BASIS International School Bangkok eNewsletter

Message from Head of School & Head of Operations:

Dear TUSKERS families,

It’s been a wonderfully productive and joyful week here at BASIS Bangkok.

Recently, our students participated in the prestigious Thailand International Model United Nations XI (ThaiMUN) at Brighton International School Bangkok accompanied by Ms. Kwan and Mr. Daniel. Together with over 500 talented delegates from 70 schools across 6 countries, our students have showcased their exceptional abilities in the rigorous debates to represent their assigned countries while retrieving their potential academically and socially to internalize and expose a more diverse range of perspectives and global issues. We are extremely proud of them, and we are sure that our students have developed their confidence, leadership skills through this valuable experience. Well done, TUSKERS!

We sincerely appreciate your engagement in our BASIS BASICS session this week. We hope our academic team and Ms. Kate had once again demonstrated our commitment to guiding your child toward academic excellence and personal success. Your insightful questions and suggestions would definitely contribute to the excellence of our community.

We are also truly delighted to have Ms. Kate on our campus with us this whole week. Thank you, all families for taking the time to meet with her to discuss your child’s unique educational journey. We look forward to welcoming Ms. Kate to be onboard at BASIS Bangkok in the next academic year. Please check out the video below;

Next, we would like to extend a round of applause to our badminton athletes for their remarkable performance during the recent friendly competition with International School Bangkok (ISB). Their talent and dedication in sport has truly impressed us. Thank you, parents and PE coaches for your unwavering support and encouragement.

Lastly, kindly be reminded about the upcoming Kangaroo Math Competition on Sunday, March 31st. We wish all our participating students the best of luck. See you on Sunday!

Best regards,
Dr. W and Ms. Kwan
Head of School and Head of Operations

Save the date for School Events and Academic Calendar:

Songkran Festival - Friday, April 12th, 2024

We're excited to announce that our school will be celebrating the Songkran Festival on Friday, April 12th, 2024, with a special in-school event. We cordially invite all parents to join us for a Merit Making Ceremony (Food Offering for Monks) from 08:00 to 08:45 A.M. for Primary & Middle School, and from 09:00 to 10:00 A.M. for Early Years. Parents are kindly requested to prepare food or snack packets, and there will be nine monks in attendance to offer their blessings.

We encourage all our students to embrace and celebrate the spirit of the festival by wearing Thai flowery costumes. To ensure a safe and enjoyable day for everyone, we kindly remind you to prepare the following items for your child:

A swimsuit
Sandals
A towel
Spare clothes
A hat and sunscreen (if desired)

Please note that water guns or water buckets are NOT permitted. We kindly request your cooperation in adhering to this policy.

Dismissal for all grade levels will be at the usual time.

Thank you for your continued support and participation in school events. We look forward to seeing you on this exciting day of celebration.

Primary, Middle & High School Newsletter

Message from Dean of Upper School:

Dear Parents and BISB Community members,

This Monday, we had a surprise guest on campus. BASIS Independent Mclean Senior. Chelsea took her final day of a visit to Thailand to visit our school. She and her mother took a tour of the campus and Chelsea had lunch with our high school students, where they talked at length about Chelsea's road to success from being a founding BASIS student 8 years ago, gave advice and how to manage the stress and workload of AP exams, and what to expect in their senior year.

As of this week, Chelsea has already been accepted into two of the world's top universities; MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and University of Virginia where she intends to pursue her passion in Biochemistry, Environmental Science and medicine. She is currently completing a Senior Project about fabricating silk fibroin microspheres for drug delivery in treatment of Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome (NRDS).

Chelsea's visit was inspirational for our highschoolers. A huge thanks to our college counsellor Ms Kate Irving for arranging the visit.

