Monthly Newsletter - April 2025
- AISB News
- May 22
- 13 min read
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Teaching and Learning
Our Director's Update
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the newsletter for April 2025 – a little late, for which I apologise.
The month of May has us busily preparing for the many events that occur at the end of each school year – concerts, performances, shows, assemblies and graduation, not to mention exams and reports. I am certainly looking forward to seeing everything that is in store for us as we finish the year. We will also get to see the shows in the recently completed Hall in Kirribilli, which is a beautiful new performance space for our community.
At the recent Director’s meeting with parents, I outlined the implementation of PAT Assessments at AISB, something we have been doing for a couple of years now. I thought it would be helpful to inform parents both why we have implemented the PAT assessments and how we use the data.
The Progressive Achievement Tests, or PAT assessments, developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), are a series of assessments designed to help understand and support your child's learning journey from Foundation (the first year of school) through to Year 10.
These assessments are used by many schools to get a clearer picture of what students know, understand, and can do in key areas of their learning. PAT is designed to measure a student's current abilities and track their educational growth over time, providing valuable insights for both teachers and parents. The assessments cover a range of important learning domains, including mathematics, reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, and critical reasoning, helping to pinpoint where your child is in their learning and what their next steps might be.
For children in Foundation to Year 8, PAT assessments offer a consistent way to monitor academic progress. The tests can be administered online, often using an adaptive format that adjusts the difficulty of questions based on your child's responses, or through traditional paper-based tests. This flexibility allows schools to choose the most suitable approach for their students. The results help teachers identify your child's learning strengths and areas where they might need more support or extension. This information is crucial for tailoring teaching strategies to meet individual student needs and to ensure that each child is appropriately challenged and supported in their learning.
As a parent, understanding your child's PAT results can provide a valuable perspective on their academic development. The assessments typically provide a scale score, which allows for tracking your child's progress from year to year, and sometimes a stanine, which compares your child's performance to a national reference group. It's important to remember that PAT assessments are just one tool among many that schools use to build a comprehensive understanding of your child's abilities and progress. The results are most effective when considered alongside classroom work, teacher observations, and other assessments to help guide conversations with your child's teacher about their learning and development.
For more information, please see https://www.acer.org/au/pat/assessments
I hope you enjoy reading through the April Newsletter. Wishing you and your family all the best for the final month of Academic Year 2024-25! We will publish one more Newsletter for the year, in the last week of Term 3.
Yours in education,
Henri Bemelmans
Director.
Yours in education,
Henri Bemelmans
Director
Early Years Update
Written by Sheridan Musto, Head of Early Years and Soi 20 Campus
We began the month of April by welcoming families to the Parent/Teacher Meetings, a valuable opportunity to celebrate each child's growth, discuss individual learning goals, and strengthen the important partnership between home and school. These meetings help us to build a strong, supportive connection with families and ensure that learning goals are tailored to meet the needs of each child. Thank you to all who attended and for your ongoing partnership.
During the final week of April, our Soi 20 Year 1 Art Teacher, Ms Shelby, organised a beautiful Year 1 Art Installation. It was wonderful to see parents taking the time to view the children’s artwork which was proudly displayed outside their classrooms. This experience highlighted the creativity and expression of our young learners and we hope you enjoyed seeing their artistic journeys firsthand.
Throughout the month, our campus-wide Paper-Free Days continued. These days are designed to encourage hands-on learning experiences without the reliance on paper-based activities. Even during meetings, staff continue to role model mindful practices, using minimal printing and focusing on digital sharing and discussion methods where possible.
Before the Songkran break, we celebrated Songkran with joy and tradition. Children participated in water play activities, and we embraced the meaningful cultural tradition of water pouring on teachers’ hands as a sign of respect and blessing. A special thank you to our Thai teachers, Ms. Muk and Ms. Ling, for their incredible efforts in decorating the Green Space so beautifully with traditional elements, creating a truly festive and authentic environment for the children to enjoy.
In our Nursery classes, students explored Earth Day (22 April) through a range of sensory and art-based activities. The focus was on learning about caring for the environment, including water play activities highlighting water conservation, nature collages using found natural materials, and discussions about keeping our Earth clean and healthy.
Our Kindergarten classes continued their inquiry unit, “The Living Ocean,” diving deeper into exploring the magic of “Fanta Sea.” Children have been investigating sea creatures, habitats, and the importance of protecting our oceans. Through hands-on activities such as building model underwater worlds, storytelling, and sensory experiences with water and sand, students are developing a deeper understanding of marine life and ocean conservation.
