ISB News!
Our community is a vibrant, diverse group of students, parents and staff members that each contribute to the life of our school in seemingly endless ways.
We encourage you to read through the news highlights below which provide a brief snapshot of the myriad of achievements, initiatives and happenings that are a part of what makes ISB one of the premier international schools in the world.
At the same time, we invite you to navigate through the tabs on the left of this page where you will find community information and resources.
ISB's new Cultural Center - Just another big, beautiful building?
August is always an exciting month for us - new students, new families - the excitement is simply contagious. But the excitement that was brewing for August 2010 to finally get here was off the charts!
This August brought the unveiling of our Cultural Center. This 5 story, 6,700 square meter building increased our classroom space by 25%. In addition to theatre, dance, music, and choral spaces, it has 23 High School classrooms.
Sounds like just another big, beautiful building? Not so fast. ISB's Cultural Center is on target to earn the LEED Gold Certificate from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the very first building in Thailand to receive this distinction. Energy models of the Cultural Center in comparison with standard U.S. buildings confirm that ISB's will be a minimum of 29% more energy efficient.
Years of planning, months and months of accident free construction, seemingly endless setbacks including school closures due to political unrest in Bangkok, with our Chief Financial Officer - the engine behind it all - driving the project forward and around each curve, carefully navigating ISB through this journey, a journey that has resulted in a cutting edge, energy efficient building where our students will flourish. Just another big, beautiful building? No way.
ISB receives a generous grant from the Office of Overseas Schools
Academic advocacy for gifted children: a parent's complete guide; The ADHD workbook for parents; The Shut-Down Learner: helping your academically discouraged child. These are just a few of the titles of the many books that are now lining the shelves of ISB's main library and the library of the U.S. Embassy's Community Liaison office.
These valuable parent resources are now part of a dual library collection thanks to a generous grant from the Office of Overseas Schools. We would also like to extend our thanks to the following individuals for their efforts in making this collection a reality: the U.S. State Department's Regional Education Officer, Ms. Connie Buford; the U.S. Embassy's Psychiatrist, Dr. Marcia Meckler, the U.S. Embassy's Community Liaison Officer, Ms. Michelle Ashley, ISB's High School Librarian, Mr. Rob Rubis; ISB's Psychologist, Mr. Dave Anderson; ISB teachers Ms. Mary Anne Bryan and Ms. Dianne Gray, and ISB parents Ms. Pam Schmoll, Ms. Sanne Korn and Ms. Meg Sine.
We encourage you to stop by the library soon and take a look at this very special collection.
U.S. Ambassador at ISB
United States Ambassador Eric John joined a throng of baseball fans to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Bangkok Baseball-Softball Association (BBSA). Ambassador John threw out the first pitch to get the festivities under way which included a day full of baseball and a lot of bellies full of hot dogs.
ISB High School athletes bring home the gold
Our HS boys' and girls' volleyball teams recently returned from Taipei winning both of the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS) Championships, defeating the perennially strong Singapore American School teams in the final matches to claim double gold for ISB! Panther pride and spirit were evident during the final matches with our parents and supporters cheering our players on. Additionally, our boys' team won the IASAS Sportsmanship Award. Please join us in congratulating our players along with their dedicated coaches - GO PANTHERS!
Outstanding 2009 International Baccalaureate (IB) results
We are happy to report that our 2009 IB Diploma students achieved a 100% pass rate. This is a significant achievement as the world average pass rate is typically around 79%. Historically, ISB students have always performed very well with pass rate between 91% and 97%. This type of achievement could not have been realized without the tremendous support that our students receive both from their families and from our teachers. Please join us in congratulating our 2009 IB Diploma students on this truly memorable accomplishment.
2009/10 School year opens as construction of our Cultural Center continues
Our 2009/10 school year has gotten off to a great start! Our opening day saw an enrollment of approximately 1,825 students hailing from 60 countries. As our new students were busy trying to get into the rhythm of life at ISB, and our returning students were busy trying to get back into the life that they briefly left behind during their summer holiday, ISB was busy constructing a new Cultural Center.
The Cultural Center promises to be a unique and monumental addition to ISB's already impressive campus. The 4 story building will be 6,700 square meters in size and will house 14 High School classrooms, Middle and High School instrumental and choral rooms, Middle and High School drama classrooms, a 250 seat theater, Middle and High School visual arts classrooms, K-12 dance classrooms, K-12 music practice rooms, an Invention Center where students can explore science and math after school and on Saturdays, additional multi-use rooms for team teaching, student collaboration, presentations, and meetings, dedicated science labs, IS/ESL classrooms, as well as language labs for Middle and High School students. The Cultural Center is scheduled to be completed by the close of our 2009/10 school year.
ISB Alumni Association
International School Bangkok’s (ISB) Head of School, Dr. Bill Gerritz, and Director of Marketing, Mr. Tony Arnold, recently met with an ISB Alumni planning group at the Mandarin Oriental’s China House. In attendance were Ms. Karampreet Sachathep of UNESCO, Mr. Aaron Frankel founder of Groovy Map, Mr. Fred Hegner of American International Group, Ms. Camilla Russell of the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok and Mr. Devin Brougham who operates a consultancy company.
The purpose of the dinner meeting was to discuss the creation of an organization specifically designed for ISB Alumni who reside in Thailand. If you are an ISB Alumni living in Thailand and would like to receive information about this new venture, the activities that are being planned, and the ways that you can become involved, please contact Mr. Arnold at isbalum@isb.ac.th
Chevron’s donation lights up students’ world
The phrase, “Lights, Camera, Action,” will have a whole new feel within ISB’s theatre thanks to a recent donation given to us by Chevron. Chevron’s generous donation paid for professional- grade, programmable, lighting that our students will benefit from for years to come.
The lights were showcased on the evening of September 4th, when Head of School, Dr. Bill Gerritz, formally thanked Chevron’s Managing Director of Asia South’s Business Unit, Mr. Joe Geagea, for Chevron’s support.
Mr. Geagea gave an eloquent speech to a large audience of ISB parents, speaking not only as a representative of Chevron, but also as a parent of 3 children who attend ISB. Expressing gratitude for the support that Unocal has showed ISB in years past, Mr. Geagea explained that Chevron is now one company, a company that believes that the greatest source of energy in the world is ourselves – human energy.
A wonderful example of human energy graced the stage that evening as 44 of our High School Choir students, led by High School Music teacher, Ms. Helgeson, touched the hearts of all that attended with their beautiful, magical voices.
We thank Chevron for their generous support, and invite you to experience our new lighting system at any of our upcoming performing arts events.
Superintendent of the Year
What are the factors that distinguish a good school from a great school?
At ISB we believe that those factors are many, with the most important factor being people - outstanding teachers, inspired students, supportive parents, and unparalleled leadership.
The excellence of our leadership was recently recognized when the Superintendent of the Year Award was bestowed upon our Head of School, Dr. Bill Gerritz. Each year one Superintendent from each state in the U.S. and one from International Schools around the world are selected for this award, which is given by the Association for the Advancement of International Education.
To learn more about Dr. Gerritz, our school, and this prestigious award, please read the accompanying article that was published in Thailand’s leading English language newspaper, The Bangkok Post, by clicking on this link.
