BASIS International School Bangkok eNewsletter

Message from School

Announcement of the Head of School

Dear BASIS Families,

With great pleasure, we are proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Willem van der Sluis as our new Head of School, joining us from Monday, July 24, 2023.

Dr. Willem is a global citizen with a background in education, leadership, and student counseling. He received his Doctorate in Education from the University of Glasgow, Scotland (UK), a Master degree in Inclusive Education from Middlesex University, London (UK) and a Bachelor degree in Pedagogics in The Netherlands.

He has held several positions professionally throughout his career, including positions in The Netherlands, UK, Bangladesh, UAE, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and China with an all-around PreK to Grade 12 set of experiences. He also taught for five years at Imperial College London (UK), a Top 10 World University. Besides his current role as Head of School, Dr. Willem is also a Special Advisor to the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce for International Education Strategy.

Over the next several months, Dr. Willem will have an opportunity to transition with our leadership, including visits to BASIS Silicon Valley and BASIS Fremont as part of his onboarding process. He is excited to join our growing community and looks forward to building upon our successes over the past several years.

Our school community is dynamic with brilliant motivated children, enthusiastic parents, and a talented team committed to doing what is in the best interests of our students. We will continue to put students first at BASIS and look forward to celebrating their collective success with Dr. Willem in the years to come.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Willem to BASIS International School Bangkok.

Most sincerely,

Toby Walker
Vice-President
BASIS Independent Schools
Executive Committee Board Member

Jonathan B. Schwimmer
Managing Director
BASIS International School Bangkok

Introducing the School Counselor

Dear Tuskers Families,

With great pleasure, please welcome Mr. Niwat Kurusattra (Theelon) to join our growing community as a School Counselor.

Mr. Theelon received his Master’s degree in Applied Psychology from Srinakarinwiroj University, he has exceptional experiences as a School Counselor in the education industry for many years.

He will begin his counseling journey here next week. And he is ready to support our students, BASIS families, and staff to provide positive mental health care.

Mr. Thee's office hours are Monday and Friday from 8:30 am – 17:00, starting from 20th March to 30th April 2023. He will fully open his office from Monday to Friday 08.00 – 17.00 hrs from May 2023 onwards.

In the meantime, if you would like to sign up for a counseling session, please kindly send your request to the school reception. We will get back to you for your scheduling.

Best regards,

BISB Management

Executive Speaker Series: March 20 - 22

The Executive Speaker Series returns to campus in March!

We are excited to welcome Mr. Toby Walker, Vice President of BASIS Independent Schools, and Ms. Kate Irving back to BASIS Bangkok. Please save the date below for these exclusive series.

Middle School Parents Workshop "College Counseling 101" on Tuesday 21^st March 2023 from 8:30-10:30 am & High School Planning from 10.30 – 12.30 pm.
Grade 7 & 8 Student Workshop "Your Pathway to Leading Universities of the World!" on Monday 20^th March 2023 during school day

This is a very good opportunity for our students and parents to discuss about student's future pathways with the BASIS experts. This executive series is certainly not to be missed!

Nursery and PK1 Storytelling & Family Day

Dear Parents,

Stories are an intricate part of young children discovering their imagination and improving their language skills. That said, we are happy to announce our event on March 24th from 9:30-11:30am in the Blackbox. A renowned storyteller from Thailand, Mr. Thanachai Sundaravej, who is the founder of and writer for Cloud Book Publishing, will come to BASIS. He will tell Thai stories to our very own Nursery and PK1 classes. This performance should be an exciting experience for our little ones. Also, we would like to extend an invitation to our Nursery and PK1 parents to attend this fun event and witness the magic with your child. This event will be special, so we hope to make it a memorable moment for the kids. See you there!

Additionally, please be informed that on Friday, March 31^st 2023 we will be having our Term 2 Family Invitation Day.

For Nursery Class: 10.00 – 11.00 hrs.

For PK1 Classes: 12.45 – 13.30 hrs.

This will be a showcase of the children's learning and how they have interpreted this learning. There will also be an opportunity for you to create artwork with your child.

After the learning experience, there is the opportunity for you to take your child home at 11.00 hrs (for Nursery) or 13:30 hrs. (for PK1 Classes), this is optional! If this is the case, please let school or teachers know of this arrangement so we can accommodate the request accordingly.

Best Regards

Nursery & PK1 Teachers

Book Cover Competition Winners

Announcing the winners of our Book Cover Competition!

Last month for our Love of Reading activities, the Library, partnered with one of our wonderful Art teacher Ms. Heather, held a book cover design competition. Students in grades 1 to 8 were encouraged to design a cover for the library’s book, Imaginary Fred that somehow lost its original cover.

Finally, after deliberating with our panel of judges, the Library is happy to announce our three winners – all from middle grade. Winners were chosen based on creativity, execution, legibility, and meeting the set requirements.

The winners received their cash prizes and certificates today during our Tusker Awards ceremony.