Chelsea H. - BASIS Independent Schools

McLean Student Named Scholar In Regeneron Science Talent Search (msn.com)

While Chelsea met with our High School students, her mother Ms. Julia Xue hosted a luncheon with BASIS parents during which she shared her experience as founding family member at our sister school BASIS Independent McClean. She discussed how the BASIS Curriculum and teachers prepared her daughter for success. She shared how BASIS supported Chelsea to enroll in elite internship programs at MIT and Georgetown University which enabled her to build strong relationships with the faculty and prepare her for the college application process. Chelsea will graduate after completing 14 Advanced Placement (AP) examinations among her cohort of 24 students. Ms. Julia Xue believes in the power of the network and if any of you would like to chat then please let us know and we will make the introduction.

Chelsea returned home for Ivy Day and was pleased to receive acceptance to Harvard, Brown, Yale, Duke and UPENN - Wharton School of Business. We are wishing Chelsea all the best in deciding which school she would like to attend.

Best wishes,
Dean Drew
Dean of Upper School

Message from Dean of Primary School:

Dear parents,

In lieu of our awards ceremonies last week and in preparation for upcoming events on campus, just a friendly reminder of the early pickup procedure to ensure order, efficiency, and student safety:

Parent must inform receptionist then sign student out in early dismissal log
Receptionist will inform LET/Teachers/Dean of student early dismissal
Receptionist will inform support staff to take student to reception with school bag and any other supplies necessary

This will help keep everyone secure and ensure that early dismissal is communicated effectively and goes smoothly.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter,

Dean Selby
Dean of Primary

Early Years Newsletter

Message from Director of Early Years:

Hello Early Years Families,

During Parent Teacher Conferences, it is advised to ask for clarification if anything is unclear. It is important for you to understand in what area your child may be having difficulty and how you can support your child. It is often something as easy as practicing letter sounds, letter names, letter identification, sight words, and counting or simple addition and subtraction problems and can be done while in the car getting to and from school or while out shopping. Your child’s teacher will help you.

Please also know that it is not allowed to record the conversations. If you need a translator, let us know in advance and we will arrange one.

In anticipation of our continued collaboration, warm regards.

Ms. Annie Fletcher
Director of Early Years

Academic Spotlight : Science

🌺 G5 students embarked on a fascinating journey of exploration as they delicately dissected lily flowers! 🔬 With curiosity and eagerness, they peeled back the petals, revealing the intricate structures hidden within. 🌼 They marveled at the vibrant stamens and delicate pistils, gaining a deeper appreciation for nature's marvels. 🍃 Through this hands-on experience, they not only learned about the anatomy of a flower but also cultivated a profound respect for the beauty of the natural world. 🌱 It was a day filled with wonder, discovery, and a newfound love for the wonders of botany! 🌸

ECA Corner:

ECA Spotlight:

This week marks our ECA program's 7th week of navigating our child(ren) to explore their interests and ignite their passion outside of the classroom. The spotlight this week is shining on many activities across the board, and we are delighted to share the initial focus for "Formula 1".

Formula 1:

Students have the opportunity to watch a short Formula 1 race and explore the components of what they need to build a team for a race, such as "sponsorship", "team costume", and "car design model." After analyzing all the factors closely, our TUSKERS spent their time to concentrately design their team's costumes and car design models, as well as to match their designs' special attributes. We are looking forward to seeing their design turn into a hand-shaped car and can't wait to see them race!

Stay tuned for more spotlight next week.

ECA Team

Clay Works

Painting

BASIS Explorer Camp 2024

Our BASIS Explorer Camp and Mandarin Summer Camp 2024 are now available for registration. There are varieties of summer camps made available for all age from 3-12 years. Join us for a fun variety of sets of activities for camp and make this summer one to remember for your child/ren. Please stay tuned for more Summer Camps!

