americans return to ISB! 31 Design, Fine and Performing Arts at ISB 32 ISB Life Scout Helps Local Orphanage 33 Hope for the Elephants Elementary School 34 ISB Learner Attributes in Our Learning Spaces 36 Word Study 37 Sound Sculpture 38 Intercultural Day: Connecting Cultures through the Arts 42 “Festival of Lights” Concert 43 Maker Culture On the Rise in the ES! 44 Elementary School Library 45 The Books
Middle School 46 47 48
Side A of the Mixtape has been a great one The ISB Design Cycle MS Olympics 2019 Hosted by Thailand
Main Library 50 Dystopian Literature 51 A Sample of Dystopian Literature from the Main Library 55 The Mother-Daughter Book Club High School 56 Principal’s Principles 57 GCW -A Week of Adaptability! 64 AMIS Honor Jazz Festival 2019- London, England 65 IASAS Dance - Winning Challenges in Creative Projects 66 Two Billion Kilometers to Safety 67 HS Astronomy Club / Steel Panthers Robotics Win Thailand Tournaments 68 ISB Women in STEM 69 High School House Council / Junior Special Olympics 70 Beyond the Grade / PantherNation
Sports 72 76 78
Season Two U11-U15 BISAC Sports ISB Panthers Gymnastics
Travelogue 80 My Adventures at the Khao Yai National Park 81 Phuket Airport 82 “Anyeong Haseyo Seoul”
Gastronomy 84
Starting with the Basics
⁕ Kindly note due to the current healthcare crisis, most of the events scheduled during the upcoming months have been cancelled or put on hold. We regret the inconvenience. TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
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Chief Editor’s Note
Spread Love not Virus!
Gunjan Mullick, Chief Editor Leadership / ES / MS / PTA / Sports / Travelogue / Native Language / Gastronomy Editor I’ve been thinking all week about what to write for my column. I could easily name several disastrous events happening in our world right now off the top of my head. There’s the blockades, the coronavirus, the polarizing topic of climate change, and the list could go on! What came to mind was “stability.” For good or bad, the common thing people look for is stability. Even if things aren’t great, sometimes people prefer that to rapid progress, as it can leave one feeling they are on a roller coaster, without being given a chance to either catch their breath or ascertain if they’re up or down. Truth be told, it has been one such ride! A time of fear and confusion spreading over weeks where we are inundated daily with reports about the deadly novel coronavirus respiratory disease. While some of the unscrupulous have taken advantage of this unsettling environment to spread fake news, prejudice and racism on social media, there are those who have stepped up, and so far cool heads have prevailed. The government has provided consistent updates to keep the public informed. Medical specialists shared their knowledge by giving advice on how to avoid infection and debunking myths and rumours on social media. People have also called out fear-mongering and false information. The brave personnel on the medical and security frontline have tirelessly slogged to ensure all are safe. This is not all: charity expanded! Every day, ordinary citizens did extraordinary acts of compassion to those in need. Among many, there was a rise in awareness and a concerted effort for positive action. It is a testament to how within adversity, love and compassion can still flourish. During such times, ISB was posed with insurmountable challenges! Hosting the annual IFF celebrations, rescheduling and formatting the much awaited GCW trips, ensuring proper precautions are in place for our community and doing everything possible to maintain quality learning and care. Painstakingly they have struck a balance between ensuring safety amidst the outbreak and still keeping to the various cultural values and practices, our community is famous for. During these gatherings, we saw the elements that make us one, shine through – a sense of warmth, stability as various families rallied together to celebrate IFF, each other and the school spirit. Our heartfelt gratitude to the ISB administrators, faculty members and staff for their consistent efforts in providing stability and knowledge when the whole world seems to be spinning around us. We are acutely aware of your role in making ISB a safe and healthy environment for us all and we take this opportunity to thank you profusely, for the same. A quick note to say “thank you” to our readers and contributors as well, for your incredible support and kindness. Publishing a magazine can be rewarding, but it can also be difficult. Besides the satisfaction of providing the community where we live and work with a steady stream of “Good news always, mailed and delivered free, every time,” we are immensely appreciative of the sheer gratitude you have sent our way. To do one’s work, and serve the community in the capacity we do, is a fulfilling opportunity… one that makes a difference. Please know that when you take the time to listen, peruse and contribute, you make it worth the ride. I pray you “Keep calm and Carry On!” 2
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Chief Editor’s Note
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Leadership
ISB Connects in Silicon Valley Dr. Andrew Davies, Head of School
Every other fall, the Nueva School hosts the Innovative Learning Conference (ILC) and forward thinking educators from around the world descend upon the San Francisco Bay area to discuss innovations in our field and plan for the kind of education our students need both in the present and the future.
was so beautifully evident in observations and conversations that the bond between our ISB students is steadfast and enduring. It brought me great joy watching these former students we have launched into the world, who will always have such a strong ISB connection. A true testament to the idea “once a Panther, always a Panther�.
Given the distance we travel, we do our best to capitalise on the opportunity to visit exceptional schools in the area, catch up with our alumni and meet with admissions teams from colleges and universities. Last October, I had the privilege of such a comprehensive learning visit, accompanied by our Director of Curriculum & Professional Learning, Jennifer Delashmutt, and our Director of Technology, Chad Bates.
Our team was able to not only connect with our ISB alumni in San Francisco, but engage with other PK-12 schools in the Silicon Valley. Getting to know what the hot topics are at their faculty meetings, what they are researching, how they are being innovative are all ways that we can build a network of learning communities that span across the globe. We met with the team at New Tech High, a public high school that is grounded in project-based learning (PBL). Project based learning focuses on meaningful, authentic application of learning. We visited an all girls secondary school near Stanford where faculty were inquiring into the integration of units with the maker spaces. Stanford University is the home of the Stanford d. School, where design thinking was born. Here I am with the iconic Stanford d. School red van!
Our college and university tours included UC Berkeley, California College of the Arts, University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University and Stanford University in the San Francisco area. Here we met with the admissions teams, discussed our various programs at ISB, our talented students and faculty, and learned more about admissions trends at each institution. What are enrollment projections? What are specific colleges looking for in the application process? How can we continue to nurture our relationships with colleges and universities as a leading international school? How can we best support our students in the admissions process? I intentionally visit colleges and universities to build upon the relationships that our knowledgeable and extremely experienced college counselors at ISB do so well. I appreciate the college and university admissions perspective for my own learning. Additionally, I was in the Pacific Northwest over the subsequent fall holiday and toured the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia. Again, the admissions teams at these schools consistently affirmed the quality of our students, counselors and program at ISB. A real highlight was treating 10 former ISB students to lunch at UBC. Boy did they eat! Back in San Francisco, we had the privilege to host over 30 ISB alumni with graduates from the classes of 1992-2019 in attendance. It
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Culminating our connections in Silicon Valley visit was the Innovative Learning Conference at The Nueva School. Workshops were facilitated by professors from MIT and Stanford, including Jo Boaler, who is a leading expert on the neurology behind how we learn mathematics. Another conference presenter was author, Rosalind Wiseman. She wrote the books, Masterminds and Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends and the New Rules of Boy World, and Queen Bees and Wannabees, which was the basis of the movie, Mean Girls. Rosalind will be facilitating a weekend workshop, Cultures of Dignity, in March in Laos, where we will have members of the ISB team attending and building more connections. As I reflect on this visit to North America, I continue to be inspired by the feedback from college admissions teams, and our ISB alumni regarding how well prepared for tertiary education our students are and how they showcase our ISB values and attributes in a variety of contexts both in and out of school.
Leadership
Podcasting at ISB: Making Learning Connections Jennifer DeLashmutt, Director of Curriculum and Professional Learning
Podcasts. Podcasting. Noun or verb form, what are we talking about? Podcasts are a way to build connections with an audience with long form content. Social media forums such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram facilitate sporadic connections through often disrupted content. An appropriate analogy would be: Books are to audio books as blogs are to podcasts. Conveniently, you can listen to podcasts while driving, exercising or preparing a meal in the kitchen. Podcasts are typically created to generate a buzz around a concept or business venture, share an important message and hopefully have fun. They have a variety of formats including an interview with a single host or an interview panel, scripted non-fiction based on a single theme, news summaries within a specific industry, educational podcasts, such as the TED Radio Hour, and even scripted fiction. Our ISB podcasting studio is located on the top floor of the MS/ HS Library. Mr. Michael Boll, our Middle School and High School Technology Learning Coach, was instrumental in creating this learning space. Mr. Boll got into podcasting in order to research and locate autism support networks when his son was diagnosed and discovered he could connect with others from all over the world. “At my last school we created our own educational technology podcast which was a round table discussion around an article we read.” The audience was not only inside the school, but their podcasts were shared with the global educational technology community. This created a professional learning network that had no borders. Currently, we have both student and adult learners who are using the podcasting studio. When students are creating podcasts, interviewing for a podcast or even being interviewed, Mr. Boll shares with all podcasters in the studio that as a podcaster, your audience is expecting you to represent them. “As soon as you turn on the microphone, people change. There is a formality that comes with a recording and an authentic audience.” We believe that the
ability to tell a compelling story in any genre, will be one of the foundational skills that we can provide for our students. Podcasting is a way for us to create a story-telling experience. Teachers and students need to be content artisans. Artists who can creatively shape content and concepts into compelling information products. It isn’t as much about the skill of podcasting, as it is the how and the artistry of communicating. The Learning Design Center (LDC) will be spending lots of quality time in the ISB Podcasting studio! In order to connect our community and provide a variety of parent education opportunities, we will be interviewing each of our visiting consultants and creating podcasts made available for our faculty and parent community. If you cannot make it to a coffee, workshop or evening session at ISB, we will be podcasting in order to embrace another pathway for communication and connection within our ISB learning community. Please be on the lookout in our divisional newsletters and our ISB social media pages for links to podcasts featuring consultants, faculty and administrator panels, and students!
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Booster Club
Get Involved with the Booster Club! Chantal Bremner, Booster Club President
At the end of this school year, the Booster Club will see a huge turnover with current board members leaving ISB due to moves and graduating students, leaving many positions open. It has been an honour for me to be a part of such a spectacular team of volunteers. Promoting school spirit and cheering on our students in activities across all schools is the best part of my day. Ever considered being on the Booster Club Board? All things amazing the Booster Club does at ISB: The Spirit Tent: Spirit Nights are held three times a year and are a fun-filled evening for the entire family, providing a wonderful opportunity to watch our fine High School athletes in action. The Spirit Tent can also be found during Invitationals and Tournaments played at ISB throughout the year and all IASAS events hosted at ISB! Panther Pops: Sold monthly (and highly sought after) our “cookies on a stick,” made from our ‘secret recipe,’ are famous here at ISB. Pancake Breakfast: This annual fundraiser has been a part of ISB for two decades. Enjoy a sit down breakfast with your family, served to you by Booster volunteers with the fantastic support of the Girl & Boy Scouts in our community. Recognition: Recognition boards are updated with photos as the Arts & Activities, and Athletics at ISB unfold over the year. A newer service Booster provides is the design, creation and branding of team shirts. Students at ISB are ‘hungry’ for these special shirts giving them team identity and the chance to show their panther pride. Booster Hut: Booster Hut sells a wide selection of school spirit items, such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, cups, and stickers. These however are only a few from our ever expansing product list. The Hut, now open daily, is parent-run and staffed by volunteers. All items at the Booster Hut are created and designed by Boosters! Booster raises funds to support ISB student activities while providing a fun opportunity for community involvement. Funds raised by Booster support various activities across all schools: IASAS: ISB is a member of the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS), which comprise of six private schools in the region that organize interscholastic sports, artistic and cultural competition and events. Booster provides hospitality 6
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for visiting coaches and parents at IASAS events, such as by sponsoring an IASAS luncheon and presenting athletes and attending conference students with IASAS gifts. Award Banquets, Ceremonies, Celebrations and Bashes: Booster helps to organize end-of-semester events for a variety of Arts & Activities programs, including Cultural Convention, Model UN, Music, Dance, Art & Film, and each sport season at the High School Level. Booster also plans Middle School and Elementary School sports parties, celebrating the hard work and accomplishments of students, coaches and advisors at all levels! HS graduation: Flower garlands and senior gifts are presented to the graduating class as a small keepsake of their time here at ISB. Grants: Over the years, Booster has been able to grant funds for the purchase of items such as sound systems in the cafeterias and fields, athletic and theatre equipment, shade tents to be used during outdoor activities and the iconic bronze panther at the front of the school. As we count down towards the end of the 2020 school year, watch for volunteer opportunities and sign up for a shift or two at the Spirit Tent and Booster Hut. Everyone in the ISB community is welcome! No experience is necessary! Boosters are leaders in school spirit! Please drop me an email (booster-president@isb. ac.th) if you would like to learn more about becoming a member of the ISB Booster Board! Go Panthers! Go ISB!
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PTA
ISB PTA GREAT GATSBY GALA Bettina Bremsteller, Gala Coordinator
On Saturday, December 7, 2019, ISB PTA hosted a gala night as one of its largest fundraising endeavors of the school year. The gala was a celebration of community, offered to ISB parents, staff, alumni and esteemed partners and friends. The prior year’s event, “Black and Gold Ball,” was the return of the gala to ISB PTA after over a decade. And it was indeed an amazing, formal evening. How could an event to follow ever measure up? Enter, The Great Gatsby Gala! The Great Gatsby Gala theme presented a lively evening with intrigue and appeal. Inspired by the iconic novel, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and set in the 1920’s, vivacious guests arrived dressed as flappers and gents in dazzling attire symbolic of the era. In keeping with the spirit of the Age of Jazz and Speakeasies, guests were welcomed by a fantastic jazz trio playing amidst a lounge that offered specialty cocktails reminiscent of the time. The event also featured ISB’s talented student performers. ISB’s accomplished Jazz Band opened the beautifully adorned ballroom, and entertained its audience with incredible music and song. Guests were treated to an evening of lively banter from the renowned masters of ceremony, Bob Nattee Kosolpisit and Ning Saraichatt. The duo took guests through expertly coordinated raffles offering amazing prizes, live auctions for remarkable artwork, and even a best-dressed contest. Finally, all the fun culminated in a night of dance to the fabulous tunes of The Boss Band. Guests danced and strutted on the dance floor until the final hours of the night. What a spectacular party! Amari Watergate Hotel was the locale for this fabulous evening. A wonderful property replete with experience in holding large events,
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it is truly a venue worthy of its accolades. The menu arranged to compliment the theme was delicious, the service was superb, and the support of hotel staff and management was superior, truly a dream for any event planner. The ISB PTA works with purpose throughout each year to raise funds, as it is a self-supporting body. Run entirely by dedicated volunteers, in cooperation with ISB and all the communities it serves, the PTA proudly supports numerous activities year after year that enhance the experiences of ISB students and families. ISB PTA committed, via the Great Gatsby Gala, to contribute to the work of Service in the Wild. Service in the Wild is a project of After the Wave Foundation, an organization formed by ISB teachers in response to the devastation of the region caused by the 2004 tsunami. After the Wave’s charitable efforts support students challenged by poverty, ensuring success from elementary through university by providing fundamental necessities that would otherwise be unobtainable. Through the success of The Great Gatsby Gala, ISB PTA were very pleased to donate 200,000 baht to benefit students of Nongya Plong village, which is a special project focus of Service in the Wild. The Great Gatsby Gala was a fabulous success. ISB PTA offers its deepest gratitude for the overwhelming generosity of its prestigious sponsors, without whom this event would have no life. ISB PTA is extremely grateful for these partnerships forged through its charitable activities. Finally, an enormous note of appreciation goes to the PTA Gala Committee, and all the ISB departments engaged to make this event successful. The tremendous work involved by all to ensure an impressive night for ISB parents, staff, alumni, and sponsors resulted in great fun, great memories, and a roaring good time!
