MS FAMILY
NEWSLETTER


OCTOBER 2022

Each month we will be sending out a brief update so you are informed of the happenings at RIS MS!


We will feature a content area each month... Enjoy!

NEWS 10/22

Explore the Kingdom (ETK)
Family Meeting (in-person) –
Tuesday, November 8 – 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.

LOCATIONS:

There will also be hard copies of the permission forms available Tuesday. Waivers must be done digitally.

AGENDA:

  • JUMP! Program Manager Trip overview & safety

  • Packing lists

  • Guidance for any prescribed medication

  • Q & A

REMINDER – Balance for payment is now due Wednesday, November 9, so families may attend this meeting before making a final decision. This date is firm. Permission forms also need to be handed in Wednesday if not completed at the meeting.

The MS Monthly!
Our students have developed a new publication called the MS Monthly that will cover all of our news, updates, stories of interest that are student driven.

They are publishing a hard copy and then a newscast each month - check them out!

MS Monthly newsletter

INTRODUCTIONS TO THE MS ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS TEAM

Who We Are & What We Teach

Jordan Newman: I teach grade 6 English Language Arts, and I am the head of the department. This is my fifth year teaching at Ruamrudee International School and my 8th year in Thailand. I originally come from Toronto, Canada, but I’ve been an international school teacher for 13 years. My son, Jackson, is in grade 2 and my wife, Anna, teaches Japanese at Shrewsbury International School. I love eating Thai food and especially spicy Thai food. One of my favorite hobbies to do in Thailand is playing golf, squash, and street hockey.

Andrew Brown: I teach grade 7 English Language Arts. I am originally from Tokyo (my father is American, and my mother is Japanese), and it is my second year teaching at Ruamrudee International School. Having lived in Tokyo for the vast majority of my life, I had the luxury of visiting Thailand frequently as a tourist in the past and am quite a fan of the country. One of my main passions is sports—soccer, tennis, and basketball.

Chris Creighton: I teach grade 8 English. I am a Canadian who has been teaching internationally for many years. I have lived in Bangkok for the past two years, and I joined the RIS community at the beginning of this school year. I feel very lucky to have a wonderful group of grade 8 students to work with alongside all of my colleagues. I enjoy exploring Bangkok on weekends and getting to try all of the wonderful Thai food that is available.

Up & Coming

Grade 6: We began the year by reading memoirs, making inferences, and finding themes. We practiced writing techniques, like dialogue, sensory language, and figurative language while writing our own memoirs. Our next unit is reading and writing informational texts. Our topic for our written paragraphs is titled How to Survive and Thrive in Middle School. The students will read and analyze magazine articles written for Middle School students, and then they will write their own magazine articles based on primary research they have conducted.

Grade 7: We started the year with a unit with a focus on reading fiction and narrative writing. For reading fiction, they demonstrated their learnings by responding to short story prompts pertaining to topics such as inference, theme, and summary. Additionally, the students also learned specific components of narrative writing (character traits, sensory details, figurative language) and later wrote their own short stories. Currently, we are revisiting the same topics from earlier in the year (inference, central idea) but with non-fiction text.

Grade 8: We started the year with a unit on personal narrative writing. Students wrote stories about events that were important to them. They also got to read several examples of personal stories written by young people that were published in the New York Times. I hope that you have already received an email from your child that had their story attached. Our next unit is focussed on listening and speaking skills as well as developing a strong argument. They are working towards making a video essay that will showcase their perspective on an important topic.

Resources

In ELA, we use No Red Ink to practice students' grammar foundations. If you are looking for extra homework for your child then you can ask them to work towards their “Mastery Path.”

Parent Tips

If you are wanting to know what your student is currently doing in ELA, we suggest the following:

  • Ask to see your students' English notebooks. It is filled with notes, activities, and homework assignments.

  • Ask your child to share their Google Classroom Calendar to see their upcoming assignments and you can also check their Google Classroom to see if there are any missing assignments.

  • Log in to your parent portal for PowerSchool. Here you can see their current marks on standards that are assessed throughout the year.

  • Ask your student to show you their Noredink or Commonlit accounts. Here you can see their participation in homework assignments and activities throughout each unit.

  • Spend time modeling good reading habits with your child or ask them specific questions about what they are reading in their free time. Your child should be reading for a minimum of thirty minutes every night.

If you are looking for ways to support your child we suggest the following websites:

COUNSELOR'S CORNER

Hello families!

It is that time of the year where we start to see the stress levels in our students rise. We have completed Quarter 1 and are now six weeks away from completing our first term of the year. Students are now settled in and are feeling the weight of the demand of school. We are seeing an increase in students reporting feeling overwhelmed, falling behind on school work, and presenting with behaviors that impact their ability to be successful in school. Here are a few tips to help have engaging conversations with your students about how they are doing.

Signs and symptoms to look out for:

  • Often feels anxious or worried

  • Has frequent stomach aches or headaches with no physical explanation

  • Trouble sleeping

  • Loss of interest in activities/hobbies they used to enjoy

  • Has low or no energy

  • Irritability or restlessness

  • Avoids spending time or engaging with friends (either in person or online)

  • Has trouble doing well in school or declines in grades.

Ways to start a conversation:

Your kids may not be ready to talk to you. That’s ok! They do need to know that you are present and available. Remind them that you are there.

Make observations and statements and just let it be. They will come when they are ready.

  • “I have been feeling concerned about you lately.”

  • “Recently, I have noticed some differences in you and wondered how you are doing.”

  • “I wanted to check in with you because you haven’t seemed like yourself lately.”

Questions you can ask:

  • “When did you begin feeling like this?”

  • “Did something happen that made you start feeling this way?

  • “How can I best support you right now?”

If you’ve seen some symptoms and have some concerns, here’s how you can engage your child in a conversation.

  • Make observations: In a non-judgemental way, let your child know what you have noticed:

      • “Hey, I have been noticing ___________. Is there anything going on that you want to talk about? I know life can be difficult sometimes and I am here for you”.

  • Listen. Really listening means stopping the voice in your own head and trying to actively pay attention.

      • **Listen to understand, not to solve the problem. Teens often just want to share and not be told how to fix it.

  • Ask if they’ve thought about what they might need to get better. If they haven’t, offer to support them by listening and talking with them. If they have, support them in following through with their needs.

      • What do you need from me right now?

          • To listen

          • Advice

          • Step in as an adult

  • Normalize. Assure your child that having a challenging time is common and does not mean that they can’t get better.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about your student, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Andy Krauthoefer
MS Counselor
andrewk@rism.ac.th