SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

SISB VOICE
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER WWW.SISB.AC.TH Chiangmai
WELCOME BACK TO (ON-SITE) SCHOOL!

Globally, it has been a very difficult couple of years and the Pandemic has really impacted every level

of society and has hit schools particularly hard. The academic year started off online but we are incredibly

happy to be able to welcome our students back onto the campus. It is always our aim to teach on campus

and not online and we have met every protocol demanded of us in order to open. Most of our team are now

vaccinated and on Wednesday 15th September teachers were on campus being tested (ATK) to ensure we

have a safe environment for pupils.

From an academic perspective, we are excited to really embrace the learning journey as we move

forward in term one. There will be some restrictions due to the protocols, but they will not impact the

learning experience and we are working hard to try and ensure we remain open for our students for the rest

of the year. Some notable events that will still happen (although in class only) in term 1 are mid-autumn

festival, International week and Loy Kratong festival. This year, these will be in class only events to help us

maintain our 'sterile' area within the school.

Thank you for continuing to place your trust in us and I look forward to seeing you throughout the

remainder of term one, thank you.

Thomas Fisher

Acting Principal
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ONLINE
LEARNING
The Benefits and Challenges

Since early 2020, millions of students from across the world

have had to adapt to learning online, as schools have closed to

limit the spread of the Coronavirus. Online learning can be a

challenge, for students, teachers and students, but learning

how to harness the power of technology to study and work from

home is a very important skill which all our students have now

mastered.

Before 2020, online learning was something which only a

limited number of university and high school students relied

upon. Now, Middle School, Primary School, Kindergarten and

even Nursery students are familiar with educational

technologies which connect us and enable us to communicate

and collaborate regardless of our location.

It has been a steep learning curve for many students and

parents, but after an extended period of schools opening and

closing, this generation of learners have now developed a very

valuable skill set, which will help them throughout their

academic career and their working life beyond that.

We have developed

these valuable skills

Self-Mo tivation Adaptability

Time Management
Technical Skills
With the return to school closer than
Digital Citizenship
ever, it's a good time to reflect on what
Critical-thinking Skills

Improved Virtual Communication has been a challenging time, but what

and Collaboration

Digital Literacy has also been a valuable learning

experience for everyone. There has never

been a more digital literate generation

than this one!

- Teacher. Daniel -
 SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

THEME FRIDAY!
Our first Theme Friday of the new school year, on Friday
20th August was Teddy Bear Day, and everyone got
involved, not just the young children. The students were all
very proud to show their teddies, dolls and other stuffed
animals. We also used the day as an opportunity for
students to practice and develop their show and tell skills,
presenting information to their classmates and answering
questions. A fun and educational experience for all!

On Friday 27th August, the students all dressed up in their

outfits to celebrate this week's Theme Friday. It's so nice to
see our students expressing themselves through fashion. We
had sports stars, fashion models, hipsters and all kinds of cool
looking students!

On 3rd September, Theme Friday was Pyjama Day. It was so

nice to see the students all happy to be studying in their
pyjamas (and with their Teddies). These activities make online
learning that bit more fun and give the students the chance
to communicate and share their feelings and experiences.
We also took the opportunity today to talk to students
about the importance of sleep for health, development and
well being.

On Friday 10th September, the students in Nursery,

Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary School all made a special
effort to dress up as their favourite character from a book,
a nursery rhyme, a fable, a comic,a cartoon, a TV show or a
movie.
We had princesses, wizards, crocodiles, superheroes and aliens
studying with us today! It was great to see the students
having such fun and also sharing their thoughts and ideas
about the characters they like. Enjoy the photos!
#ThemeFriday #CharacterDay #CharacterDay2021

- Teacher. Daniel -
 SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

"BRAIN BREAKS"
What are they and how do they help?

With online learning persisting around the globe as we tackle this Covid-19
pandemic, the term brain breaks has become more of a buzz than ever. I know what
you’re thinking - Okay, yeah, this is a cool word and all, but what does it
actually mean, and how does it help my kid with school?