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International Family Fair 2020 Bettina Bremsteller, IFF Coordinator
February 8, 2020 witnessed an ISB PTA annual tradition and the biggest family bash of the school year! The International Family Fair (IFF) is a collaboration of countless factors: volunteer groups, teams of ISB departments, neighbors and a consortium of country communities, all with the goal to deliver a celebration of fellowship and friendship, a cornerstone of the ISB Community in Nichada Thani. The name of the game is Family Fun. As IFF promises, interests for everyone in the family are proudly addressed with a myriad of games for all ages, shopping in a lovely marketplace, entertainment, song and dance (performed at the newly built amphitheatre) by the fantastic Bollywood Belles, amazing Chinese, Thai, and Korean cultural movement, and high school and teacher performances. The afternoon rounded out with the fine and performing arts council hour, showcasing our young volunteer singers who beautifully sang “We Are the World.” High school charity clubs also put on a great offering and hosted games and activities for bigger kids. The Thai PTA gloriously partnered to offer an amazing and lively Lucky Draw section bringing even more festivity and fun to a great afternoon. IFF is all about fun, but even more so about experiencing our diverse international composition. What a marvelous way of sharing this fortunate reality by partaking in delicious fare prepared by 21 cultural communities who served from booths that boasted delectables of each countries’ homeland cuisine. Raffles and country baskets are wonderful aspects, and staples of IFF that contribute interest and cheerful competition to this delightful event. Beautiful baskets organized by our fantastic country communities, were on full display further celebrating cultures representative of each country, to be bid on through silent auction. And as expected, a great array of raffle prizes were won by many!
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ISB PTA is proud to partner with our wonderful sponsors. Without these strong and reliable bonds, our largest event could not be successful. ISB PTA is deeply and ever grateful for the generous support of its sponsors who gifted funds and quality prizes for IFF’s spectacular raffles. It was a great afternoon indeed! The incredible attention to detail coordinated by the persistence and hard work of the IFF Committee that was, until the very last day, adjusting to demands and changes presented by challenging global circumstances, was a true testament of an amazing PTA body. All led by a veteran of IFF celebrations, Committee Chair Clare Chen, who with her indepth understanding of this awesome event, assembled a fantastic committee, that in turn pulled off this fabulous afternoon altogether. The IFF team worked relentlessly with its invaluable partners in ISB Administration, Safety & Security, B&G, Community Activities Organization, PTA country representatives, and ISB student clubs. With amazing success, IFF raised funds for ISB PTA’s tremendous work benefiting ISB students and families with its countless offerings. Congratulations for a job well done! IFF Committee: Clare Chen, Chair Bettina Bremsteller, Co-chair Selma Benmoussa, PTA President Emi Tokai, Graphic Natalie Lollback, Maria van Zandt, Ginny Condra, Raffles Teresa Caravelli, 1st Vice President - Country Reps Dunke Tostevin, IFF Treasurer Djamilia Durao, Vendors Coordinator
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Come and Join Welcome Wai Events!
Tomo Saita, Mayuko Mibu and Yukiko Oguchi, Welcome Wai Coordinators
PTA Welcome Wai organised a social coffee event at Sweet Poppy cafe on November 27th. We were very happy to meet 35 participants not only from Nichada but also from downtown in such a warm and cozy environment. At this event we set a table aside to allow little siblings (hopefully future ISB preschoolers) to enjoy themselves making Christmas cards in addition to frolicking in the playground. Thanks to the active participation of community members, interesting conversations, aided by invigorating coffee and snacks, the event was a huge success. On January 13th, we also hosted “Welcome Back Coffee” to welcome new and returning families, to our first event of 2020. PTA president Selma Benmoussa, Board members and Heads of school introduced themselves to its participants. We take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Andrew Davis, the Principals, Country Reps, important communities like “Booster Club,” “After The Boxes,” and “Bumble Bee Library,” for their continued support. We also wish to extend a warm welcome to our new arrivals and hope to see them actively involved at ISB. Our next Welcome Wai event is scheduled for April 2020, details of which will be announced in forthcoming PTA eNews. Look forward to meeting you all again!
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PTA Grant
HS Student Technology Council, VR Team
In the last semester, the VR team at HS Technology Council received a grant from the PTA. This allowed us to purchase a variety of VR headsets and evaluate which headset would be the most beneficial in enhancing the educational experience at ISB. The council decided on two different VR systems, and we now have devices sufficient for several simultaneous classes. These headsets aim to aid in the methods that we educate at ISB and revolutionize the way that visual learning is presented.
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Community
Art Studio Saturday Trista Meisner, MS Art Teacher
February 1st was a day of inspired creation for the participants of Art Studio Saturday (ArtSS). Three studios were open and participants were able to create photographic salt prints, glaze raku-fired ceramics, and delve into metallic mixed-media. Walking through the studios one could hear the chatter of exciting discoveries, see the furrowed brows of intense problem solving, feel the contrast of glazes recently pulled from the kiln, smell the char of rice husks used in raku firing, and sense the genuine joy and camaraderie that is sparked by collaboration and creativity. ArtSS is hosted by the ISB Visual Arts department and supported by the PTA and Boosters.
Chinese New Year - The Year of the Rat! Joanna Husack, Chinese Community Rep
It is the year of the rat, the first animal in the Chinese zodiac. There is an interesting story told within the Chinese culture, where the Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 animals to guard his Heavenly Gates and would select their rank by when they entered the gate. The Rat was an early riser and on the way to the Heavenly Gates encountered a river. While waiting, the rat noticed an Ox about to cross the river so it quickly jumped into its ear (the ox wasn’t bothered), and they crossed the river and made their way to the Heavenly Gates. Before the Ox was about to cross the finish line, the Rat jumped down and raced ahead to win first place. Although the Rat may have a tarnished image, in Chinese culture the Rat symbolizes strong vitality and intelligence/quick wittedness. The Rat is also associated with the Earthly Branch (地 支—dì zhī) Zi (子) and the midnight hours. In terms of yin and yang (阴阳—yīn yáng), the Rat is yang and represents the beginning of a new day.
Every year, the Chinese Community holds an annual Food Fair at ISB. The fair allows the wider community to experience traditional Chinese food and participate in the New Year celebrations. The event this year was very successful, with more than 50 volunteers providing a range of traditional dishes (ranging from deep-fried dumplings to bubble tea) for the community to experience. We would like to thank the ISB Community for the strong attendance and excellent feedback we have received. The ISB Chinese Community is committed to sharing its culture while also experiencing & learning about other cultures, which make up the diverse ISB community. 22
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Community
Oh Canada!
Chantal Bremner, Canada Community Rep
Oh Canada! Four years! It’s been four years and I wouldn’t change a thing. Poutine and Beaver tails…that’s what I was told was served at the Canada Booth for IFF so that’s what I continued to do. Year after year, it never got old. “What’s a Beaver Tail?” “Poutine or Pouteen (as it’s pronounced here by many)… what could that possibly be?” Every year, we had a queue and people asking if we were ready to serve before it was time and it was worth every minute, because it is always a hit. Now, Canada may have many other scrumptious options to choose from, but why waiver? What could be better than a fried flat piece of fluffy on the inside, crunchy on the outside, covered in cinnamon and sugar served hot deliciousness? NOTHING! Well, maybe, just maybe, ‘La Piece de la Resistance’ - the must try fries, cheese and gravy. But not just any gravy, a special gravy brought back every year directly from Quebec. The only way to make it I guess. Well, if you ask me anyway! Nothing happens unless you have a team and I have to thank each and every Canadian out there who has helped make this Booth possible during my time as the PTA-Canada Rep. My last child is set to graduate from ISB, which means I bid adieu to the absolutely amazing International Family Fair organized by the wonderful PTA team at ISB, that I have had the privilege to be a part of. It’s been an absolute pleasure! Merci beaucoup Canada, it’s been a blast!
Welcome Back Coffee
Miho Yamaguchi, Japanese Parents Community Rep
Every year the Japanese Parents Community (JPC) holds an Annual Meeting “Welcome & Welcome Back Coffee” to strengthen their members relationships and their bond with PTA, Booster Hut and ISB. This year’s meeting was on the same day as ISB’s first spirit night, seeing many attendants showing up with their Black and Gold spirit. JPC was established in 1984 in order to liaise between Japanese families and the ISB community, and has been actively contributing to PTA and Booster Hut. In the past we baked over one hundred Panther Pops each month. JPC is also one of the enthusiastic communities participating in IFF - International Family Fair, and Intercultural Day each year. JPC has always been willing to build strong bonds between the Japanese community and the ISB community by minimizing the language barrier, joining school activities and guiding their members. TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
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Community
TriKids
Lucas Rivera, Community Sports Manager
My name is Lucas Rivera and I work at ISB as the Community Sports Manager. I have been involved in sports management and recreation for the past 11 years and I love it. My passion for endurance sports has been answered here with the ISB Tri Kids Triathlon which took place on December 5th, 2019. This was my first time organizing a triathlon, but I have coordinated half marathons, obstacle course races, 5Ks, and even zombie runs. I am often reminded and impressed how the ISB community offers to volunteer and help make amazing things happen. I have never seen this type of community involvement at any other school. This amazing race gives our students a great opportunity to grow and test their courage and push past their limits. ISB Tri Kids showcases our values - Integrity, Care, Courage, Commitment, Balance, Gratitude, Respect and Responsibility. This event gives a unique opportunity for kids to test their grit on a fun course that begins on the campus of ISB and goes around Nichada Thani. Time and time again ISB goes the extra mile to provide the families here with amazing opportunities to live healthy, active and balanced lives. My favorite thing to see is the smiles of the kids at the finish line! No matter their age, they worked very hard to get to the finish line and that type of feeling is special! The character growth that takes place at an event like this is priceless. What is ISB Tri Kids? ISB Tri Kids race builds community and allows for great competition with three race divisions. The Try and Tri for children ages 4-8 yrs; the Standard Distance for ages 8-19 yrs and the Do the Double for competitive athletes ages 8-19 yrs. The Try and Tri encourages participation, and allows kids to experience the fun of participating and finishing a race. Every child doing the Try and Try is encouraged and assisted where necessary along the way with every child awarded a t-shirt and participation medal. Every parent is required to assist in some way on the day, highlighting the community aspect of this event. While assistance is there, kids are also required to be self-managing by putting on their own t-shirts and helmets after the swim, collecting their bikes and following course marshals. Prior to the event, our community assistants offer two course walk through so that kids can be confident in what to do and where to go, so they are courageous enough to participate. The Standard and Do the Double races are more competitive. The children swim in the 50m pool and ride their bikes around Nichada Thani. These races are timed and medals are awarded only to the top 3 finishers in each age group, encouraging healthy competition, and a true race format that is universal. Despite the Standard and Do the Double being races, the vision of ISB Tri Kids Thailand, is that ISB provides an opportunity for kids to experience the multi-sport event of a triathlon for the first time in a supportive and friendly environment where they can be self-managing especially in the transitions between swim and bike and bike and run; be courageous enough to complete the course and being able to adapt on the fly! Please be on the lookout for information on our 2020 ISB Tri Kids event, which will be announced soon.
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Community
TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
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Community
Bangkok International Choral Festival Andy Marshall, MS & HS Choir Teacher
The 25th anniversary festival of ISB’s now prestigious Bangkok International Choral Festival was held on October 4th and 5th, but its rippling waves continue to reverberate among communities at ISB and other schools in Southeast Asia. Grace Cho, the Choir director from CIA First International School in Cambodia writes,“What a wonderful and unforgettable experience for our students! They are still so excited and are working self-directed and on their own, inspiring other classmates to love singing and join choir.” It is a joy to see that this festival has encouraged schools around the region to offer quality choral singing among their activities. That has been our mission: to create and foster a choral community in greater Bangkok by introducing high quality literature and instruction to students and families. It really is a powerful thing when it all works right. And I am happy to say… it is working right. Our Guest Conductor, Dinah Helgeson (former ISB Choir Director, and 1st ever BICF Conductor) and John Baker (renowned HS Conductor from USA and former BICF Conductor) guided our HS and MS choirs through an emotionally uplifting performance by asking our singers to dig deep within themselves to reveal what is most special to them and then share it in the form of music.
Sarah Hanson choir director from Ruamrudee states: “This has been my favorite music festival EVER. The overwhelming message of all of the songs - about being open-minded, being warm and loving to one another, and focusing on people and community are the ideas that fuel my teaching. I love that we spent that time singing about those LIFE-LONG important things together.” As part of the 25th year anniversary celebration, we commissioned a special piece that premiered for the first time at the Gala Concert to a full theater. It was conceived by an ISB student in response to an open call for submissions. Each ISB choir student was asked: If you had the chance to send a message to the world in the form of music, what would that be? The following is a text submission from Maryline Feiertag (Class of 2019), and was chosen by composer Alicia Baker to set to music. Close your eyes and imagine, Close your eyes and start creating. Take a moment to start grieving. Since the loss of our voices. Left our future without choices. We must start taking action. Fight for rights for our generation. We’re the kids. We’re the future. We’re the ones you promised to nurture. All together here we sing, all our voices raised one. Hear our words. Let them sting. As our fighting has begun! Together we can imagine, the perfect world we want to see. If we help the ones in need, all our souls will be set free. Start to build and create. Save the world that was made. From now on it’s not all fate. As we turn to a new page! As our fighting has begun! We must start taking action. Fight for rights for our generation. We’re the kids. We’re the future. We’re the ones you promised to nurture.
