BASIS International School Bangkok eNewsletter

Message from the Head of School

Dear all - points to share at the close of the penultimate week of the school year!

KINDER GRADUATION will be on Thursday next week – if you are a Kinder mommy or daddy you are going to want to be there. More details are within this newsletter.

Whilst there may be ongoing loosening of the government protocols with regard to Covid – please do not take any chances by sending a child to school who is suspected of possibly having Covid. We all know by now how severe the impact can be on classmates if we are forced to close classrooms. Please, let’s think of the community when we make decisions as to whether to send children to school or not.

I just read the following – so sharing! One of the biggest lessons of Covid-19 has been the importance of unwell people staying away from work and social events, says Associate Prof Sheena Sullivan, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Doherty Institute.

If you have any concerns about Covid issues, do reach out to the school as soon as possible through phoning school or through the school’s official LINE account!

A gentle reminder to send in parent photographs in order that we can undertake the production of security passes for next academic year (2022-2023) and please also complete the necessary forms in this newsletter

We anticipate BOSS camp for children the week before the official start of school. This is a sweet way for children to see classmates and get ready for the first formal day of school. Watch out for the dates in due course!

Grade 6-8, there will be a residential camp early in the new academic year. This will probably be the first week of September. These are such meaningful events for children – where they learn a plethora of things, especially being good team mates, care and consideration for others – and more! Please watch out for details in next week’s newsletter!

The vast majority of children in the middle school have completed their comps – please do make sure you make a sweet fuss of them and tell them how proud you are of them! They should do something fun this weekend!

Regards,

Alan.

Important School Announcement from the Head of School

Dear BASIS Families,

Somewhat sadly, international schools are institutions that by their very nature, teachers come… and go. Many staff who undertake an international career have it firmly in mind to travel and gain lots of global experience – and seek deserved promoted posts in other schools. And, as no exception, we will be bidding au revoir to some teachers who have undertaken excellent service at this school - they are as follows:

Dean K - a lynchpin figure of the school moves to Europe with her family.

Kru Pook – our fabulous Thai teacher who moves to undertake a more elevated post – rightly so, in a new school.

Ms Anita - a founding member of the school who will return to the USA.

Dr. Wei – a caring and sweet Chinese teacher moves to a position of increased responsibility in another establishment.

Ms Rebecca – has been in the school since it commenced, always teaching our babes in EY. She will stay in Thailand moving to another school.

Mr Colin - seeking new international horizons, Colin will move to a school in the Philippines.

Ms Chanthy and her husband Mr Drew - with us since January, they will return to their home in the USA.

Ms Michaela leaves us - whilst sadly, we have not seen her on the campus this year - however, she has been at the school for an extended period and will be known by families of EY children.

I am sure you will join me in wishing them both happiness and success in their new positions!

Rest assured, we do have many new staff who will be joining us:

Ruth Aquilina-Finan will become the Director of Student Affairs, duly leading the primary school. Ruth has been in BASIS Hangzhou for the last three years - and before that has decades of experience in education, including teaching prospective teachers in university in Canada. In Hangzhou, she was a grade 1 math/science teacher whose students made the greatest progress of the Chinese schools.

Jason Rowe will join the music department. Both a teacher and administrator at BASIS Guangzhou since 2018, he will join our arts department and admin team since we can benefit greatly from his experience. However, Jason's major remit will involve music. He taught music to primary children in his hometown of London. Jason was a semifinalist in the 'Britain's Got Talent' tv show, and even sang for Queen Elizabeth II! He is a performing arts SAD (BASIS network expert teacher), so it's little surprise that he arrives with an amazing reputation for directing phenomenal school productions in China.

Joe Goulder is another BASIS China import! Joe was a much-loved member of the Early Years team in BASIS, Hangzhou. He has many years of Early Years experience, and originally undertook his training in his native Australia, where he went on to coach early years teachers. Joe has been teaching for nearly twenty years, and has taught in the UK, Australia, China and Thailand.

Yu-Chan or Tannie Chen - joins our Chinese teaching team. Originally from Taiwan, she has many years' experience as both a Mandarin and English teacher. Tannie also has a passion for swimming – and we truly hope to leverage this in addition to her linguistic skills.

Richard Chen – will undertake LET duties. Whilst Richard was born in Taiwan, he grew up in the USA and is a US citizen. He has nearly twenty years of teaching experience, the most recent being with Year 1. He is married to Tannie (above)!

Andrew Taylor – yet another BASIS China transfer. Andrew has been working in BASIS Guangzhou for the last three years, specializing in English – and will join us as the Grade 5 LET next year. Andrew has lived in Thailand in the past – and is fluent in Thai! He is a dad, having a sweet little boy who will be joining us.

Pichayanun (Aum) Hiranpattranit – a highly experienced teacher of Thai. We interviewed several potential Thai teachers for many months, but were so impressed by Aum’s demonstration lesson it was an easy decision to make on our part!

Davita Eanes – and yes, another BASIS China stalwart. A founding teacher at BASIS Hangzhou, she began in kindergarten, with a class of primarily non-English speakers. By the end of the first academic year, nearly 60 percent were proficient speakers AND readers. The students benefited from her National Board certification in Literacy. Davita became the ELL coordinator and coached teachers in EY, primary, and middle school. Davita will come with her little princess – Gabi.