So, what in the world is a brain break?

To put it simply, a brain break is a small exercise or activity that stimulates your
brain or gets your body moving, both of which can reportedly result in better
engagement and concentration in class and throughout the day. These activities
allow learners to take a little rest or offer a small break in routine to energise
themselves to tackle the tasks ahead of them.

TYPES OF BRAIN BREAKS

1. Active tasks. Active tasks involve getting the body moving and getting the circulatory
system pumping - this boosts the delivery of oxygen around the body - more oxygen,
more ability to concentrate. These activities can be as simple as; a small stretch, a
game like Simon Says, a quick scavenger hunt or ‘Can you find …’ game around the
house, a classic game of ‘I spy’, a little acting or drama activity, or even a dance.
Bear in mind, everyone is different, and upbeat, fast-paced activities might not be for
you - so why not try something a bit more soothing or relaxing like some yoga or
playing with playdough.
2. Stimulating the mind. Tasks that stimulate the mind can be used to get some creativity
going and to get ideas flowing. These activities usually entail some sort of problem
solving game to get us thinking outside of the box or to look at things from another
angle, perspective, or point of view. Here we can use little riddles, brain teasers,
scenarios like ‘would you rather …’, or even funny ice-breakers to get thinking. Even
using playdough to try to make something gets the problem-solving neurons firing.
 SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

"BRAIN BREAKS"
WHEN TO USE BRAIN BREAKS

Ok, so we know brain breaks are usually something associated with the
classroom - so how can we use them at home? Our days are long and the
kids are working hard. So why not use a brain break to add some flavour to
the day. We can use them during snack or lunch, in an offline lesson if
your little one has finished early, or even and especially during homework.
Brain breaks can be a nice, fun way to get the mind ready for homework
time - it can double as some family fun time and also adds a bit of
structure to our day as it signals to the kids that it’s time for a challenge
and then time for homework.

To finish off, it’s a whole new world out there these days. Brain breaks
encourage and develop thinking skills and resilience - just what we need to
tackle life in the 21st century!.

NOTE
The link below provides a variety of different types of brain breaks to try out at home:

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/brain-breaks-for-kids/

We hope you enjoyed this article and look forward to hearing of all the brain breaks
you’ve tried at home :)

- Teacher. Hayden -
 SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

H A P P Y The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the

MID AUTUMN worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from

the autumn eve of ancient times. It is a traditional
FESTIVAL Chinese folk festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated in ancient times and was popular in the Han Dynasty. It
was finalized in the early years of the Tang Dynasty and prevailed after the Song Dynasty. The
Mid-Autumn Festival became an officially recognized national holiday, around the Tang Dynasty.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival has become a common folk festival,
and the fifteenth of the eighth lunar calendar is officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mid-Autumn Festival had become one of the main folk
festivals in China. Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival has had folk customs such as
worshipping the moon, admiring the moon, eating moon cakes, playing with lanterns, enjoying the
osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine. Influenced by Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn
Festival has become a traditional festival for some countries in East and Southeast Asia,
especially for the local Chinese.
Worshipping the moon is a very ancient custom in our country. It is actually a worship activity
of the ancients to the "moon god". People have the custom of worshipping the moon god on the
night of Mid-Autumn Festival. To worship the moon, a large incense table was set up, and
offerings such as moon cakes, watermelon, apples, red dates, plums, and grapes were placed.
Under the moon, the whole family pays homage to the moon in turn, praying for blessings. As one
of the important rituals of the Mid-Autumn Festival, moon worship has continued from ancient
times to the present day, and has gradually evolved into folk moon appreciation and moon
chanting activities. At the same time, it has also become the main form of modern people's
desire to reunite and entrust their good wishes to life. The custom of admiring the moon comes
from offering worship to the moon, and serious worship has turned into relaxing entertainment.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, many lanterns were hung in public places on the
mid-autumn full moon night, and people gathered together to guess the riddles written on the
lanterns.
Mooncakes were originally used to worship the moon god. Later, people
gradually took the Mid-Autumn Festival to admire the moon and taste
mooncakes as a major symbol of family reunion. Mooncakes symbolize reunion,
and people regard them as festive food, and use them to offer worship to
relatives and friends. Since its development, eating moon cakes has become a
must-have custom for the Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of the north and
south of our country. People will eat moon cakes to show "reunion" on the Mid-
Autumn Festival.
 SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