It never ceases to amaze me how music can create community and inspire humankind to rise to action. Thank you ISB students, families and staff for helping to create such a vibrant event for our community. 26
TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Community
Choral Union
Rie Atagi, ISB Parent
When I joined the Choral Union earlier this academic year, it was a small but significant step in my life. You may laugh, but when you have ZERO-confidence in singing, joining a choir takes some courage. I love music but singing in public has been a big no-no for me. Why should I take the risk of feeling humiliated when nobody is forcing me to do so? Yet, joining the Choral Union has turned out to be one of my best decisions. The Choral Union is offered as part of the Adult Education Program at ISB. English is the medium of instruction, but we sing songs in various languages and genres (the past term’s songs were in Latin and Hebrew, neither of which I knew). Since anyone who likes to sing can join, I was expecting -- or rather hoping -- to join a group of music lovers who are not necessarily good singers so I wouldn’t feel too intimidated. However, at the first session, I realized this was not a group of untalented music lovers. They were excellent. With the first notes given, each voice group started singing its part - not just by following the notes, but also singing in full voice. The woman singing next to me was professionally trained. With a soprano voice both rich and deep, she could hold her breath for a long time! I breathed three times for her one breadth. Although I started to feel uneasy and wondered if I came to the wrong place, the power of music overtook me. Singing in the music hall and being a part of the choir’s harmony was blissful. I simply enjoyed myself, out of tune or not. Choir organizers Andy Marshall and Matt Enders certainly played a big role to spread the sheer joy of singing. They make sure you feel welcomed regardless of your music background. The 90-minute practice went by fast and I found myself still humming on the way home. A choir like Choral Union is called a “community choir,” characterized by open admission and community-based. Andy has mentioned the importance of community choir, but I didn’t think much at that time: Do we need a choir in our community? Are we contributing to our community or the world? It is not like we are
advocating human rights or environmental protection with tangible outcomes, but simply enjoying singing together. After participating for the past few months, I am now a strong believer in community choirs. I was surprised to discover that there is a huge difference between listening to music and singing yourself. Singing aloud uplifts your spirit and makes you happy. It works instantly almost like magic. We may enjoy listening to those commercial performers, but when was the last time you sang yourself? Singing has been a part of human life for centuries as we express our joy, cheer up, and console our souls, but many of us neglect to enjoy the opportunity to sing. Community choir gives you this opportunity. When I was young, I sang because I was happy. But as you grow, you learn life can be quite challenging and stressful. One way to deal with frustration or sadness can be singing. You breathe in deeply, and let it go with a melody. Singing can be a great remedy. You may not necessarily sing because you are happy, but you will most certainly be happy when you sing. Choral Union meets once a week to practice and is a great way to share the joy of singing with others. I find it more fun than singing alone, although, since choir is an ensemble, you practice your own part first. That is challenging enough for me, but then you try to listen to the other parts to blend your voice into a beautiful harmony. I cannot always hear the other parts, but when I do, I am a part of the music and we are creating one piece of art together. I don’t know all of our choir members well, but I feel a sense of unity when we sing together. If you have any interest in singing, please join! Choral Union: Mr. Andy Marshall (Choir director at ISB) Andym@isb.ac.th and Mr. Matt Enders (ES Music at ISB) Matte@isb.ac.th
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Community
ISB Band Holiday Concert
Thomas Myers, HS Band & IB Music Teacher
A large audience of music lovers enjoyed the annual ISB Bands Holiday Concert on the evening of December 10th in the CC theatre. The program opened with the beginning guitar class playing popular selections such as Up on the Housetop and Arioso by Bach. The guitarists showed excellent progress throughout the semester and played well together. The Wind Ensemble opened their portion of the concert with a lively fanfare that followed with traditional Christmas carols in a medley format. A selection of more recent holiday songs in swing style featured Vismay Susheer on trumpet. The Wind Ensemble along with the Jazz Band finished the first half of the concert with a medley of hits by Earth, Wind and Fire and a fun song called the Beer Barrel Polka (not to be confused as a German Christmas Carol!). The second half of the concert featured the ISB Jazz Band, which played three Dixieland selections from their recent performance at Bangkok Amari Watergate Hotel for the Roaring 20’s The Great Gatsby Gala. The tunes included Five Foot Two, Down By the Riverside, and St. James Infirmary, with several students in the band soloing. The final selections of the concert were Holiday tunes including Mary Did You Know? And Jazzy Merry Gentlemen, which featured our alto sax section doing some trading of 4’s, 2’s, and 1 bar phrasing. This year’s jazz band is very strong and has several mature soloists who truly understand the art of improvisation. It was a wonderful experience for all involved. A few outstanding students should be recognized for their selection through audition to perform in the AMIS Honor Band or AMIS Honor Jazz Band. They include: Daniel Namatinia, trombone AMIS Honor Jazz Band, Tan Monsereenusorn, alto sax - AMIS Honor Jazz Band, Vishnu Susheer, trombone - AMIS Honor Band. I truly enjoyed conducting the band for this event and was very pleased with the progress and musicianship displayed throughout all the selections. I would also like to thank all the students in the band program for their efforts in putting on an enjoyable Holiday Concert, and I look forward to helping students be successful in the upcoming hosting of our IASAS Music Cultural Convention event in early March.
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Community
String Bash
Adrianna Gricius, HS, MS & ES String Teacher
On December 2nd, ISB proudly hosted the Annual Strings Bash. Strings Bash, a musical presentation by students in grades 3 to 12, is a showcase of musicianship, teamwork, and dedication. The December 2019 Strings Bash celebrated the musical accomplishments of 118 ISB students with sounds from violins, violas, cellos and double basses. It provided the students an opportunity to unite towards a common goal and to share their talents with the greater ISB community. In strings, students help to select the music that is presented and even conduct and direct the orchestra. They also write the scripts for the student MC’s, who are responsible for introducing the music and sharing their experiences with the audience. Student MC’s included Lucas Aldea, Rachel Hyun, Pun Pun Israpanich, Deven Parasnis, Nadia Choophungart, Sara Pearl Kabat and Nint Nint Boonchirt. The concert began with the Middle School Concert Orchestra presenting the King’s Anthem, under the baton of 8th grade student, Pattarawadee (Patty) Phanitwiboon. This was followed by performances from the Elementary School String Ensemble, Middle School Beginning Orchestra, more from the MS Concert Orchestra, and finally a performance by the High School String Orchestra. The concert concluded with all four ensembles joining together to perform Karl Jenkin’s Palladio. This piece allowed each single musician his or her own part to play, with the ultimate goal to create a unifying sound - a task harder than it may seem. Playing in an orchestra requires more than just the ability to play an instrument. It also requires attention to detail, being a strong team player, creativity, adaptability, and courage. The music program at ISB embraces and encourages students’ leadership and ownership of this process. In orchestra, we can see daily that together we are better. As Mattie Stepanek once said, “Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”
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Community
The Young Americans Return to ISB! Yukiko Saito, ISB Parent
I first learned of The Young Americans performance group six years ago, when I was in Japan and about to move to Thailand with my three sons. A friend had recommended this performance group, which is very popular in Japan -- their performances there sold out within just a few minutes. At the time, I thought it was because many families also wanted to explore the international environment created by these traveling Americans. But when I saw them perform, I realized that their appeal is much more than that. The Young Americans teach children confidence and pride in an inspiring, energetic and fun way. I was so glad to have them come to ISB during their Asia tour to work with our ISB students and students from across Bangkok. The Young Americans®, founded in 1962, is a charitable organization dedicated to the promotion of understanding and goodwill among people throughout the world through music, dance, performance, academic education, and cultural interaction among Student Members and their audiences. [www.youngamericans.org.] Forty Young American cast members led 200 student participants through close to 20 show choir workshops which culminated in a final show. There were group numbers, where students coordinated and performed a song and routine together, and there is also ample opportunity for students to perform solos, even the youngest attendees, no matter what their previous experience and skill level.
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Whether it was the child who is quite shy to perform in public, or a student with a lot of experience and passion for what they do, both of them gained confidence in their accomplishments. One parent shared: “It was a wonderful opportunity for anyone who loves the performance arts, whether they have had previous experience or not. My children were enthused and challenged throughout the weekend. They made personal connections with the Young Americans that they were so excited to talk about. After the show, they came out of the theatre already asking if they could join next year’s programme.” From what I experienced of the workshops and the show, I believe that The Young Americans align with ISB’s values of: Responsibility, Integrity, Care, Courage, Commitment, Balance, Gratitude, and Respect. I was also excited to learn that The Young Americans had been to ISB before, in 1970! They inspired a number of ISB students to form The Young Internationals, who toured Southeast Asia for many years. Thank you to all the volunteers and staff who helped organize this wonderful event. I hope the Young Americans will come to ISB again!
Community
Design, Fine and Performing Arts at ISB Anthony Giles, Director of Arts & Community Activities
I always find myself using the New Year to reflect on our Design, Fine and Performing Arts program as a whole. This year, in particular, I am reminded of the amazing opportunities our faculty and staff provide for our students everyday through inspiring lessons and rehearsals, but also through special events like exhibitions, festivals, field trips, artist residencies, performances, and workshops. Although not comprehensive, many examples from the first half of the school year are listed below: Free-2-Flow and Esperimenti Dance Residencies, Dinah Helgeson Choir Residency, Massed Band Festival, Peace Day, Bangkok International Strings Festival, Bangkok International Choral Festival, MS Music Service Trip, MS Band Workshops, ISTA Theatre Symposium, IASAS Dance Exchange @ ISKL, MS/HS Fall Dance Production, Jill Enfield Visual Arts Residency, Arts Studio Friday, MS Theatre Sports, BPS Strings Festival, IASAS Art & Film CC @ SAS, IASAS MUN @ ISKL, Saturday Maker Space, Fab Girls, HS Fall Play, Intercultural Day, ES Soundscape Installation, MS MindStorm Robotics Competition, MS Band Concert, Strings Bash, Community Choir Concert @ Siam CC and ISB, HS VEX Robotics Competition @ TAS, MS’s Got Talent, HS Holiday Band Concert, IOM International Migration Film Festival, ES Festival of Lights, and Artists Under the Stars. Join us this Winter and Spring for even more Design, Fine, and Performing Arts Events at ISB. MARCH 3 HS IASAS CC Assembly - Chevron Theater 3 HS IASAS CC Luncheon - MPB 3 5-9 IASAS DDT@SAS, FAD@TAS, MUSIC@ISB 11 IASAS CC Banquet - MPB’s 11-15 AMIS HS Choir @ AS Muscat 16-17 HS IB Arts Madness - CCT 16-20 ES KG-G1 Music Celebrations of Learning - Chevron 18-22 AMIS HS Band & Strings @ AS Dubai 26-27 ES G2-G4 Music Celebrations of Learning - Chevron 27 Arts Council’s ISBAM Art Fest - Outdoor Stage 31 HS Jazz Night - MPB’s APRIL 2 IB Visual Art and Film Exhibition Opening - CCT Gallery 7-9 MS Spring Musical - CCT 22-25 VEX Worlds @ Louisville, Kentucky 28 HS BOrCh Concert - Chevron Theater MAY 9 Panther Music Festival (IMP) 13 MS Visual Art Exhibition Opening - Chevron Gallery 13 ES Spring Music Concert - Chevron Theater 14-15 HS Spring Drama Festival - CC Building 22-23 After School Dance Performances - Chevron 26 HS Legs for Legs - CCT 26 MS Band Concert - Chevron Theater 28 MS Choir/Strings Concert - Chevron Theater JUNE 12 MS, ES, HS Assemblies - Chevron ⁕ Kindly note that due to the current healthcare crisis, most of the events scheduled during the upcoming months have been cancelled or put on hold. We regret the inconvenience.
TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
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Community
ISB Life Scout Helps Local Orphanage Phil Walther, ISB Assistant Scoutmaster
Cole Walther (Grade 9), a Life Scout representing BSA Troop 701, accomplished his charity-based BSA Eagle Project for the benefit of orphaned boys who are victims of human trafficking and other forms of abuse. Baan Poomwaet Home for Boys in Nonthaburi desperately needed a new playground and sports equipment to assist the boys with their recovery and development. Cole, together with Khun Ming at Baan Poomwaet, identified, planned, organized and led a project to ensure that Baan Poomwaet acquired the appropriate equipment, design, and layout. This project was executed successfully with help from the White Elephant Charity Thrift Shop, which funded the playground equipment; the Nichada and International School Bangkok (ISB) communities, which provided financial support for sports equipment such as soccer balls, bags, and badminton set, and the playground equipment company, which constructed a fun and safe environment for the boys.
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Community
Hope for the Elephants
Matt Piercy, MS Social Studies Teacher
On 18 of September, International School Bangkok hosted a special screening of the acclaimed documentary, “Love and Bananas.” The film tells the story of how Sangdeaun Lek Chailert (Khun Lek) and her team rescued a 70-year-old, partly blind elephant, ‘Noi Na,’ from cruel captivity as a touristriding trekking elephant. While over 100,000 elephants roamed Thailand 200 years ago, there are only about 4,000 left today. Although Thailand banned the use of elephants for logging 30 years ago, many elephants are still used widely in the tourist industry -- a practice that many consider inhuman. Though some scenes in the documentary were difficult to watch, the overall message is one of optimism and viewers were left moved. As the LA Times touted, it is “impossible to come away from the film unchanged.” Khun Lek runs the Elephant Nature Park as an independent sanctuary for the endangered species as well as for rain forest restoration, cultural preservation and visitor education where they can interact with the elephants by preparing and feeding them rice and banana balls, and even take a small walk through the forest to watch the elephants roam freely. People interested in learning more about elephants might consider a trip to the Kanchanaburi-based Elephant Haven Thailand which Khun Lek helped transition from a trekking business into an elephant park in 2015. This satellite branch is about 130km west of Bangkok, making it an easy and worthwhile day trip for city residents and visiting tourists.
For more information: ElephantPark.com Tours & Services TAT license 11/06029 120/1 Thunyakan Village, Soi Wacharapol 2/6, Tharang, Bangkhen Bangkok Thailand 10220 Mobile: (+66) 065-669-7914 (Kanta) Email: elephantparkthailand@gmail.com
Lek has received multiple accolades, including the 2018 Responsible Thailand Award for Animal Welfare. In 2010, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton honored Khun Lek as one of the six Woman Heroes of Global Conservation. She was also named one of Time Magazine’s Heroes of Asia in 2005 for her conservation work, which has been featured in documentaries produced by National Geographic, Discovery, Animal Planet and the BBC.
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Elementary School
ISB Learner Attributes in Our Learning Spaces Kelly Armitage, Principal
As you know, this school year we are focusing on Student Wellbeing and our ISB Learner Attributes. One of our 6 ISB Learner Attributes is “Self-managing.”
Independently directs, monitors, and evaluates personal behaviors, goals and time I understand my strengths and needs, and advocate for myself. I set meaningful and measurable goals. I select and adopt behaviors to help meet goals. I allocate time in order to successfully meet goals and fulfill obligations. I monitor progress and adjust behaviors as needed. I reflect on choices and apply my learning to the future.
An important part to developing stronger self-management skills is being able to recognize one’s own emotions and decide on necessary responses and actions. Ignoring or suppressing emotions can be counterproductive.
Support your child to choose appropriate strategies to manage strong emotions. For example, walk away, count to 10, slow/deep breathing (remember Kelso’s Choices). These, of course, are better than outbursts and physical reactions.
According to Lisa Barrett, psychologist, and author of How Emotions are Made – the Secret Life of the Brain, “One of the best things you can do for your emotional health is to beef up your concepts of emotions…providing you with the tools for more flexible and useful responses.” She then goes on to say that the more granular the identification of the emotion, the stronger those tools and more appropriate the responses will be. Granular, in this case, would mean more specific – think like a grain of sand (see graphic).
Recognize when your child has said how they feel and when they choose an appropriate response. Do this even if the emotions are strong and the moment feels heated.
Teaching children to drill down to identify a specific emotion supports them to choose a more appropriate response or behavior. Here are some tips to help them do that: Have regular dialogue about emotions with your child. For example, “Did you throw your toy because you were frustrated that it wasn’t working? What would have been a better response?” Model out loud - when you feel a strong emotion, identify it and what caused it.
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Read lots of books together, like: When Sophie Gets Angry–Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang Feelings by Aliki The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires The Feelings Book by Todd Par In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek My Magic Breath by Nick Ortner When Sadness is at Your Door by Eva Eland The Colour Monster Pop Up by Anna Llenas Today I Feel… by Madalena Moniz Identifying emotions and choosing appropriate responses is only part of what it means to be self-managing, but it is an essential part.
Elementary School
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Elementary School
Word Study
Sarah Fleming, Elementary School Vice Principal
Have you ever wondered why there is a “w” in the word two? Perhaps you were taught to memorize the spelling, and simply never questioned it. Over the last few years at ISB, we have been researching approaches to Word Study, and how we can best support students in their learning of phonics, vocabulary and spelling. In the ES, we are currently in our first year of a two-year professional learning plan with Fiona Hamilton, a consultant from WordTorque. Fiona and other experts believe that if we teach the structure of English through an inquiry approach, we can support our learners to understand the following:
▪English spelling is based on meaning-making ▪Every word has a base ▪Words come in families ▪Letters multitask and usually have more than one function (Hamilton, 2019).