**Open to both BASIS and non-BASIS students.

**Space is limited, and to register, please scan QR code in the poster.

For more detail, please contact school line @bisb or email at communication@basis.ac.th

Primary School BASIS Got Talent

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Audition Sign-ups for the Primary School BASIS Got Talent competition are now open! Please see the schedule below:

Sign up period: From now until Monday, 1 April at 4:00 P.M.
Audition Date: Tuesday, April 2^nd, 3:30-4:30 P.M.
Rehearsal Date: Tuesday, April 23^rd, 3:30-5:00 P.M.
Primary School Got Talent Date: Friday, April 26^th at 4:00 P.M. (Parents will be invited)

Audition guidelines and sign-up link:

Audition date: April 2^nd
Time: 3:30-4:30 P.M. (youngest students audition first, and students can leave after their audition is complete)
Location: Music and Drama rooms (2201, 2202, 2203)
Audition Guidelines:
- Any entertainment act welcome!
- You can collaborate with anyone from grades 1-5
- 8 people maximum group size
- One audition per student only (one person can't be in two groups)
- 5 minutes maximum length, 3 minutes recommended
- All acts must use school-appropriate language and costumes

Sign-up form link: https://forms.gle/ZwDpkeEobcHQt6fd9
Sign-up deadline: Monday, April 1^st, at 4:00 P.M.

We look forward to seeing all the awesome auditions, and to seeing all of you at the show on April 26^th! Please email Ms. Olivia (o.drouillard@basis.ac.th) with any questions about the BASIS Got Talent audition process and performance.

Additionally, congratulations to all the successful auditioners for the Upper School BASIS Got Talent. We'll see you on Friday, March 29^th for the competition!

Sincerely,

Ms. Olivia Drouillard
Fine and Performing Arts Subject Lead
Subject Expert Teacher, Music

Coffee Morning "BASIS BASICS" (27 March 2024)

U11 Girls | SISB Thonburi Vs BASIS

Tuition Fees for 2024-25 Announcement:

Dear BASIS families,

We are pleased to share the Tuition Fees for the 2024-2025 academic year as enclosed. In addition to this, we would like to inform you that we are making some adjustments in an effort to improve this annual process.

From this year forward, instead of sending two invoices we will now combine the re-enrollment and first semester tuition fee into one tuition fee invoice. This invoice will be distributed on April 1st, 2024 with a payment period extended until the last day of the academic year, June 21st, 2024. In support of our families, we will waive the credit card fee for invoices paid within May 15th, 2024.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Payments must be made within this timeline in order to secure your place in the school.
Invoices paid after June 21st, 2024 will incur interest fees of 1.5% per month for late payment.

At BASIS we are continually seeking ways to improve our education and campus experience. Over the last 2-years, we have faced high inflation but still brought many new facilities and services in order to offer the best value for our families.

To ensure that we continue to be able to offer education at the highest international levels, we must have small increases in tuition costs to help offset some of the additional expenses incurred. Some of these additional improvements are well known to you, such as those listed below. However, others like increased cost of personnel & recruiting, supplies, utilities, repair & maintenance, and many others may not be as visible but are necessary to ensure we continue to provide quality education.

Some things that we have added over the last 2-years include:

New facilities – Early Years canteen, Early Years reading room, Early Years playground, Gymnastics Room, Multi-Purpose Room, Additional science labs, expanded Library, Upper School Lounge, and more.
Academic and Activities Support - Additional intervention specialists, Academic Coach for Grade 5, Dean for Middle School, Director for Early Years, additional music and blackbox equipment, additional Art, Music, and Drama Teachers, and College and Wellbeing Counselors.
Technology - MacBooks for Grade 9+, Additional and replacement Laptops and Tablets for other grades, Additional Science Equipment, College Counselling Platform, Reading Platform, additional security improvements, and many more.
Extracurricular and Activities - Free Teacher and Student Led Clubs, Bands, Sports Teams, Academic Competitions, and expanded school-wide Events and Activities.

We thank you for your continued support of BASIS and our mission. Please feel free to reach out to our team if you have any questions.

Most sincerely,
Dr. W and Ms. Kwan
Head of School and Head of Operations