On Tuesday 21st September, at Singapore International School, we celebrated the Mid-

Autumn Festival with craft activities, lantern making, storytelling and mooncakes. Some of the
students even had the chance to make their own mooncakes, which they thoroughly

enjoyed. The celebrations were particularly colourful with all the students dressed in beautiful
traditional Chinese costumes.

- Teacher. JJ -
 SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

Secondary
Technology Integration at the Forefront of Home-Based
Learning for Secondary Students

Technology integration is a hot topic in the world of International Education. If one browses the latest
educational blogs like Edutopia or harnesses through Twitter, recommendations for utilizing technology in the
classroom are in abundance.

With the challenge of another round of online learning, Secondary teachers at SISB challenged themselves to
go beyond the meaning of the word use. Our goal is to provide high-quality teaching and learning at SISB. This
led teachers to frame the question: How can we integrate technology that is effective in an online learning
environment for teachers and students?

Through collaborative online meetings and a plethora of suggestions, teachers implemented a whole host
of engaging learning experiences for our students.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS HISTOSRY CLASS

In PE class, Teacher Queen utilized an app
called Active Arcade. Students had to
download an application that required learners
to compete in a series of movement-related
games within the confines of their home
environments. The application enabled students
to take a mental health break and develop their
fitness levels while at home.
In History, Teacher Joe implemented Quizziz, a
review-style game that helped students to reflect
and recall their learning experiences within a
gamified situation. Teacher Joe is our new G7 - G9
Humanities teacher, and he remarked that simple
activities like this help build a classroom bond
online. Gamification also made its presence felt in
the form of Kahoot. In Grade 9 English, our learners
utilized the app to explore the differences between
implicit and explicit language.

ENGLISH AND ECONOMICS CLASS PASTORAL CARE AND CAREER GUIDANCE PROGRAM

Effectively technology integration is also about
collaboration and the sharing of ideas. To this
end, students used Padlet and Edpuzzle to
develop inquiry-based learning experiences. In
Grade 7 English, students explored text
annotation by taking collaborative notes on the
literary elements of a short story. In Economics,
our teachers used Edpuzzle, a video
comprehension platform, to facilitate a Discovery
Learning approach to explore how resources are
allocated in a financial setting.
Our PCCG (Pastoral Care and Career Guidance
Program) completes our holistic framework. To
develop empathy in our young minds, teachers
have been practicing Mindfulness and Growth
Mindset. Both of these Social and Emotional trends
are prevalent in International schooling, and we are
proud to incorporate these as part of our
Secondary Program. One successful platform is
Peardeck, an interactive Google Slides application
that allows students to express themselves through
writing, drawing, or speaking. Teacher Jason
commented, “Our goal online is to differentiate the
learning experience while providing that digital
comfort and freedom to allow one to express their
ideas and feelings in an online learning
environment.” Students used Peardeck to learn
about mottos before developing their own for the
2021-22 school year.
 SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

"Students used Jamboard to reflect on the IB

Learner Personality that they represented
during the study week. Group sharing of
feelings is a powerful tool which helps assist in
the emotional development of young teens."

At SISB Chaing Mai, effective technology integration and developing critical thinkers are facets of what
drive our thinking. At SISB, we are proud to be at the forefront of effective technology integration. We will
continue to explore and investigate the best ways to bring innovation into the classrooms and minds of our
Secondary students. Thank you to everyone for supporting us on this journey.

- Teacher. Greg -

S E C O N D A R Y
 SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE

GALLERY
visit our Facebook page for
more photos