Fiona has been working with a cohort of ES teachers through workshops and classroom lab sites to support our understanding of this approach, and how to integrate it into our classroom learning. Through investigations and practice, students are being exposed to three components: finding families, building bases and sorting out structure. Students love this approach and are filled with wonder and curiosity as they explore the words around them. Here is what some of them have said about what they have been learning: “We are learning about suffixes and prefixes.” - Grade 1 student “We are learning about the history of words and breaking it down into the word sum.” - Grade 5 student “I didn’t know that a suffix went at the end of a word, but now I do.” - KG student We will be continuing our work with Fiona next year with the rest of our faculty, so all students will have exposure to this approach, which supports them not only in Word Study, but also in Reading, Writing, and as thinkers. And now... back to the “w” in two. What might be some reasons the “w” is there? Consider other words with tw -- twin, twice, twirl, between. Have a conversation with your child! How might these words be connected? 36
TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Elementary School
Sound Sculpture
Johanna Nichols, Art Teacher
This year’s Intercultural Art Project embodies the theme, ‘Cultures Connecting through the Arts.’ Elementary students have been creating a kinetic sound-sculpture, by way of designing and painting bamboo, coconuts, and sewing in rattan. Their work has been influenced by a selection of great artists from around the world, whose work is linked by the common use of lines, circles, and dots. The evolving art installation is interactive, encouraging individuals to enter into it and to create and enjoy a glorious cacophony of sound while celebrating the work of our young artists. The primary role of the Arts in our world, is to communicate with one another through creative expression. Where different languages create barriers between cultures, the Arts breaks through those barriers. The Kinetic Sound sculpture created by our elementary art students is a wonderful example of this connectedness. Through this installation, the audience is invited into an experience, to connect with art, with sound and with each other.
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Elementary School
Intercultural Day: Connecting Cultures through the Arts Rika Gupta and Moneesha Kapur, PTA ES Coordinators
Cultures connecting through the Arts - this was the theme for this year’s Elementary School Intercultural Day. It invited students, parents, faculty, and staff to celebrate the different ways that groups of people express themselves and connect with others through music, movement, and visual art forms. A highlight of the school year, Intercultural Day was launched with a community assembly in the Rajendra Hall. Students paraded into the gym, dressed in colors and clothing from countries and regions that are important to them. Flags were waved, smiles were spread wide across faces, and the Middle School Band helped create a joyful atmosphere. This year, for the first time ever, the King’s Anthem was sung by the entire Elementary School student body. It was a very poignant and beautiful moment. The ES Explore Zumba group then hit the stage, shifting the tone and filling the hall with energy and enthusiasm. Grade 5 World Language classes treated us to wonderful dance performances that truly reflected this year’s Intercultural Day theme. Students learning Mandarin performed a Kung Fu fan dance. Their movements were synchronized and precise, amplified by the crack of their fans. The Spanish class shared a flamenco dance. The rhythm from the students’ stomping feet became the heartbeat of the gym and the movement of the black and red dresses were very striking. Students in our Thai language program introduced us to the four regions of Thailand. Through music, movement, traditional dress, and large-scale props, the audience was able to enjoy the diversity of our beautiful host country. Our assembly concluded with a community song, “What a Wonderful World,” featuring our Panther Choir, Orff Ensemble, and ES student body. For the remainder of the day, students participated in the room rotations. As in previous years, our talented parent community transformed our ES classes into spectacular spaces that represented countries and regions from around the world. Students were taken on a journey, learning about how music, movement, and visual arts bring people together within cultures and between cultures. Each year for Intercultural Day our Visual Arts team designs a community art project that connects with the theme and invites all ES students to contribute. This year, students created a soundscape, which is now standing proudly at the main entrance to the school. Inspired by artists from around the globe, students added designs to natural objects such as bamboo pipes and coconut shells. These were then transformed into musical instruments and hung from the soundscape’s frame. If you ever need a mindful moment while on campus, go and stand in the middle of the soundscape and enjoy the students’ artwork! Intercultural Day reminds us of how fortunate we are to be part of an international school community. It’s a day where global-mindedness, one of our learner attributes, becomes crystal clear for our students. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this special day happen. We can’t wait to see what next year has in store!
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Elementary School
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Elementary School
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Elementary School
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Elementary School
“Festival of Lights” Concert Angela Wong, Music Teacher
On December 18th, the three elementary music ensembles came together for the annual Festival of Lights concert. Grades 3, 4 and 5 students in String Ensemble, Orff Ensemble and Panther Choir shared music, movement and stories that they’d been working on since September. The goal of this annual concert is to showcase the students who dedicate extra time to music in these extracurricular groups. We showcase this work through music that celebrates some of the holidays and cultures represented at ISB, particularly those cultures that use light as part of their holiday celebrations. Performing with an ensemble develops our students’ listening skills, patience, commitment, and care for their musical community. The final performance is a rewarding and inspiring demonstration of our students’ ability to create something beautiful together, regardless of age, gender or culture. The ES music department is proud of the commitment, courage, and confidence demonstrated by these young performers!
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Elementary School
Maker Culture On the Rise in the ES! Nate Bailey, Grade 4 Teacher
Maker culture and design thinking are alive and well in the Elementary School! The 2019-2020 school year has seen teachers and students alike gravitating toward learning through making. Evidence of this can be found in grade levels and classrooms around the ES. This year each grade level has worked to establish and refine maker challenges and experiences for their learners. For example, in Grade 2, during their Air and Weather unit, learners designed and created rain water measurement tools to use and collect data from. They also designed and flew their own kites to better understand the properties of air. In Grade 4, during their Power of Water Unit, learners used a design cycle to empathize with someone suffering from a water related issue like droughts or floods, then studied the problem, and designed innovative solutions. Students designed and prototyped amazing concepts such as rainwater catchment systems, and amphibious vehicles! The ES Maker Space has been a great additional teaching and learning space, supporting our makers with an array of donated materials and a variety of tools to create with. Passing by on any given day, one might look through the window and see students working with cardboard, recycled plastic and paper, aluminum, wood, and more. Students sometimes use the space to tinker on ideas they are curious about or to make or problem solve in connection with units of study. This year, the ES also held its first Community Design Challenge. Students were challenged to design the play space of their dreams in conjunction with the announcement that the Elementary School would be getting new play spaces in the near future. Students jumped at the chance to tackle this challenge and 47 designs were submitted. Many ES students had fun teaming with parents, siblings and classmates to collaborate on designs. Needless to say, students tapped into their creativity which was passed on to the company who is actually designing the new spaces. This was a great example of how student voices can and should impact their school for the better. Through designing and making, our learners are continually using their ISB Attributes such as creativity and adaptability. They relish in the opportunity to be agents of their own learning by following a design cycle to come up with ideas, think them through and make them a reality. We look forward to more excitement in the ES as a culture of making and designing continues to thrive and grow. TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
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Elementary School
Elementary School Library
Nat Whitman, Elementary School Librarian and Literacy Specialist
Parent Child book club final meeting with the author
Eager students waiting for Lisa to autograph their new books
In January, ISB PTA sponsored and welcomed award-winning author Lisa Graff to ISB! She worked with 4 & 5th Graders in the Elementary School and with all Middle School students. During the two sessions 4th and 5th graders enjoyed hearing Lisa speak about her background, inspirations and the craft of writing. She also conducted two highly entertaining writing workshop sessions that aligned perfectly with teaching students about all aspects of narrative fictional writing. In the weeks before her visit, several families participated in a parent/ child book club. We read the excellent A Tangle of Knots and untangled the many narrative plot twists through conversation, games art and treats. We were then able to celebrate during a culminating meeting conversation with the author herself. A delicious lime cake, from a recipe found in the book was also served! Lisa also shared her knowledge with the community during a well received ES and MS joint Parent Engage. There was a writing process workshop for our wonderful Instructional Assistants. We are very grateful to the PTA for helping sponsor Lisa Graff’s time with our young writers this year. Author visits like this one inspire our young readers and writers and offer our community members a precious opportunity to ask questions and hear the stories behind the stories we read in books!
Students working hard at crafting elements for their new novels during the Lisa Graff author’s craft workshop
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Elementary School
The Books
Please stop by the HUB to check out our hundreds of new and fascinating titles. We strive to keep the collection current and interesting so there should always be something new for you to enjoy.
Another by Christian Robinson This fascinating wordless book by the talented and fun Christian Robinson will take you on a journey into another place, another time and another sense of yourself! Robinson uses bold graphics, gorgeous colorful illustrations and funny scenarios to poke fun at reality and get a good laugh. This clever title will convince you to see the world in a new way. Only for the observant at heart!
Image source from goodread
Dude by Aaron Reynolds; Illustrated by Dan Santat Platypus and Beaver are friends who love nothing more than spending a “gnarly” time surfing off the California coast - even when they ignore signs warning about dangerous surf! What happens when they meet a lonesome shark and an Ice cream stand? Find out in this book illustrated by the talented Dan Santat. Guaranteed to be a great time! Hang Ten Dude!
Image source from goodread
Found. by Jeff Newman & Larry Day Another wordless book… Found is a touching, joyful and profound story celebrating the humanity within all of us. A girl looks out her window and sees a lost and forlorn puppy. She springs into action and cares for the puppy, spending her own allowance on food and care. When she finds a “lost dog” poster and realizes the puppy belongs to someone else, will she do the right thing? Striking illustrations drive the lovely narrative in this elegant book.
Image source from goodread
The Matchstick Castle by Keir Graff Brian is a luckless boy stuck in boring Illinois, where he is forced to beta test his uncle’s dry educational software. The tedium seems unbearable until he and his cousins escape into the forest where they find an enormous castle made out of matchsticks. The adventures immediately start as our characters fight giant wasps, wild boars and demolition-happy city planners! Fun, and flowing, this novel is a great read-aloud for the entire family.
Image source from goodread
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Middle School
Side A of the Mixtape has been a great one Dennis Harter, Principal
At the first assembly of the year, I spoke with Middle School students about how the MS school year was like a mixtape (see Touchstone Issue 1, 2019-20). Now that the first semester has ended, “Side A” of our mixtape/year has reached its end. We have flipped it over, and re-energized as we get going in the second semester – Side B (some of you may have had the high tech Auto-Reverse function on your cassette players and didn’t need to “flip” the tape). Side A of the 2019-20 school year has been a terrific one. This semester we have: ▪ Welcomed new families and our grade 6’s to our middle school community. ▪ Hosted parents for our Open House evening. ▪ Sent grade 7 and 8 students to the Environmental Wilderness Campus for our Wild Panthers Outdoor Education program. ▪ Talked with parents and students about learning progress at Conferences. ▪ Sent grade 6 students on a class trip – the first in several years. ▪ Participated in sports games, tournaments, and events. ▪ Been entertained by students improvisation skills at our Theater Sports event. ▪ Listened to amazing talent showcased in band, choir, and orchestra concerts. ▪ Engaged in service activities like ServICE, Breaking Boundaries, and the Symphonic Band trip to Non Ya Plong. ▪ Hosted parents at PTA meetings, coffees, and Principal’s Forum. ▪ Had MS students mentoring ES students on health and well being. ▪ Showcased student art work at exhibitions. ▪ Learned from visiting artists and dancers.
Middle School Life is a Mixtape
And through it all, engaged and challenged students with new learning and growth and development in their middle school courses. Often while special events receive a lot of attention and showcase development or learning progress, it is the day-to-day work of our counselors, teachers and students that make our middle school the rich place of learning that it is. Whether it’s synchronized swimming in PE, delving into the design process in art, developing musicianship or stage presence, reading, writing, problem solving, analyzing, or engaging in the scientific method, our students have grown as learners through hard work, support at home, and the dedication of their teachers. All of these important activities and events have come together to make for a unique first semester and a wonderful “Side A” of our school year’s mixtape. We will always continue to work towards improving student learning, but also need to pause and recognize how proud we are of your children and our Middle School. If “Side A” has been any indication, we can’t wait to see what “Side B” – the 2nd semester – has in store!
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Middle School
The ISB Design Cycle
Iwan Meaker, Robotic, D&T, 3D Communication Teacher
The Design Cycle (or Design Thinking, as it is predominantly known in the United States but also increasingly around the world) is a logical approach to design. Steeped in research, and endorsed by successful organizations such as IDEO and Stanford’s d.school, the Design Cycle is arguably the most powerful tool for producing creative and diverse learners. At ISB’s Invention Center, work revolves around the design thinking principles. Following the ISB’s attributes (Value-driven, Socially-intelligent, Selfmanaging, Creative, Globally-minded and Adaptable) we seize design opportunities, produce solutions to problems, and create digital and physical products. In the Middle School, students interact with the Design Cycle in classes like Product Design, Computer Modeling and Making, and Coding. ISB’s Design Cycle consists of four main sections and is an interative cycle. The sections are perceived as a linear approach (starting at Understand) although, it is important to know that students can jump in and out of different sections of the cycle at different times. A student may start designing on paper and then realize they need to interview some clients before being able to move forward. Understand In order to understand and ultimately develop empathy for a particular situation, persons or animal, students start researching or conduct a “deep dive” into understanding opportunities or problems. They observe, conduct interviews and use varied research strategies to complete this section of the Design Cycle. Design A focus on using a divergent approach to design ideas, which can use one or a combination of the following activities: designing with pencil and paper; creating cardboard models; or, using 2d or 3d computer modeling programs to help generate products or solutions. Create Physically or digitally creating solutions or solving problems. This can range from 2d/3d computer modeling, using 3d printing, laser cutting, welding, wood fabrication and many more. Evaluate A critical stage of the design cycle (but not exclusively used in the “last” section of the design cycle), where students reflect and evaluate success. ISB’s design cycle is now visible and is used in many of the classrooms throughout K-12, with many teachers using its process in day-to-day classes. As well as this, ‘The Maker Carts’ have become a hit in elementary school, where students can solve challenges and make products. (Keep your eyes peeled for the new Minecraft design thinking challenge coming soon!)
TOUCHSTONE Issue 1 / 2019-2020
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Middle School
MS Olympics 2019, Hosted by Thailand
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TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
Middle School
TOUCHSTONE Issue 1 / 2019-2020
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Main Library
Dystopian Literature
Melinda Kehe, MS Librarian & Maggie Hagen, HS Librarian
In a post 9/11 world, when the realities of government control, censorship, and technology impact our daily lives, we must learn to foster resilience. Books provide us with an understanding of humanity that will continue to resonate, cultivate, and inspire empathy and human connection. Reflecting on Farenheight 451 author, Ray Bradbury’s wisdom and sort of clairvoyance about our future, provides us with a window to contemplate our present and future. For, as Bradbury says, “the magic is in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us” (Bradbury, 67). As librarians, teachers, and parents we are both the purveyors of this literature and also the tailors who will continue to provide the resources to contemplate, to question, to stitch the patches of our universe together for ourselves, and also the young people in our lives. The dystopian genre provides commentary and insight into the human condition. Classic texts such as 1984, Farenheight 451, and The Handmaid’s Tale garner interest in our modern era due to the haunting similarities some may find in societal trends. These classic texts breathe new life as a new canon of young adult dystopian fiction affords this opportunity to a new generation. The dystopian genre is rife with bestsellers like The Hunger Games trilogy, Marie Lu’s Legend series, and the works of Tahereh Mafi who’s Shatter Me series provides a vantage point for students to consider social conflicts and our place in humanity. Very often, our students and children are grappling with issues that extend and reverberate far beyond our classroom walls. In a time when there is never an “escape,” as young adults hear the echoes of social media throughout the entirety of their days, books can provide solace, and escape to a realm of possibility, of hardship, of triumph. It is in the pages of dystopian fiction that students often find this comfort and understanding. In Mallan’s (2017) article, she highlights the importance of YA Dystopian Fiction and its ability to provide “readers with alternative ways of thinking about the challenges that others face and their capacity for resilience” (Mallan, 16). As educators, exposing our students to this literature is a vital part of our work.