Ratchanok or Jom Rachote – is from Thailand, and trained as a PE teacher here. She joins our chaps in the P.E. department. Jom has been teaching PE for the last three years and brings specialist expertise in swimming to the school.

Erika Wigren – will be joining us as the new librarian – and has a very interesting backstory! She worked with the Greek-American Historical Museum in Washington, and was a Digital Projects Specialist with the University of Washington’s Library. She has her Bachelor’s in Creative Writing and Master’s in Library and Information Science.

Rani Weewauters – arrives from Belgium to teach in our Early Years. We are so happy to extend the sense of internationalism by welcoming Rani to the fold! Rani was incredibly upbeat during interviews, whilst I received the following regarding her from a referee: Rani is a joy to collaborate with. She’s a happy, open and correct colleague - a teacher with a passion for teaching and learning, and with a heart for children.

James Altman – another BASIS, China teacher, James was a medical doctor before opting to change career and enter teaching. His specialisms are chemistry and biology. James has nearly twenty tears of teaching experience in his native USA, Luanda – and, of course, China. He arrives with glowing references from our Shenzen campus!

Jacob Starkey – arrived in Thailand as a member of the US Peace Corps, fell in love – and stayed! He has numerous years’ experience as an EY teacher, possesses a Master’s in international teaching and learning, and has also tutored other post-graduate students who were undertaking a Master’s in the USA. He has two children, one who is just old enough to join the school.

Regards,

Alan Wilkinson

Head of School

Kinder Graduation on Thursday, June 23rd

Dear Kindergarten Families,

We can't believe the school year is nearly over! Next Thursday, 23^rd June, we celebrate our beloved students as they conclude their time in Early Years and continue on their educational journey into Primary! As you know, we will have a special graduation/bridging ceremony.

Kindly note the following details regarding this very special day:

Dress code: Girls- Please wear a white dress (any style) OR a white blouse (no tshirts please) with white bottoms

Boys- Please wear a formal white button up shirt (no t-shirts please) with dark formal bottoms (black or dark blue trousers or short pants)

ALL students should wear formal close toed shoes in any color (no sneakers or sandals please)

The ceremony begins at 09.00 until 10.30 hrs.

Student arrival: the students should arrive no later than 8:30 hrs.

Parent arrival: the doors open for parents at 08.45 hrs.

On Thursday 23^rd June is Kindergarten's official last day of school. Students will clean out their cubbies prior to Thursday and will receive report cards after the ceremony. If you have extenuating circumstances that require your child to be on campus on Friday 24 June, contact Ms. W or Ms. Chanthy to make arrangements.

Best regards,

Kinder Teachers

Middle School Announcements

I would like to say a huge thank you to every parent, guardian and family member that has helped to support students in their comp exams. Regardless of the results, I have witnessed some tremendous work and effort over the last week. It has been such a privilege to read emails of acknowledgment and praise of our teacher too who have gone the extra mile and worked day and night to ensure that students were as best prepared and ready.

A friendly reminder that if students are on trips next week, it is essential that they are on time as the transportation to the venues will not be able to wait for any latecomers on those days due to logistical reasons so, please allow more time on those days for students to arrive earlier if possible. Thank you for your help and support with this.

Reading is essential for every student, all students in grades 6 & 7 have RAZ account which gives them online access to thousands of books. Please encourage your child to read 20 minutes a day when possible, to keep up their progress over the summer. If your child is unsure of the login details, please ask them to ask their class teacher.

Middle School Residential Field Trip - Early next academic year, the Middle School students (grades 6-8) will be invited on a mandatory residential field trip to promote team building and communication skills and help them bond together as a group. Stay tuned for information coming in next week's newsletter.

Best Regards,

Mr. Andy

Getting Ready for the New Academic Year (2022-2023)

Parent School ID Card for the New Academic Year - Parents are kindly requested to complete the 2022-2023 Parent School ID Card online form by the end of June 2022. Please submit a clear photograph with a white background. Thank you!

Important Forms (Emergency contact, Medical and Allergy, Media Release) for the New Academic Year – Parents are kindly requested to complete https://forms.gle/Sm4rjSSMo7VaLW3w8 online form by the end of July 2022

Grouchy Lady Bugs - The EY Performance!

Please find photos from this week's performance by our Early Years kiddos right here!

Squirm! The Grade 1 & 2 Musical Video

Please find the video link to the Squirm! Musical here.

Comp Exam After-Photos (Grade 6)

Please find the link to the photos of our Grade 6 Comp Exam completionists here!

2022-2023 Semester 1 Tuition

The 2022-2023 Term 1 Tuition invoices were sent home via email on Friday, May 27th. Payment is due on Thursday, June 30th.

In addition to the barcode and QR Code (on the invoice), funds transfers and any major credit cards for payment of lump sums, the school will waive the credit card fee for lump-sum payments for credit card payments until Wednesday, June 15th. This is applicable to all credit cards as stated in the table.

If you have any questions about school payments or would like to make a payment, please contact the school finance department. For information regarding points & redemption, and other credit card conditions, please contact our billing department at bkk.billing@basis.ac.th or 02-415-0099 or Line Official: @bisb.

We wish our families the very best! Stay healthy and Go Tuskers!

Student Spotlight

Congratulations to Nina G2 who was recently awarded the second prize in The 9^th Hong Kong International Youth Performance Arts Festival 2021 (Violin Grading Class). Keep up the good work!!