BASIS International School Bangkok eNewsletter

Important Updates from Head of School & Head of Operations:

Please find the important files below to download and share with your family. These files will also be made available on the SchoolZine sidebar under "School Documents & Policies" throughout the school year.

Staff Directory
Safeguarding Expectation for Parents
Student Hours Schedule
Parent Student Handbook
Letter of Incoming and Leaving Teachers

Staff Directory

Safeguarding Expectations for Parents

Student Hour Schedule

Parent Student Handbook

Letter of Incoming and Leaving Teachers

It was a great pleasure for us to welcome Ms. Linda Louis, Senior Director of Curriculum for BASIS Schools, back to our campus for In-Service Training. She has a special message for BASIS Bangkok families in the video below.

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

Message from Director of Academic Programs:

Dear BASIS Parents,

Greetings, I'm Mr. Ian, the new Director of Academic Programs. I wanted to make sure you have the most up-to-date schedules so I have provided them here. Please note that at the beginning of school we do have occasional changes, which will be promptly communicated to you as they arise.

Bell Schedules

We are all excited for a great school year ahead and I'm looking forward to meeting you all very soon.

Sincerely,
Mr. Ian
Director of Academic Programs

Early Years Newsletter:

Welcome to all our new and returning families,

Here are a few key points to be aware of for our first week of school:

Drop-off

We hold an Early Years Morning Circle at 8:25 am daily. Please attempt to have your child through the turnstile in advance of this time so that they can participate with their class.

During the first week of school, parents of the following grade levels are invited into the Early Years campus.

Nursery

Tuesday 30 minutes (until 9am)
Wednesday 20 minutes (until 8:50)
Thursday 15 minutes (until 8:45)
Friday 10 minutes (until 8:40)

PK1

Tuesday and Wednesday until 8:30
Parents can join our morning circle then exit campus

Dismissal

Best regards,

Ms. Annie Fletcher
Director of Early Years

Residential Trip for Grade 6-8 2024-25:

Dear Parents,

Please find the attached document of Residential Trip including itinerary below for your references.

Residential Trip Letter 2024-25

Regards,
Dr. W & Ms. Kwan
Head of School & Head of Operations

Library Corner:

Hello from BISB Library!

Welcome back to our returning families and hello to all of our newest TUSKERS. I’m Ms. Erika your one and only Librarian. I am so excited to welcome students, and soon parents, back to the library and to share all of the new books and resources we have available.

To start, a big thank you to all of the TUSKERS that visited me over the summer during summer library hours. It brought me such joy to see students and parents reading over the break.

As we begin the academic year, I would like to send a few reminders regarding library books and library policies.

LIBRARY BOOKS AND CARE

All grades from PK1 to high school are allowed to check out books from the library, once they have completed their library orientation and book care reminders. Keep an eye out for BISB library books as your students begin checking them out. The checkout time frame for each grade level is:

Weeks 1/2: Primary, Middle School, High School students

Week 2: BISB Parents (Monday, August 19^th).

Weeks 3/4: Early Years students (Pre-K1 to Kinder)

For the full library schedule of classes and before/after school hours, please see the attached calendars below. Please also remind your students to be gentle with their library books and to return them to the library every week. It is important to keep food and liquids away from books to avoid pests and damages.

How do you know your student has a BISB Library book?

All of our Library books have the following identifiers*:

Wrapped in a plastic covering for protection
A BISB barcode on the bottom right corner, backside of book
A genre/label sticker on the spine
A BISB Library stamp on the first page

*Note that all Early Years (PK1 to Kinder) will be given a BISB Library tote bag. Please keep their library books and bags together as a reminder of library class each week. For grades 1-3, I highly encourage parents to give their students a tote bag to help them carry their books, CJs, and water bottles between classes.

BOOK RETURN POLICY AND CONTENT STICKERING SYSTEM

A reminder that library books are due back every week on the allotted class library day (every 7 days). Students can renew their books for another week if desired. Please see the full book-return policy here for late notices and replacement fees: Library Policies with Flowchart 2024.pdf

All of the books in BISB’s library are chosen with care and consideration for content, the BASIS curriculum, for the enjoyment of students, and to build empathy and understanding of the world around them. In support of this, all fiction books in our MS and HS Library space are stickered to assist students, teachers, and parents with book content and appropriateness for certain aged learners.