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The dystopian genre encompasses many topical considerations - environmental awareness, social stratification, governmental control, and censorship are topics often discussed in dystopian fiction. Alternative historical fiction permutations, another genre of dystopian literature, are a creative way to demonstrate an understanding of the historical events and the impact of these events on a larger scale. An excellent series is Wolf by Wolf, and Blood by Blood by Ryan Graudin. In this series of alternative historical fiction, Hitler and the Axis Powers have triumphed in WWII. The protagonist of this story is a female survivor of the atrocious medical experiments conducted in the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Unknown to the Axis forces, the experiments have provided her with “gifts,” which she uses to strike against the enemy forces. Students adore Ryan Graudin’s series. By combining both historical fiction and dystopian fantasy, this genre appeals to the majority of students. Adolescence necessitates resilience, but also opportunities to develop ethical and moral reflection. Our students are faced with a myriad of decisions as they foster autonomy. Within the pages of these YA texts, the protagonists are facing similar experiences. Mallan (2017) continues to highlight the significance of reflection within the pages of YA Dystopian Literature; “these texts position their readers within ethical and moral dilemmas analogous to those of fictional characters, thereby offering a potential space for selfreflection” (Mallan, 17). Self-reflection fosters personal growth and empathy, and the conflicts within the pages of YA Dystopian Literature often provide this platform. References: Bradbury, R. (1996). Fahrenheit 451. 1st trade ed. New York: Ballantine Books. Mallan, K. (2017). Dystopian fiction for young people: Instructive tales of resilience Actions. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 37(1), 16–24 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07351690.2017.1250586
Main Library
A Sample of Dystopian Literature from the Main Library Melinda Kehe, Middle School Librarian
The Giver by Lois Lowry Lois Lowry’s The Giver is the quintessential dystopian novel, followed by its remarkable companions, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back. Middle Grade and up - Newbery Medal winner.
Image source from goodread
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Set in the cruel world in the Capital of the nation of Panem, the annual Hunger Games pits young children against one another in a battle to the death on national t.v., so when Katniss is ordered to represent her district, she knows an important decision between survival and the love of another will have to be made when she is called to enter the ring. Middle Grade and up - starred reviews.
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Exodus by Julie Bertagna In the year 2100, as the island of Wing is about to be covered by water, fifteen-year-old Mara discovers the existence of New World sky cities that are safe from the storms and rising waters and convinces her people to travel to one of these cities in order to save themselves. Middle Grade and up - starred reviews.
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Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts. Middle Grade and up - starred reviews.
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Main Library
Ashfall by Mike Mullin After the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano that destroys his city and its surroundings, fifteen-yearold Alex must journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Illinois to find his parents and sister, trying to survive in a transformed landscape and a new society in which all the old rules of living have vanished. Young Adult - starred reviews.
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Legend by Marie Lu In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy. Young Adult - starred reviews.
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The Maze Runner by James Dashner When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone. Outside the towering stone walls that surround them is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out–and no one’s ever made it through alive. Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying: Remember. Survive. Run. Young Adult - starred reviews.
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Divergent by Veronica Roth In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all. Young Adult - starred review.
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Main Library
Unwind by Neal Shusterman In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives “unwound” and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to survive until they turn eighteen. Young Adult - starred reviews.
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The Declaration by Gemma Malley In 2140 England, where drugs enable people to live forever and children are illegal, teenaged Anna, an obedient “Surplus” training to become a house servant, has her world view challenged when she meets Peter and discovers that her birth parents are trying to find her. Young Adult - starred reviews.
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Scythe by Neal Shusterman In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (‘gleaned’) by professional reapers (‘scythes’). Two teens must compete with each other to become a scythe--a position neither of them wants. The one who becomes a scythe must kill the one who doesn’t. Young Adult - Honor Book for the Michael L. Printz Award.
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Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin The first book in a duology about an alternate version of 1956 where the Axis powers won WWII, and hold an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents to commemorate their victory. Young Adult - starred reviews.
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Main Library
Wool by Hugh Howey Thousands of them have lived underground. They’ve lived there so long, there are only legends about people living anywhere else. Such a life requires rules. Strict rules. There are things that must not be discussed. Like going outside. Never mention you might like going outside. Or you’ll get what you wish for. Adult - NY Times Bestseller.
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Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Set in the days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor’s early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the cross hairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Adult - National Book Award Finalist. Image source from goodread
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will not be able to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a mono theocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birth rate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population. The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. Adult - Winner of the 1985 Governor General’s Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award. Image source from goodread
The Testaments: the sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized readers for decades. When the van door slammed on Offred’s future at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her–freedom, prison or death. Adult - starred reviews and joint winner of the 2019 Man Booker Prize.
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Main Library
The Mother-Daughter Book Club Aryana Raj, Grade 9
Are you a grade 8 or 9 girl? Are you interested in joining a book club? Can you commit to at least one meeting for the remainder of this academic year (Spring 2020)? Joining a book group may seem like a huge commitment, but this group is casual and we have thought-provoking and fun conversations. With 20 members comprised of 8th and 9th-grade girls and their mothers, the aim of the group is: disconnect to connect. We do this by kindling a love of reading, exploring new books and ideas, and sharing our reflections on the book, school and life. We discussed Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli, during our first meeting in August 2019. I hosted this meeting at home with my mom, Dhooleka. There was a buffet inspired by the food truck idea in the book! We had a fantastic turnout and food for thought for everyone, while discussing ISB life in Middle and High school.
In this book, Spinelli explores conformity and societal norms. We exchanged views on how we each fight to be ourselves in a society that wants us all to be the same as one another. “Stargirl” was truly special and taught the whole of her school that being different isn’t that bad. We discussed many of the ways that the main theme of the book involves the main characters and how each of them represented a different way to live in the world. We touched on the role of social media, big earrings, and scrunchies. Our conversation ended with reflections on our lives at ISB. Despite having a uniform there are many ways people distinguish themselves aside from clothes. The main takeaway was to always stay true to yourself and to take time to know yourself well. In November 2019 we met at the MS/HS Library to reflect on, Blue Stockings, the high school play. We discussed how women did not have the right to a university education until very recently! Gender discrimination in education has existed throughout history, and still exists today in many parts of the world. The main themes were: discrimination, lack of access to education, gender expectations, and stereotypes. One of the biggest takeaways from this meeting was how women historically have been treated unequally.
In February 2019 our book meeting was Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. This meeting was hosted generously by Renu and Anjali with amazing food and a great place for us to connect. It was a coincidence that our gathering was right near the original publication date of Pride and Prejudice and thanks to Amber and Lola we enjoyed a surprise birthday cake for the book (and Mr. Darcy). Even though the book was published over 200 years ago many of the topics are still relevant today. Our discussions ranged from definitions of success, to how women didn’t have many basic rights, and how there are so many universal themes in the book that are still applicable in today’s day and age. We also spoke about the many adaptations and versions of the book, from Zombies to Indian arranged marriages (Bride and Prejudice).
While the specific questions will change based on our book, our conversations will always be engaging and fun to be a part of. This is a club open to any girls in 8th or 9th grade with their moms who are interested in reading and discussing books! We generally try to organize at a time convenient for working mothers and busy daughters. Please join us for the next Mother-Daughter Book Club! Our next meeting date is tentatively scheduled for 24 April (first Friday after the break) 4-6 pm. Please sign up to learn more info! Or send us an email at the addresses below. To join us please look for the link in the MS and HS announcements. Also, all our books are decided by the student members. Please see our home page (on the ISB library page under unit guides: miscellaneous) https://library.isb.ac.th/c.php?g=917253&p=6613568 Or, please email Aryana Raj (grade 9 student) 20505@students.isb. ac.th or melindak@isb.ac.th (Mrs. Kehe, Middle School Librarian)
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High School
Principal’s Principles Justin Alexander
Opportunity Knocks ‘an occasion or situation that makes it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do, or the possibility of doing something’ - Cambridge Dictionary
Dear Parents, There are many reasons why I enjoy my role as HS Principal at ISB, but the reason at the top of my list is being able to provide a variety of experiences and opportunities for High School students during their time here at ISB. With an experienced and talented teaching faculty, our students have wonderful learning opportunities presented to them every day. Our teachers challenge them, engage them, support them and care for them in the journey of learning throughout the school year. We see growth and progress in the work that our students produce, in their classroom discussions, in the depth of discourse with their teachers and classmates about current world events and issues. They are asked to show and explain their learning in a variety of ways, taking account of their different learning styles and needs. Some of the ways I see students show their learning when wandering around the High School include: ▪ Classroom debates ▪ Science experiments (actual and online simulations) ▪ Mock trials on ‘Lord of Flies’ ▪ TOK presentations ▪ Grade 11 English students giving their TedX talk on a topic of interest ▪ Skits on World History events ▪ Kahoot! competitions on a variety of topics ▪ Soundcloud presentations, etc. Along with the academic learning and experiences that our students benefit from there are a wide range of other opportunities that they can take advantage of: ▪ Leadership roles - Student, Varsity and House councils, the leadership of service clubs and activities. Running and organizing HS Assemblies. ▪ Athletics - BISAC and IASAS tournaments and competitions within Bangkok and around the Asia region. ▪ IASAS Cultural Conventions - Visual Art, Music, Debate, Tech, Dance, Drama, Forensics, MUN etc. also in Asia. ▪ Service - Habitat for Humanity, Operation Smile, Street Boys, Nonthaburi School for Deaf, English Service Project, Baan Rachawadee, Make a Difference and many more. ▪ Other: Vex Robotics, AMIS Music festivals, United Nations Film Festival, Amnesty International, Chess club and of course the Global Citizenship week trips in February. There are rich choices and a variety of opportunities available to our students at ISB and I am proud that many of them do take advantage of these opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others around them and to be the best they can be. Thank you to you (the parents) for also providing them with the greatest opportunity of them all - education. Regards Justin Alexander High School Principal 56
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High School
GCW -A Week of Adaptability! Andy Vaughan, Dean of Students
6:59.58 seconds… 6:59.59 seconds... 7:00.00 pm GCW registration opens! Within the next 100 seconds our senior students have signed up and ‘sold out’ GCW Oman, Street Boys, and the majority of spots on a number of trips on offer for GCW 2019-20. Fast forward 147 days, four days prior to when a number of our trips depart and our students who were on International trips find themselves in the MPB hearing the news that these trips have been cancelled. They must choose their new trip within the next 8 hours, get placed on a trip within the next day, return forms overnight, attend their first and last GCW meeting two days later, and then join a course at the end of that weekend or the following Monday depending on when their new course starts. It’s moments like these that I throw myself into our student’s shoes and ask how I would react? The changes that were made as a school, required a total of 168 students who were on International trips to truly live out one of our ISB attributes, that of adaptability. The need to be adaptable was not only the case for our students who lost their trips, but also for the students who now had to adjust and accommodate an increase in the numbers of students on their trips. There is no doubt that our students were thrown into a situation that was challenging in the shifting nature of what happened in those final days of planning for GCW. What impressed me at the end of the week was talking with some of the students who returned. Ploy, a Junior at ISB was originally on the Vietnam trip, however after the changes, she was placed on the Reefs to Rain forest trip. In Ploy’s words: ‘Reefs to Rain forests’ gave us a chance to witness the hidden gems of southern
Thailand. We travelled to many provinces and swam at a reservoir, a waterfall,
a cave, a beach, and the ocean. Activities we did were kayaking, snorkelling, and planting mangroves. My most memorable experience would be when we travelled by long tail boats to our floating raft houses in Khao Sok National Park. Although our rooms were very minimal and there was no phone service,
it was an amazing experience as we were able to completely disconnect and take in the stunning limestone cliffs as well as the animals around us.
Will, a Senior didn’t have to change trips, however his choice gave him more than he expected in Teacher internship. Will shares: This week, I did a teacher internship as my GCW. I wasn’t all that excited at first,
but I knew I was going to learn something new. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did. I taught Middle School drama students in 6, 7, and 8th grade who all have a lot of energy. I was lucky enough to receive feedback from all 60+ students I taught. Finding something that I’m able to explain to students and getting these skills passed onto them feels incredible. I appreciate the opportunity and what I’ve learned from it.
Akio, a Senior was originally scheduled for GCW Bali, but at the last minute decided to stay local and joined our Bangkok Adventure Trip, which really helped him understand the local culture much more. Akio shares: Throughout the five days of Bangkok Adventure trip, I looked at different
aspects of Thai culture which I would not know if I was just living downtown or staying at school, such as agriculture, entertainment, and sport. While I have
been living in Thailand for three years, there were lots of cultures that I did not know. As a senior who will graduate from ISB in 4 months and leave Thailand, it
was a great opportunity to fully enjoy the country. The whole journey was very memorable and there was always something interesting to learn, like the King’s
approach to improve the agriculture in Thailand where people suffered from the poor soil. I was very impressed with his passion towards improving the quality of life in Thailand.
This course did not seem so enjoyable at first because I was supposed to go to
Bali. I honestly got very disappointed that I had to change it. However, I enjoyed the five days, being acceptable, active and positive towards the activities, which is a characteristic I did not have. I, for instance, was the first one to join
in the mud stamping activity to make the clay for building houses, which most of the boys and girls hate to do. With the unexpected virus situation, this year’s GCW trip made me more acceptable and grew me up into a decent senior.
Ironically, I also was thrown into a similar situation on the Sunday night after GCW when the school published the statement about the quarantine for a number of countries, which instantly cancelled our travel as we were about to jump into a taxi to fly to Japan a few hours later. In a matter of minutes, we were faced with the same loss as our High School students and were presented with the need to be adaptable. Here we were about to lose our holiday that was planned almost identically in terms of days in advance as our students had picked their GCW, but in this moment I had to take a leaf out of our student’s experience, in how they coped, and how they demonstrated their adaptability. I feel that our students may have learned more in their adjusted experiences on this year’s GCW than in the past. It is through these times when we are faced with challenges and uncertainty that we have to be adaptable and understand ourselves more. There is no doubt that the coming months will be faced with similar situations to this as we cope with this new virus and its presence in our world. Let’s aim to continue to be adaptable and open to the changes and uncertainties that are going to come our way. Let’s also look to learn from our children as they can teach us much about being adaptable and how important this is during these times.