A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to the following students:

First Place – Prince, 7 Zinc

Second Place – Mimi, 6 Iron

Third Place – Punpun, 6 Iron

A final congratulations to our first-place winner, Prince as his cover will be the official cover for the library’s copy of Imaginary Fred.

And a shout out to our Top Contenders:

Vivee, 7 Zinc

Tian Tian, 7 Zinc

Praew, 5 Cobalt

Fangfang, 8 Titanium

Manghung 4 Silicon

Plern, Iron

Hua 8 Titanium

Please note that all students who submitted a cover design will get participation points for their houses. Please ask your students to let Ms. Erika know which house they are in to receive their points.

Thank you so much to all of the other students for their submissions, the staff for their help, and the parents for encouraging their students to be creative and take part in this contest.

The Winners!

Top Contenders

Songkran Festival - Friday, April 7th, 2023

Save the Date! We will hold a school Songkran festival on Friday, April 7th, 2023. This will be an in-school event where parents are invited to join with for TAK BAHT (Food Offering for Monks) at 08.00 – 08.45 hrs (For Primary) and 08.45 to 09.30 hrs for Early Years.

During the day, students will participate in a variety of activities such as Tak Baht, Water Blessings, Thai interactive learning workshops, Thai traditional sports, and outdoor Water Play.

We encourage all of our students to wear Thai flowery costumes to celebrate Songkran on Friday, April 7th!

If a family wishes to collect their children early on this day, please be so kind as to notify the school by Wednesday, April 5^th so we can make the necessary arrangements.

Thank you and happy Songkran

Kangaroo Math Competition 2023

Dear Tuskers Families

Thank you for your interest in the Kangaroo Math Competition 2023. We are happy to see our community growing widely and with so much interest to share our student's amazing abilities! Please kindly note the KMT competition will be held at our school on Sunday 26^th March 2023 from 9:00-10:30 hrs.

Please stay tuned for more competition announcements to come!

Pre-K 2 Nocturnal Animals Exhibit

Did you know that as you pull up your covers and get cozy for a night of sleep, there are animals opening their eyes for a night of adventure? Nocturnal animals are awake at night. Join the PreK2 classes for their Nocturnal Animals Exhibit on March 30^th as they explore the animals that roam the world by the light of the moon. Save the date and stay tuned for more information.

UPCOMING SCHOOL & SPORT EVENTS – MARCH 2023

18 March: 09.00 – 11.00 hrs U9 Foot Ball Boys & Girls with DBS (DBS & BASIS)

20 March: IAMS Rollout for Middle School

20 March: Mr. Toby & Ms. Kate to meet our Middle School Students

21 March: 8.30 - 10.30 hrs - Parent Workshop with Mr. Toby & Ms. Kate on College Counselling 101

10.30 - 12.30 hrs- Q&A & High School for Grade 7 and Grade 8 Parents

23 March: 08.45 - 09.15 hrs 6th Grade Choir / Animal Concert

24 March: 17.00 – 18.00 hrs POT LUCK Dinner for Puppy Dash Swimming participants & families

25 March: 08:00-11:30 hrs Puppy Dash Swimming Meets at Bangkok International Preparatory & Secondary School

26 March: 09.00 - 10.30 hrs Kangaroo Math Competitions in campus

30 March: PK2 Nocturnal Animal Expo

31 March: 10.00-11.00 hrs Nursery Family Meeting

12.45 – 13.30 hrs PK1 Family Meeting

Student Spotlight

Re-Enrollment for the 2023-2024 Academic Year

It's time for enrollment for the 2023-2024 academic year! Re-enrollment forms can be found at this link and are due back on Friday 24^th March 2023. Invoices will be sent home beginning on Friday, 31^st March and payment of the deposit is due by Friday, 28^th April. The deposit will be applied to the first semester's tuition fees.

Note: If you pre-paid 2023-2024 tuition fees, you will NOT need to submit the form. Please be sure to submit your Re-Enrollment online, as we are unable to hold a space for your child without it, and we look forward to your return!

Staff Directory

BISB_Staff_Email_2022_2023_MAR23.pdf

BASIS Merchandise

A friendly reminder that students are encouraged to use BASIS schoolbags and lanyards while on campus.

Additionally, there are some new items on sale. Check them out below!

2023-2024 Academic Calendar

BISB Families, please find next year's academic calendar below for your planning.

Activities for the BISB Community

SOCCER DAY (PARENTS & STAFF)

Every Tuesday from 5pm-7pm on the back field. The skill level is a 6/10 so anybody who is very new to soccer might want to come watch first.
If you are interested, please join line group "BISB football fun Tuesday 17:00". https://line.me/ti/g/bIaBkwH92l

THURSDAY AFTERNOON BASKETBALL

The athletic department at BASIS is proud to announce a new community-wide event on Thursday's from 5:00-7:00 in the gym. We will host a pick-up basketball game for teachers and parents. Any skill level is welcome as we have adequate space for multiple games! If you have any interest, please join the LINE group here and sign up.

http://line.me/ti/g/-vVsyRVC-

CHANGE OF DAY FOR YOGA LESSON (PARENTS & STAFF)