The system includes 3 colors, like a traffic light:

Green: GO Evolving Readers – This book is suitable for everyone.
Yellow: WAIT Experienced Readers – This book may have mature content (horror, action, some violence).
Red: STOP! Mature Readers Only – This book contains mature content, Grades 8 and Up only.

*Please note that to make the system accessible to those with colorblindness, there will be a black dot on the RED sticker to differentiate the darker colors.

Also, please note that primary and Early Years students are only allowed in the MS/HS library space and may not check out any books in the middle/upper school space without permission.

For red-stickered books, all students in Grades 1 – 7 will not be allowed check them out of the library, unless their parent submits the necessary form granting them permission. This permission form is available through Google Forms here: https://forms.gle/g3R9EPMJqVz34FZJ6 (if you submitted for your student last year, you do not need to submit the form again).

LIBRARY COFFEE MORNINGS

Finally, if you would like to meet me and learn more about the library and upcoming events, please join me at the Meet the Librarian coffee mornings on Tuesday, September 10^th at 7:15 a.m. for Primary/MS/HS, and Wednesday, September 11^th at 8:00 a.m. for Early Years.

Keep an eye out for my next newsletter for updates on the first library event of the year on Tuesday, September 3^rd – Literacy Day!

Thank you and happy reading,

Ms. Erika

Librarian

Mandarin Sign Up:

Dear parents,

The registration for Mandarin classes Academic Year 2024/2025 is now available.

If you would like your child to attend Chinese Language and Culture lessons, please complete the Optional Mandarin registration form (Click Here) by Tuesday 13th August 2024 at 12:00 pm (noon)

Kindly note that the registration cost for 1 year is 40,000 Baht.

Please see information below regarding what classes we will be offering this year.

Mandarin Class Semesters

Semester 1: Monday 19th August 2024 – Friday 20th December 2024
Semester 2: Monday 13th January 2025 – Friday 30th May 2025

G1 Optional Mandarin Class (MNG1)

Prerequisites: None
EOT Exam: YCT 1 Language Proficiency Test (Optional)
Class Time: 30 mins daily class during the academic day and one after-school class on Mondays 4:00 - 5:00 pm

G2 Optional Mandarin Class (MNG2)

Prerequisites: MNG1 or placement test by the Mandarin department
EOT Exam: YCT1/YCT2 Language Proficiency Test (Optional)
Class Time: 30 mins daily class during the academic day and one after-school class on Mondays 4:00 - 5:00 pm

G3 Optional Mandarin Class(MNG3)

Prerequisites: MNG2 or placement test by the Mandarin department
EOT Exam: YCT2/YCT3 Language Proficiency Test (Mandatory)
Class Time: 30 mins daily class during the academic day and one after-school class on Mondays 4:00 - 5:00 pm

G4-5 Optional Mandarin Class (MNG4A)

Prerequisites: YCT1 or placement test by the Mandarin department
EOT Exam: YCT2/YCT3/HSK1 Language Proficiency Test (Optional)
Class Time: 30 mins class in normal schedule on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays and one after-school class on Thursdays 4:00 - 5:00 pm

G4-5 Optional Mandarin Class(MNG4B)

Prerequisites: YCT2/HSK1 or placement test by the Mandarin department
EOT Exam: HSK2-3 & Native Language Proficiency Test (Mandatory)
Class Time: 30 mins class in normal schedule on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays and one after-school class on Thursdays 4:00 - 5:00 pm

Please note that the registration for Grade 6 – 10 Mandarin classes will occur during Elective classes for Middle School students – more information will be provided.

Best regards,
Mr. Ian Sato
Director of Academic Programs

Sport Academy:

Dear TUSKERS Families,

We're thrilled to announce the TUSKERS Sports Academy program for the 2024-25 school year!

We invite you to review the attached document and start this exciting journey with us. It has information regarding Sports Academies offered, schedules, and other relevant details.

We look forward to welcoming your child to the TUSKERS team!

Thanks and regards,
Coach Namita
Director of Sport & Auxiliary Programs

Tuskers Sports Academy Letter 2024-25