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Global Citizenship Week 2020 - A Montage
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Global Citizenship Week 2020 - A Montage
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AMIS Honor Jazz Festival 2019 - London, England Thomas Myers, HS Band / IB Music Teacher
In late 2019, four HS boys were able to travel to London to experience an excellent educational opportunity in the beautiful, cultural capital of the United Kingdom. After a long 12 hour flight, Tan Monsereenusorn, Tee Chindasook, Daniel Namatinia, and Bryan Chen, as well as chaperones Mr. Myers and Mr. Alexander, took right away to seeing and experiencing the great city. First stop was the reenactment and photo of the ‘Abbey Road’ Beatles album cover! Then off to the saxophone store, Sax. co.uk, where there were literally hundreds of the world’s finest saxophones on display to admire. We only purchased reeds, but did get to see a contrabass saxophone. Moving on we walked down to the Thames riverside and enjoyed ice cream and seeing the magnificent architecture. We moved on to Westminster Abbey and were wowed at the number of famous people entombed in the gorgeous Cathedral. We encountered many buskers along the way, as well as Brexit protests, and many characters. Lastly, we visited Buckingham Palace to watch the guards and see where the Queen sleeps. We finished our day with some sushi and noodles and headed to our hotel via the tube. Once the jazz festival began, students were studying and practicing throughout the entire day at our host school, American School of London. We took the tube downtown later and the students enjoyed a West End performance of the musical ‘Wicked.’ The final two days of rehearsals culminated in great performances of the Jazz Workshop students and the Honor Jazz Band and Vocalists. The conductors were outstanding, and students that improvised were truly inspired. ISB was very well represented by our participants as they all played solos and displayed some strong skills and musicianship. After a week of extended travel, we all agreed it was well worth the time, expense, and labor. It is truly heartwarming to see students interested in jazz, and willing to spend the time and effort to improve their musical experience in a setting shared by other students from around the world.
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High School
IASAS Dance - Winning Challenges in Creative Projects Jaleea Price, MS & HS Dance Teacher
This year’s Varsity IASAS Dance ensemble won the invitational Dance Challenge held at Bangkok Patana School (BPS) back in January. The 11 members team competed against other international schools in performing their own original choreography before a panel of judges. The 4 minute excerpt was awarded 1st place by several professional dance-artists, including a celebrity guest from the “Step Up” dance-movies. Each year the Varsity IASAS Dance ensemble creates a 20-minute choreography with a different theme chosen by the performers. This year the work is entitled, (Dis)-Array. It explores the developments of simplicity into structure and eventually organized chaos! The dancers worked several hours each day after school to create, refine, and perform their art in a collaborative project including sound design, lights, and theater staging. They presented their final creation at ISB before traveling to IASAS Cultural Convention’s host school in early March. Congratulations to Varsity Dance on their winning the BPS Challenge, and best of luck in IASAS CC this year in Singapore! TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
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Two Billion Kilometers to Safety Plengrhambhai Kruesopon, Grade 10
On the night of September 27th 2019, the ISB community took part in the worldwide 2 Billion Kilometers to Safety campaign, hosted by the high school ISB United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) club. Our community stood in solidarity with refugees and showed support by traversing a cumulative distance of 845km, which will be added towards the global goal of 2 billion km. A total of 85,399 Baht was raised and all proceeds will be donated to UNHCR Thailand, in support of their mission to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. The ISB UNHCR Club members would like to thank the Nichada community for their participation, support and for coming out on the tracks and making their steps count. We would also like to extend our appreciation to all ISB teachers and staff members - without all of your hard work, assistance, and guidance, this event would not have been possible. Thank you to Mr. Quinet and Mrs. Hansberry, who’s patience, expertise, and time, enabled us to organize such a successful event during Spirit Night; Mrs. Bremnar for providing our club with the generous Booster hut donations; Mrs. Millana and Mrs. Ann for their donation on behalf of the Zumba Nichida group; and Mr. Giles, for expanding our event to the XC team which added immensely to the community spirit. We would also like to thank the Building and Grounds staff for help in setting up our carnival in the Auxi right after school, and staying long after the event was over, to help clean up. Finally, a big thanks to Nike, Singha and Fine Info for sponsoring our event, providing us with amazing raffle prizes, beverages, and games. We hope you know how much we appreciate all of the support each and every one of you has contributed to this event to benefit refugees in need and it would not have been successful without all of your help, participation, and support. So thank you for standing with refugees. See you again next year :) The ISB UNHCR Club Pleng Kruesopon, Natalia Yepes, Firishta Wadia, Pinkie Temcharoen, Hannah Merritt, Yongyi Zhou
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High School
HS Astronomy Club
Sarah Steward, Science Teacher, Shea Tan, Natasha McCarty & Caelyn Macky, Grade10
At the beginning of December, the HS Astronomy club went to the EWC to take advantage of the great viewing weather. They saw numerous meteors, as well as Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn plus some other amazing cosmological objects. This was a student-led trip and the officers did a great job. A huge thanks to the EWC staff and Ronny Welch for all the help and time to make this happen. Some may be wondering, what is the Astronomy Club, and why does it exist? The Astronomy Club is dedicated to students who all share an interest in space, or just want to learn more about it. Anyone and everyone is welcome -- no prior knowledge of The Great Unknown is required! This club was created by 4 passionate students just last year, and now the club has doubled in size.
This club also looks to educate the younger students at ISB about Astronomy. One of the events we planned was a 5th Grade Astronomy Night. On Monday, November 25, 2019, we set up telescopes on top of the zig-zag to view Saturn and Jupiter. We also had many fun activities inside the MPB for the 5th graders. This night was aimed to get the students excited about astronomy during the Space Unit in their classes, and the night turned out to be very successful with over 100 students and parents showing up. The Astronomy Club works especially towards the ISB attribute of Globally Minded. Through meetings, club members are exposed to many recent astronomical events in space, as well as new rocket launches and discoveries around the world.
Steel Panthers Robotics Win Thailand Tournament! Jacob Ortwein, HS Design & Technology Teacher
For the 3rd year in a row, ISB has won the honor to go to VEX robotics world championships! Thirty ISB students competed in the Thailand VEX robotics championships at NIST International School amongst 20 teams on Saturday February 1, 2020. Team 8861E won the elusive spot for the world championships with a team from Indonesia but the other teams in the final were an alliance of ISB teams 8861C and 8861B. A big congratulations to all teams that participated, robotics club members, and a big thank you to hosts NIST. See you in Kentucky for VEX World’s 2020!
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ISB Women in STEM Sarah Steward, Science Teacher
As part of a new Innovative Practice, a small group of teachers are trying to address a global issue of why female students are not pursuing studies in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. According to UNESCO (2017) only 28.8% of people in science research and development careers are female and these numbers fall drastically in Physics and Engineering. Whilst ISB has always been an inclusive school with equal opportunities for all, a similar pattern is observed in our own STEM subjects. The small group has set out to find some reasons why female students are less likely to take Physics and other subjects, but more importantly, the aim is to evaluate a number of small measures taken that will affect female students’ future choices. What are we doing? Action research on perception students have about Science - The research team, with the support of our ISB colleagues, have set about finding out some perceptions of science differences in male and female students. We have asked students in grade 5 and grade 11 to share their perceptions and will be using these to inform future practices.
Building a Radio Telescope - A team of 3 Juniors (Rhea Kapoor, Leah Scranton and Adys Yusuf) have set themselves the aim of building ISB’s first-ever Radio telescope. This can be used at the EWC to make radio observations of Jupiter and the Sun. This amazing team has learnt how to set out proposals, apply for funding and are now teaching themselves to solder electronic components in the Invention Center. They are being creative in designing the structure and are looking forward to showing the telescope to younger groups.
All Girls Robotics Team - This was a student-led initiative. The group wanted to form an all-girls team and increase female participation in robotics. They self-managed their time to build a robot and did amazingly at their first-ever competition in Taipei, making it into the 16 of 36 teams. They hope their courage will inspire more students to join the team.
FAB Girls - This initiative is to encourage Girls age 8 to 14 to become more confident in using the invention centre. They work on building items for the community and this year will build step boxes for us in the ES Art quad.
Today’s role models and Future Leaders - Some of the female students in the IB Higher Level (HL) Junior class have been leading the Grade 3 and 5 Girl Scout troops in their STEM and Space badges. This is not only valuable leadership experience and a great CAS project for the HS students, but also provides excellent role models for our future scientists.
ISB Women in STEM Mentorship - This was a program started last year and will begin running again later this semester. It brings together our ISB students with female scientists working in a range of industries. Last year we had the alumni talk to a group about research and another career professional talked to just one student about their career in computer science. How can our ISB Community help? Encourage your daughters to take a risk. Many feel they have more to lose than their male peers, so will often avoid situations they think they will not be good at. Use examples of role models from all genders so that all students have someone to relate. Try to avoid the stereotypes of only male role models doing the building, electronics and technology; or only female role models just being involved in cooking and caring duties. Everyone can do it all. These examples can come from books or even used in play with younger children. Do you have an event or opportunity which you think would be great for any of our students to use their STEM skills? Maybe you are involved in a STEM profession yourself and would love to be part of the mentorship program? Come and ask, if you want to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact me sarahst@isb.ac.th
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High School
High School House Council
Junior Special Olympics
House Council is the newest of the five High School councils at ISB, starting in 2016. House Council is a student-led council that aims to integrate students from every grade level by separating the student body into houses. Instead of being separated by grade levels, students are encouraged to interact with a variety of students from other grade levels in both their own house and with the other houses.
The annual Junior Special Olympics, this year held on November 2nd 2019, allowed the ISB High School community to come together with the common goal of helping others. The Junior Special Olympics allows students to collaborate with each other, while facilitating local Thai students who are physically or mentally challenged. The activities students engage in, range from playing with parachutes and soccer balls,to dancing and getting creative with arts and crafts!
Pinkie Temcharoen, Jenna Jokhani & James Chie, Grade 10
There are four different houses that are associated with four mythical beings from Thai culture: Rajasi, Hongsa, Makara, and Yaksha. Rajasi is the Thai lion, Hongsa is the Thai Swan, Makara is the Thai snake, and Yaksha is the Thai giant. Each house is also linked to a color. Rajasi is red, Hongsa is yellow, Makara is blue, and Yaksha is green. Every High School student has a house shirt, which was funded partly by a grant from the PTA. Students are encouraged to wear their shirts whilst competing at or supporting house events. House Council provides all High School students with many engaging and fun activities and events throughout the year. In addition, House Council also keeps house spirit going by awarding points for both achievement and participation in extracurricular activities that students throughout High School participate in. This includes attending or supporting IASAS events, completing service activities or simply through supporting housemates by watching them in a school play. One example of an event that has been running for a couple of years is the annual “Clash of the Dodges� dodgeball tournament. At this event, students are able to make up their own team before the event or sign up solo and be put into a team. A round-robin tournament ensues which ends in a dramatic final dodgeball game with one team being crowned the winners. Another recent event that has quickly become a student favorite is the golf cart movie drive-in. Once everyone has returned back from winter break House Council organizes a movie drive-in to start the semester off strong! After each event, achievement and participation points are counted by the House Council and are displayed in the school throughout the two semesters in order to reveal the current position of each house. To give a visual representation of the points each house has a visual bead system. These physical beads are put into the relevant House display. Students can go to the HS office and see the beads on display, as part of the House trophy, and see the progress of each House.
Sara Khan, Grade 11
Many students on the track to receiving their IB diploma, make the most of this opportunity to complete their CAS (creativity, activity, service) project. The primary purpose of the CAS project is to ensure participation in sustained collaboration, allowing students to discover the benefits of teamwork through an exchange of ideas and abilities. Although organizing the 2019 Junior Special Olympics was challenging, it allowed us to show initiative, demonstrate perseverance, and develop skills of cooperation, problem solving, and decision making.
Collaborating with a group of students at ISB, as well as the disabled students from other Thai local schools was extremely rewarding. While organising this rewarding event, not only did I develop new personal skills, but I also made an abundance of new friendships along the way! Definitely be sure to join in on this gratifying event next year!
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Beyond the Grade
Sara Khan Grade 11, Panther Nation Opinion Reporter
The ambitious nature of many students attending the International School Bangkok (ISB), at times limits students from pursuing passions, due to the rigid structure of academic rubrics and various requirements which students must meet in order to apply for prestigious colleges. However, as students continue exploring avenues which allow them to experience personal growth; they come to recognise the numerous advantages and inevitable success which follows when they pursue activities and projects which personally interest them, motivated by true passion rather than a quantifiable number on an academic rubric. So, PantherNation asked ISB’s HS students to recall assignments or activities they pursued which meant MORE than a grade, or classwork they did that had a profound impact on some part of their lives. Below are a sampling of the responses: Amani Grade 11 “Personally speaking, the Imperialism Project which I undertook in my sophomore year was a project that, although assigned as a summative, became a creative task to feed my curiosity. Throughout the course of the project, my motivation to research and accomplish said task shifted from that of a grading standpoint, to that of genuine interest and curiosity - especially since I was researching the British colonization of Kenya (my home country). The project, although intimidating and daunting when assigned, became the highlight of my World Studies 10 course. Learning more about my cultural heritage has allowed me to better appreciate my African heritage, while contributing to the development of my personal identity. This project for me was definitely about more than just the grade.” Fizza Grade 12 “During my junior year of high school, I was lucky enough to be able to write a TEDx talk as a part of my English course. We were given the opportunity to choose a topic that we were particularly passionate about and write a speech about something that we wanted to share with the rest of our community. Personally, something that stood out for me, was the representation of mental health in the media, and with personal experiences in that field, I was compelled to write about it to spread awareness for the reality of mental health disorders and what they truly mean. I wanted to reduce the negative stigma around mental health and show that we should teach our children about it, accepting as opposed to alienating. This experience is really important to me, because it showed me that if I put my mind to something, I am able to spread a message that is important to me and let people know what I have to say. I’m very grateful for being able to learn from everyone else around me and contribute to something special that we have here at ISB.” Brian Grade 12 “One of the most significant experiences I have had throughout High School is being a part of the Model United Nations (MUN) club. This extracurricular activity in no way has any merit in terms of grade, but has impacted me in numerous ways on a personal level. Some people might think that the club is just about improving 70
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public speaking, but this really undermines the essence of the club. What made MUN so special to me was the debates we had every week, allowing me to interact with all my friends. One of the reasons MUN had such a profound impact on me was the fact that when I first moved to ISB, I didn’t know much English, nor much about the “international conventions” and events happening around the world. Having the opportunity of engaging with my supporting peers and my caring advisors, allowed me to better adapt to the ISB community when I moved here in ninth grade from a Korean public school. The supportive environment which MUN club built for me during my younger years allowed me to feel included. The skills I take away from this club are of course, becoming a better public speaker and writer; but also being a part of such a supportive community made me realise that a leader can change the dynamics of an organization, which is something I learnt from MUN and have been taking with me to other clubs that I join. The establishment of such a supportive community truly has profound impacts on an individual, this is something MUN has taught me and something I hope to create in other organizations that I am a part of in the future.” Milla Grade 11 “In my freshman year, the only project I really felt passionate about was a video I had to make for Panther Nation. I did it on the Intensive Needs classroom which was new at the time. I think both the purpose and message of the program as well as the opportunity to be creative really made me want to execute something I was proud of. It was definitely an introduction to making videos and allowed me to learn more about video production, while also producing content that I was proud of, which showcased this special program at ISB.” Sajid Grade 12 “For the past few months, every Tuesday, I have debate club from 2:30-5:10pm (almost three hours of debating after school). Considering that I’m in my senior year, this is a lot of time that I have sacrificed for an activity that in no way affects my grade. To be honest, I don’t even do it for the college application, but because I genuinely enjoy it. Debate is almost like a de-stresser, a time to de-stress and do something that I really enjoy. I think this time that I spend outside of my academic life is extremely valuable, rather than just sitting at home and studying. Even though this activity involves a large time commitment, these types of extracurricular commitments are exactly what bring balance to my life and I’m so glad that I have found something that I really enjoy and love to do to supplement the work that I do in school. This balance that I have found between spending my time partaking in extracurricular activities such as debate, and allocating time to work on my academic coursework is what makes me successful in both activities. This time management which I have learnt through my engagement in debate club is something that will be extremely beneficial to me for college life, as well as life in general after that.”
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Daniel Grade 11 “During my freshman year, I had a project where I had to analyse a song and the lyrics to the song. For this project I chose to use songs written and sung by Chance the Rapper. Although not a very classical or sophisticated musician, this man was an artist who I genuinely enjoyed listening to and who I had a special interest in. While working on this project, not only did I build on my knowledge about musical conventions, I also got to learn more information about Chance the Rapper which was previously unknown to me. I did not do this project for the grade, but rather because I was interested in the topic of diving deeper into the music produced by an artist who I admired. By taking on this project, not only did I satisfy my urge for learning more about one of my favorite artists, I also learnt the importance of pursuing and engaging in topics and projects which truly engage me.” Zwe Grade 12 “The things that I have done in High School that have had the most profound impact on me, have been travelling on multiple IASAS trips for both MUN or Cultural Convention (CC) Forensics and Debate. More importantly than just debating and learning, and learning how to talk fancy in front of people; I think the most profound things I have taken away from these trips are how to be a good, caring person, both politically as well as in a social situation. These trips have allowed me to learn how to interact with different kinds of people from different backgrounds, people who I would not have met had I chosen to stay at home and not participate in these activities and travel for these trips. Looking back at High School, I think the things I am going to take away are definitely the relationships that I have developed on these multiple IASAS trips, not only between my peers at ISB but also amongst the other IASAS schools. The ability to form friendships in such a short amount of time, with people who I know nothing about, who come from such varying cultural backgrounds than myself, will definitely prove beneficial for establishing a life for myself post graduation.” Nae Nae Grade 12 “One of the most memorable high school project for me was the Extended Essay (EE). I did my EE on evaluating the effectiveness of universal healthcare in rural areas in Thailand, which is part of the Health and Development aspect of the World Studies subject group. Inspired by my involvement in community service and eagerness to mitigate social issues, I studied how Thailand’s universal health care helped satisfy the wants and needs of the rural population. I really enjoyed the experience of undertaking research, which definitely prepared me well for college. Coming across one of the papers published by a health-economics professor of Chulalongkorn University when researching my topic, I decided to contact her for an interview and discuss my interest in economics with her. I was given a valuable opportunity to intern as her research assistant over the summer and gain real work experience related to my interests. Overall, the EE not only made me a better
researcher, but it also enabled me to apply my knowledge to the real-world and ignited my passion to continue studying economics and public policy in university.” Kate Grade12 “Playing sports has been an outlet for me for as long as I can remember. My love for football started when I was in Elementary School and played on my first team with my Dad as my coach. Throughout High School, sports has continued to be a way I connect with my Dad but has also helped me become more confident and to take on leadership roles. Sports at ISB has provided me with balance during an extremely hectic, anxietyfilled, IB High School experience. I love that when I step on the field or the track I can temporarily forget about everyday stresses and just focus on and enjoy what I’m doing (not to mention feel the release of all those good old endorphins). At ISB we’re extremely fortunate to have the sporting opportunities, facilities, and especially lucky to have the coaches that we have. My football team at ISB has been an extremely important support group for me and going to practice has felt like going to hang out with a group of best friends who I know have my back. I am so grateful to our coaches for putting in the time to not just coach us but also support us and care so much about us. I know that sports and the memories I’ve made through them will continue to have a special place in my heart and will be an important part of my life.” Sara Grade 11 Personally, during English class in my sophomore year, we were asked to write a feature article about an individual who we admired, or had in some way a profound impact on the lives of others; I immediately knew that for me this person was my grandfather. As I began the process of interviewing him, and researching more about the time he served on the Indian Air Force, I came to realize that this article meant much more to me than the grade, I was rather honoring my grandfather and his achievements. Upon completion of the article, the pride and approval received from my grandfather was satisfying in and of itself, regardless of the numerical grade. Pursuing passions and engaging in entities which truly interest individuals, not only profoundly impacts and shapes them, but also allows them to garner skills which may prove beneficial for future interest they may choose to engage in. At times, the rigid structure of the academic curriculum is not tailored to the learning interest of all students, however when given the flexibility, students should always choose to pursue and engage in topics/activities which genuinely interest them. The criteria for engaging in entities must not be based on the influential status it may hold on an application or rubric, but rather the personal net benefit gained; whether this be in the form of personal growth and development or for the sake of pursuing one’s passion.
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Sports
Season Two!
Derrick Quinet, Athletics Director
SEASON TWO Season two came and went in a flurry of activity and events, but the highlights and memories will last a lifetime. Our High School teams fused learning, fun, and unmatched competitive opportunities and parlayed it into one of our most magical seasons in years.
decade. Head Coaches Net (boys) and Noop (girls) led their teams to IASAS with purpose and confidence, and the boys team knocked off the perennial champs locally (BISAC) and internationally (IASAS) to bring home the double gold for the first time since 2007.
Kicking off in November, our teams hit the ground running with high hopes and enviable enthusiasm. The rugby program continued to grow and flourish under the guidance of head coach and rugby coordinator Andy McRobbie, with student interest at an all-time high and skill development blossoming at all levels. The rugby team enjoyed hyper competitive home and away matches with Thai rugby powers Kings College and Vajiravudh College, and this year our boys stood up to the challenge. Dulwich College Shanghai and the British School of Cairo joined our international tournament this year, as the Panthers honed their teamwork and toughness for IASAS. The JV program continued to provide a great foundation and future for ISB rugby, as our coaches have built ISB into the premier program for rugby development in Bangkok.
Coach Chad Bates continued his mission to nurture touch within Bangkok and strengthen the game within Thailand by offering workshops for coaches and reaching out to international experts for support. The ISB Panthers proved to be the class of the city, running away with the BISAC championships and inspiring a new generation of JV and varsity players to love the sport.
Season Two Spirit Night was a resounding success, highlighting our tennis, touch, swimming, and rugby teams. The Booster Club were joined by some new, delicious vendors and the varsity council brought a Bouncy Castle to the community that even our Head of School, Andy Davies, couldn’t stray from! Kids rejoiced and cheered on our Panthers with vigorous passion and pride, reinforcing the fact that ISB delivers community events like no other school in the world! The boys and girls tennis programs offered a JV program for the first time, and behind the strength of our burgeoning Panther tennis program, ISB enjoyed a level of success not reached in over a
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The basketball programs continued to thrive, adding enviable experiential opportunities to reinforce the value of educational athletics and team participation. The varsity boys began their year with an adventure trip to Kanchanaburi, learning to stand-up paddle board on the River Kwai. Both varsity teams then headed back to China for the Great Wall Shootout, a spirited and competitive tournament that also enables phenomenal team bonding and a trip to the Great Wall! The JV teams demonstrated their depth and love for the game, representing ISB with class throughout Bangkok. The season was capped off by the girls’ varsity team making the final in the IASAS Championship. It was a season full of laughter, growth and achievement! ISB is fortunate to have so many caring, experienced, and committed educator coaches. They are the driving force behind our successful programs and our students’ lifelong love for sports and activity. Our community support is unmatched and our parents and Booster Club add immeasurable value to the lives of our student-athletes. This collaboration between students, parents, and coaches makes being
Sports
an ISB Panther an unforgettable experience. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this successful season! IASAS RECAP 2020 Our Panthers performed to the peak of their abilities at the S2 IASAS Championships, while ISB and our unrivaled community hosted two more top-tier tournaments at home. The spirit and cheer from the IASAS Swim Championships echoed across Nichada, as our swimmers whipped up a frenzy of PB’s in the water. Crowds swarmed to the pool to witness our boys battle the best in Asia, as the whole community came out to support the ISB teams. Congratulations go out to the boys team on their hard-fought silver medal performance and to the girls team for their well-earned 4th place finish. Thank you to our incredible swim community, athletic department, and supporting staff for delivering such a thrilling and IASAS enjoyable event, and thank you coaches and athletes for all of your hard work and determination to prepare to compete! We are proud of you! ISB picked up the IASAS Boys Tennis Championships from Manila due to the activity of the Taal Volcano, and our fans got to witness the first gold medal for ISB in 13 years! Our young and talented boys team went toe-to-toe with the big guns and emerged undefeated victors and champions of IASAS! The boys also won the BISAC championship for the first time in 13 years, knocking off regional powerhouse BPS in the final to cap their unbeaten season. The girls tournament shifted to Singapore where our girls team earned a berth in the bronze medal match. Our girls team, also young, played to their best ability while finishing a strong fourth overall, with high hopes for the future. Congratulations to all of our tennis players, coaches, and ardent supporters! The future is very bright.
ISB’s varsity rugby team tested its newfound strength and experience against the big dogs of IASAS in Singapore this year, building upon a tremendous regular season. ISB surprised favorites ISM in the first match, drawing 17-17 and serving notice to all challengers. After nearly qualifying for the championship, ISB took on hosts SAS in the bronze medal match. The Mighty Panthers proved just how far they have come, defeating the Eagles on their home turf and bringing home the bronze medal! The varsity touch team dominated defensively and were the toughest test for eventual champion ISM, holding them to only two tries. The girls also tied silver medalists SAS 1-1. The chips didn’t fall for our girls in the overall draw, but they left IASAS knowing they were the toughest team to beat and are an awakening force in IASAS. Congratulations to our rugby / touch teams on their incredible performances! The ISB girls basketball team shocked the IASAS world in the semifinals of the 2020 championships, upsetting #1 seed TAS with an outstanding team defensive effort! The Panthers parlayed their youthful energy into a dominant outing on the boards and sealed the game with steals and free throws. The second place, silver medal finish caps a remarkable climb for the girls basketball program, one that shows no sign of slowing down given their youth and passion. The boys basketball team played their best basketball in their final games of the season, reaching a goal set early to play their finest in the finale. In front of a packed gymnasium, ISB defeated JIS in a highly competitive match, earning 5th place overall and providing invaluable experience for the seven first-time IASAS athletes on the team. Keep your eyes on these two hungry teams and programs. It was undoubtedly another incredible season for ISB’s IASAS teams and a reminder of how much our Panther Pride positively influences our school community, teams, and program. Go Panthers!
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Season Two!
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U11-U15 BISAC Sports
Mark Jaspers, Associate Athletics Director
If you ever walked around our campus between 2:30 and 5:00pm you will see a lot of young athletes and passionate coaches having fun playing sports and working hard to become better at what they do. I can’t believe that our U11-U15 teams have already completed 2 seasons of sports this school year. I guess it’s true that time flies when you are having fun! For those new to ISB, you might need to know that our teams compete in the Bangkok International School Athletic Conference. This athletic conference consists of international schools in and around the greater Bangkok area. Competition is arranged between member schools by age levels. The culminating activity for each season is a Saturday tournament hosted by one of the BISAC schools. In season one we competed in Basketball, Cross Country, Tennis, Rugby and Touch. Our 2nd season sports are Soccer and Badminton. Our Student-Athletes are very fortunate to have such world class facilities at their disposal as well as a dedicated coaching staff. At ISB we measure success in growth, achievement, impact and enjoyment. We believe that success comes from a good process that sometimes takes longer, but will last a lifetime. As you will understand, all our teams are at different stages in this process and one of the most important things we can do to improve is have our athletes compete as much as possible so they gain valuable experience that they can use when they move on to the next level. During the season we try and have all of our teams play in other tournaments. This is where the real learning takes place. How do you win with grace and lose with dignity, how do you pick yourself up after a disappointment? What can we learn from our last game and how can you make sure to do better in the next? In season 1, ISB hosted friendly basketball tournaments for all of our U13-U15 teams as well as friendly Rugby and Touch tournaments to help our athletes develop their skills. Our Cross Country runners all competed in our Panther run series and many of them recorded personal bests during these races. We also sent our U11 A basketball teams to tournaments at other schools prior to the BISAC finals. In season 2 all of our teams competed in Soccer and badminton tournaments in Bangkok. Unfortunately, our season
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2 BISAC competition got cancelled again this year, but that doesn’t take away the more important achievements of our athletes who were part of our sports teams. I could easily list the results of all our teams in this article and it would be mix of gold, silver, bronze and other positions, but instead I rather list the learning outcomes that all athletes have achieved by participating in school sports. These go beyond the sport they play and are valuable in many other areas of their lives. First of all, they all had the Courage to come out for a representative sports team and compete with other International Schools in Bangkok. Courage is also needed to take out your best game when it’s needed the most, whether it’s the game deciding lay-up in basketball, or playing that difficult shot in tennis when it’s needed the most. Student-athletes learn about Commitment by showing up for practice, working hard to become the best they can be and perform at their best when it’s needed the most. Integrity is important because we play fair, even when it’s the game winning point in a tennis match and the ball is close to call. I am proud that most players will do the right thing, especially when the stakes are high. ISB Athletes also Care for their teammates. I’ve seen multiple examples of our athletes helping each other up when one was down, or supported teammates who made a mistake in a game. Many ISB teams have adopted the wonderful Thai tradition of the Wai to show Respect to their opponent, officials as well as Gratitude to the parents who took the time to support their children in games. One of the great things about ISB is endless opportunities for students to participate in activities after school, but this also comes with a challenge: Many of our students learn to Balance their lives and sometimes have to make choices to maintain this good balance. This always comes with the need for Responsibility to communicate clearly with coaches, teammates and their parents about the potential conflicts they have to resolve to be involved in so many wonderful activities. By the time you read this, season 3 will already be in full swing and I am sure that students will have another great season of sports here at ISB. GO PANTHERS!
Sports
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Travelogue
My Adventures at the Khao Yai National Park Vaanya Kapur, Grade 5
This winter break my family stayed in Bangkok and since we hadn’t explored Thailand that much we decided to do just that. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, we decided to undertake road trips to Koh Chang and Khao Yai. During our time in Khao Yai, we went to the National Park, where we walked through some trails and trekked a bit. While a few could be done easily, some were demanding and treacherous. When we went on a few unusually difficult ones, there were a few areas where one had to be cautious else you would end up like me. Let me explain. We did a few trails, but then we went to a tough trail that leads to a waterfall. On the way to the waterfall, I observed that the leaves were scattered everywhere, and there was a lot of greenery. Quite often the path was blocked by various objects for example logs fallen down, puddles, bulging rocks, etc. We always had to be alert, after all, anything could be lurking anywhere. We heard a few noises, saw a few footprints and found animal droppings so we were a little bit afraid. In fact, a baboon hopped in front of our path and on our way to the waterfall we saw a humongous wild elephant. It was a complicated path with a trail that wasn’t that clear, which made it easy to wander off the path. We finally reached a waterfall but we kept going and found a bigger one that was a continuation of the first one. As we got closer to the waterfall I could feel the wind embrace my face. I could see that the water was crystal clear with a strong movement which made fish and tadpoles look like little orange and green dots scurrying through the water. Ahead was a beautiful view of the setting sun as the humongous green mountains began to cover it. I felt like anything could happen here, it felt magical. But we still had to be careful, after all the water had made the rocks slippery. I was in such a calm and beautiful area yet, I suddenly started feeling scared and unsafe as though a hole of darkness deep down was devouring me by the second. I tried to focus on the view but I just couldn’t put aside the fact that I was unsafe. My mind was racing. What if I fell into the water? What if something jumps out at me? What if I slip? A million thoughts started racing through in my head! To get to the actual waterfall we had to climb a steep, flat and slippery 80
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rock. I really didn’t want to do this. I could feel sweat dripping off me, my head getting warm and my hands and legs trembling. I started the climb, it seemed impossible, it was so flat that I had nowhere to stabilize my hands or feet. I was fine till about halfway there but then I had absolutely nowhere to put my right foot, I was lost and sort of panicking. I tried to put it somewhere but I could barely hold on. So when half of my body reached the top I just got up like I was getting out of a swimming pool. I kicked and struggled but, there was nowhere to kick, I was just kicking into thin air. When I finally rolled to the top I felt so relieved. Now I was at the source of the waterfall. There was a really small “pond” near the rope bridge. The rope bridge was a finger’s length away. It looked so strong and sturdy. I reached for it but, as soon as my hand grabbed the rope I knew that it wasn’t strong or sturdy at all. In fact, it was barely supporting me, I could probably fall into the small pond any second. Suddenly an orange fish started emerging from the water. It moved closer toward it and as I did my foot moved toward the algae until my feet were about half a centimeter away from the algae. Now I had to be extremely careful. My head peered over the edge of the water but the fish had vanished. That’s weird, I just saw it! I thought to myself. As I started to get up I could feel my foot slipping, and I instantly gave myself a jerk to avoid doing so. The movement however ended up making me slip even further and I started to fall into the water. Splash! Thankfully, it wasn’t that deep but it was so cold, slimy, dark and uncomfortable. My mom was on another rock on my left side, my brother was below me on another rock and my dad was on the other side of the waterfall. I just screamed so loudly. Fish started coming towards me and before I knew it my dad had pulled me out of the water. I was cold and drenched. My shoes, clothes, and accessories were all wet! I felt so uncomfortable and awkward. I didn’t feel very lucky that day but, it was an experience that I learned from and now when I look back at that day, I laugh. Falling into the small pond wasn’t that great and I ended up with a few scratches. However, that was still the most memorable part of my winter break at the Khao Yai National Park!
Travelogue
Phuket Airport Yuya Tokai, Grade 8
In the winter break of 2019, I had the privilege to visit Phuket. During that visit, I was able to spend almost 3 hours at the legendary beach where you can take pictures of airplanes approaching and landing at Phuket International Airport. This av-geek (aviation geek/nerd) haven is located about 1 hour from Phuket’s central district. The beach is inside a national park and the entry fee was 200 baht. From the nearest road to the beach it takes approximately 1km so prepare for a short trek. Even from 1km away from the airport, the views of the airplanes were magnificent. It is far closer than you can imagine. Once I started approaching closer to the runway my adrenaline was pumping faster than ever. I have never been so close to airplanes outside of airports. This is a feeling that you cannot express through writing on paper. It is such a surreal experience. I took a pair of binoculars and used them to spot airplanes as quickly as possible to be ready when the big moment comes. Also printing out the timetable is a good idea as well. I kept the camera filming at a distance in a manner, that one could see the entire aircraft in a single shot. On the other hand, I had my phone to take shots up close and take a video at the same time. I’ve seen many aviation enthusiasts take pictures of themselves and the airplane at the same time. I had always wanted to try that. The first time I asked my father to take the photo for me, which unfortunately failed. After the plane landed and my father and I were going through the photos, we were at first confused by what we saw. All we saw was me taking a pose and no sign of the airplane. My father took multiple photos and there was only one thing that resembled the airplane. It’s wheels. We tried once more and this time we somehow succeeded. The back of the plane was visible and that was about it, but I was happy. No one can get a show like that to work on a first try. Instead, I devoted myself to taking other cool shots. Like taking a video right underneath the aircraft’s fuselage. Or stepping aside to have a slight dynamic shot. Turns out those shots ended up becoming much more successful than I imagined. This was definitely a highlight of the trip and if I have the opportunity to, I would love to do it again. And please if you have the time to do so try going there yourself. Anyone can enjoy doing it. But one word of warning. When large aircraft are taking off or landing, try not to get yourself blown off your feet. TOUCHSTONE Issue 2 / 2019-2020
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Travelogue
“Anyeong Haseyo Seoul” Elinna Bahrin, ISB Parent
and of course, how safe it was. It was so easy to get around Seoul. We managed to do most of our sightseeing and shopping just by travelling via the subway system.
The land, where superstars such as BTS, GOT7, Black Pink, Red Velvet and so on were born. The land of wonderful dramas that make you binge endlessly in front of televisions. The land where kimchi and the best fried chicken you could eat originated from. And of course, the land, where automobiles brands such as KIA & Hyundai and electronics such as LG & Samsung that have been dominating their industries making them at par with other more established brands. Yes, I am referring to South Korea. A country, which was not so popular when I was growing up but has made itself known over the last few decades with its automobile, electronics and of course, the entertainment industries. Truthfully, I never had Korea on my must visit list of countries. This perception changed for me, though. It all began when I started watching kdramas for the first time on Netflix and was hooked! Thus, my love for all things Korean began. Since then, I have been binge watching kdrama after kdrama. Through these dramas, I actually learned quite a number of facts about Korea, being its language, its culture and its food. Coincidentally, both my children are in the Korean Club at school and they both very much enjoy k-pop music. They are not kdrama fans like me but they do enjoy watching the variety shows from Korea. We made a decision to visit Seoul last October because we were curious to see the country, its culture and its people. The country we only knew through its music, dramas, food and photos. After months of researching on accommodations, places to visit, restaurants to eat and fulfilling all of my family’s wish list while visiting Seoul, we embarked on our journey. The weather during this time was just fantastic, sunny in the afternoon with a cool breeze and not too cold at night. We did not engage any tour guides and had to rely on public transportation to get around Seoul. We wanted to experience going around like the locals. The subway system in Seoul is one of the best I’ve experienced in all my travels. We were impressed with how clean their stations & trains are, how organized the system is, how easily we could access from one destination to the other as the public transit system is connected to almost all the lines
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Our highlight for this trip was dressing up in our hanboks (traditional Korean costume) and it felt like we were going back to the Joseon Dynasty era (Korean dynastic era that lasted 5 centuries from 1392 to 1897). Dressed beautifully in our rented hanboks, we walked to one of the palaces named “Gyeongbokgung”. This palace is located in the city center and is one of the most famous and grandest palace by far. A tip for travellers, if you visit any of the palaces dressed in the hanbok, then your entrance fee is waived. There were so many of us dressed in hanboks that it felt surreal, as if we were transported back to the Joseon era. We had a walking tour of the palace grounds and witnessed their changing of guards, which was a fantastic show of swordsmanship. This palace is a must visit if you’re an avid fan of history and interested to learn more about the Korean cultural heritage. Our next destination was the Bukchon Hanok Village, which was located a subway stop (Angguk) away from the Gyeongbokgung Palace stop. The word “hanok” means traditional houses. These traditional houses date back to the Joseon Dynasty era. “Bukchon” literally translates to “northern village” and came about as the neighborhood that lies north of two significant Seoul landmarks, Cheonggyecheon Stream and Jongno (Source from visitkorea.or.kr website). Since this village is actually a housing neighbourhood, visitors are to be respectful when visiting. Noise must be kept to a minimum and definitely no loitering on their doorsteps. We were impressed with how well preserved the hanoks were to this day and what a beautiful village it was to walk about while taking photos. Definitely you will be capturing instagrammable worth photos here. However, you would need lots of stamina walking in this village as its located on a very hilly neighbourhood with many, many hills and stairs to climb. After we were done with the cultural aspect of this trip, my kids had allocated a day at the theme park. In Seoul, there are two popular theme parks - Everland and Lotte World. We chose to go with Lotte World this time around. Lotte World is actually a vast recreation complex that houses an indoor theme park & outdoor amusement park, shopping malls, an artificial island inside a lake linked by monorail, shopping malls, a luxury hotel, a Korean folk museum, sports facilities, and movie theaters. You can spend hours exploring this place, enjoying rides in the theme park, shopping and having a meal at the many selection of restaurants here. I must say
Travelogue
though, the day we visited the theme park was not the right day for this outing. Turns out, it was a school holiday as the Korean schools had just completed their exams. The theme park was just packed to the brim with kids, well mostly teenagers in their school uniforms. Every ride took about 1 to 2 hours of queueing and my kids only managed to get on 3 or 4 rides. Based on our experience, it’s a good idea to pay an entrance ticket that has the express pass privilege to avoid being stuck in long queues for the rides. For me, this theme park is also not as thrilling for us adults, more suited for children and teenagers. I would love to visit the other theme park, Everland on my next trip to Seoul. Ihwa Mural Village was next on our itinerary. Again you need lots of stamina to get to this village, as there are many, many steps to climb before you reach the top of a very steep and hilly street. This village is well known for the many murals adorning the homes of the neighbourhood. Beautifully painted murals depicting people, animals or nature creates a colourful atmosphere here. It’s really quite cool and amazing to see these depictions translated into beautiful works of art. Walking around here is also easy as it’s not crowded even on weekends. Reason being, many outside visitors are not actually aware of its existence. I’m glad we made a visit here as the village is just so quaint. The old mix with the new. There are a few small cafes along the narrow lanes for you to sit and have a refreshing drink or a cup of coffee while admiring the view of Seoul. Ihwa is also well known as the perfect backdrop for many kdrama productions. We enjoyed this excursion. Seoul is also home to one of the most beautiful and coolest library. Located at Starfield COEX Mall, this is worth a visit just for photos. I have not seen a library as beautiful as this. Instagram worthy photos. I was simply amazed with the breath taking array of books arranged from floor to ceiling. I was just simply amazed. Another amazing structure to visit is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza or DDP. Located in the fashion center of Dongdaemun, this building is a world class exhibition center. The structure itself looks like an alien’s flying saucer. It’s also very popular as a backdrop for music videos and kdramas. A good photo op location. If you’re visiting the DDP at night, you can walk a few blocks from there and visit the Dongdaemun night market. My children are the biggest fan of k-pop music and especially for Hannah, one of her most favourite group is BTS. We found out during our visit that BTS just opened a pop-up merchandise store, “House of BTS” in a trendy neighbourhood called Gangnam. This pop-up store was only in operation for 2 months. Not wanting to
miss this opportunity, Hannah and I made an early morning ride across town to visit this store. I was amazed that at 9 am in the morning, the queue for this store was already like a huge maze. We thought we were early with the store only opening at 10.30 am but I guess there were more serious BTS fans out there. A few came straight from the airport judging by the luggages they had with them. We literally spent half the day in the cold, 6 hours to be exact, to get into the store. However, it made Hannah’s day. I guess you really need to be a true BTS fan to understand why people would go through such lengths for just an opportunity to buy overpriced merchandise and capture photo after photo of the BTS music video props, their signed posters and replica of them in figurines placed in the store. I am actually glad we visited as the pop-up store is only opened for a limited period. A privilege for fans, who are in Seoul. If you’re an avid fan of k-pop music, Seoul is definitely the place to buy your favourite idols’ albums and merchandise. Not only are there plenty to choose from but the price is also much, much cheaper. I also love it when you walk into a store or a restaurant in Seoul, there is always good music playing in the background, be it kpop or the latest billboard hits. You will also notice that the vibe in Seoul is very lively and you will see mostly young people walking the streets or in the trains. While the people are not overly friendly due to the language barrier, the Koreans do dress well. They are quite up to date with fashion and they look good even in casual attire. A contributing factor could be that Korea has been producing many beauty & cosmetics products that is widely popular in Asia. Having famous idols endorsing their products, it’s no surprise that these products are selling like hotcakes here. There are just so many brands to choose from and I was really taken aback by how competitive the pricing are between the different brands. Seoul is most definitely the place for you to stock up on your beauty products such as cosmetics, face masks, hand creams, and so on. No wonder the Koreans have such beautiful skin. They are spoilt for choice in choosing their skin care regime. Myeong-dong Shopping District is the place for you to get your beauty & skin care products. In a nutshell, we really enjoyed our trip to Seoul. Although it was a city holiday, I managed to cram our itinerary with the history, culture, and the modern aspects the city had to offer. We didn’t get to do many things this time around but I have promised myself that I will definitely be back to visit the places and eat the food that we missed out on. Anyeong Seoul, till we meet again!
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Gastronomy
Starting with the Basics Elinna Bahrin, ISB Parent
Baking is actually quite therapeutic for me. My love for baking started when I was in my primary school years. Growing up, I used to watch my mom bake and was always willing to give her an extra pair of hands especially when she was making cookies for the Eid festivities. However, I only started baking seriously when I had my first child, Alex. When my son was 6, I decided I would make his cake myself. So, I enrolled myself in countless of cake decorating courses to learn the basics and expand my knowledge in cake decorating. Armed with that knowledge and determination, I started my love affair with making cakes that are not only good to look at but also good to eat. I love seeing how a simple cake can unfold and turn into a different scene, story or fairytale. Each of my cakes has a story of its own and I have loved creating every single one of them. One of the first recipes I learned was this basic vanilla cake and cookie recipe. I tweaked the original recipe and made my own version after a few tries. This basic vanilla recipe is the base for all other flavours you might want to add to the cake recipe - i.e. chocolate, lemon, orange and so on. This is a versatile base recipe that I have made hundreds of times with different variety in flavours.
BASIC VANILLA CAKE Ingredient A 1 cup unsalted butter (227 grams) 1 cup caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Ingredient B 1½ cup cake flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda A pinch of salt ** Sift Ingredient B and set aside Other Ingredients 3 large eggs ½ cup milk Heat the oven. Set the oven temperature at 180’C. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until all ingredients are well combined. The butter must be fluffy and almost white in colour. Add the eggs, one at a time. Continue mixing on medium speed until well combined. Reduce mixer speed to a steady slow, then slowly add the milk and sifted ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt) in alternate order until finish. Continue beating for about 1 to 2 minutes and the batter is done. Transfer to baking pan or cupcake cups and bake evenly - for whole cake: 45 mins to 1 hour & cupcakes: 25 to 30 mins. Do not overbake or the cake will be dry.
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Gastronomy
For chocolate cake, substitute the caster sugar to brown sugar & use 1 cup of cake flour and ½ cup of cocoa powder. You may add chocolate emulco for a richer chocolate taste. For lemon/orange cake, substitute the vanilla extract to lemon/ orange extract & grate 1 lemon/orange and add the grated lemon to the dry ingredient.
BASIC VANILLA COOKIES Ingredient A 200 grams unsalted butter 200 grams caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For banana cake, add 1 to 2 pieces ripe bananas (mashed) into the cake batter. You may also add banana extract to enhance the banana flavouring.
Ingredient B 400 grams plain flour A pinch of salt ** Sift Ingredient B and set aside
SIMPLE BUTTER CREAM ICING
Other Ingredients 1 large egg
Ingredients 1 cup butter 2 to 3 cups icing sugar (depending on level of sweetness) 1 tbsp vanilla extract ½ cup whipping cream ** Sift the icing sugar and set aside
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until all ingredients are well combined. The butter must be fluffy and almost white in colour.
Cream butter and vanilla extract together.
Reduce mixer speed to a steady slow, then slowly add the sifted ingredients (flour & salt).
Add in icing sugar a little at a time. Add in whipping cream bit by bit and testing the icing texture. If its too runny, add in a little sugar to stabilize the mix. Continue whipping the icing in the mixer until butter cream is smooth in texture and turns whitish in colour. You may substitute the vanilla extract with other flavourings such as lemon or orange extract.
Add the egg. Continue mixing on medium speed until well combined.
Continue beating for about 1 to 2 minutes until a soft dough is formed. Chill dough for at least 2 hours before shaping and baking. Heat the oven. Set the oven temperature at 180’C. Roll the dough and shape the cookies accordingly. Transfer to baking pan and bake evenly for 25 to 30 mins or until golden brown. For chocolate cookies, substitute the caster sugar to brown sugar & use 300 grams of plain flour and 100 grams of cocoa powder.
“ May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow. And may trouble avoid you wherever you go. * IRISH BLESSING
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