Meanwhile, Foundation classes have been enjoying Buddy Reading sessions with our Year 1 students. This cross-age program not only builds literacy skills but also promotes leadership and confidence in Year 1 students, and fosters a sense of community and friendship between the year levels. It has been heartwarming to see the older students encouraging and supporting their Foundation buddies during reading time.
In Year 1, students have been busy with their Mathematics focus on 2D and 3D shapes. Through hands-on building activities, sorting, and real-world shape hunts, students are developing a strong understanding of geometric properties and vocabulary. In Science, Year 1 has been investigating Forces, exploring how different types of pushes, pulls, and movements affect objects. Using ramps, cars, balls, and other materials, students have been actively experimenting and discovering key concepts through play and inquiry.
It has been a full and exciting month of learning across the Early Years, and we are proud of the enthusiasm and curiosity that our students bring each day.
Primary Update
Written by Hannah Carew, Head of Primary
Welcome Back to Term 3 at AISB!
I would like to warmly welcome everyone back to AISB for Term 3 and extend a special welcome to the many new families who have joined our community this term.
April was a month of celebration and learning. We began with the Songkran festivities, where all primary students had the opportunity to learn more about the significance of the Thai New Year. Our Year 3 students performed a beautiful traditional dance for the school and everyone enjoyed participating in the water festival afterwards. It was a wonderful day for both students and staff!
April also gave us a moment for reflection as we commemorated ANZAC Day, a day of national significance for Australians, where we remember those who served and sacrificed for peace and freedom.
To close out the month, students celebrated Book Week with a variety of exciting activities designed to foster a love of reading. Our "Mystery Reader" competition created a real buzz across the campus, with students eagerly trying to guess the secret reader each day. We finished the week with a colourful "Dress as Your Favourite Character" day, which was enjoyed by all.
Looking ahead, May brings many more wonderful opportunities for our community. We will be celebrating Mother’s Day (Australia) with a special Mother’s Day Breakfast at the Soi 31 Primary campus on Friday, May 9th. Please check your emails for your invitation.
Students are also busy rehearsing for their End ofYear Performances. We can't wait to see all their hard work and talent come together to create an amazing show for everyone!
To stay updated on all upcoming activities, please refer to your child’s homeroom teacher’s weekly newsletter, sent out every Friday.
We look forward to a fantastic Term 3 ahead with all of you.
Ms. Hannah Carew
Primary Principal
AISB Values
As we enter the final weeks of the school year, May provides a wonderful opportunity for us to revisit and reflect on our AISB values. These values are at the heart of everything we do, guiding our teaching, shaping our community, and supporting our students' growth. By reaffirming our shared values, we continue to foster a positive, respectful, and vibrant learning environment for all.
What are AISB core values?
Core values are the central beliefs of a person or organisation. These serve as guiding principles for behaviour that apply in a variety of settings and situations. In the business world, core values help companies establish and align their vision across employees and customers.
In schools, core values can help create common understanding and agreement about how individuals will interact and communicate with one another. In an International School setting, students, parents and staff members bring their own unique perception of social, emotional, and behavioural skills.
These perceptions are influenced by age, culture, religion, geographic region, and previous experience. As a result, international schools must clearly define and share their core values rather than assuming these beliefs are understood.
These core values become the foundation upon which all other social, emotional, and behavioural expectations are based.When schools adopt common core values, they provide a basis for consistency and alignment of other behaviour rules and expectations.
AISB has developed a framework that focuses on six core values:
Wellbeing, Respect, Integrity, Community, Personal Best, and Global Outlook.
Secondary Update
Written by Michael Bryce, Head of Secondary
The month of May sees us move into a very busy time of the Year.
Firstly, I wish to welcome Mr Max Carponi to the mathematics faculty until the end of the school year. Mr Max brings a wealth of experience in the teaching of mathematics and science. Mr John departed after a major health scare. We wish him well in retirement.
The end of course exams for years 10, 11 & 12 have commenced. As previously explained students, should be at school accessing their teachers for any study tips. There are many available spaces for quiet study around the school, including the classroom they should have been in when classes were held.
Key Dates & Notices
The Junior years 7, 8 & 9 commence their exams mid May. Reports will be issued prior to the end of the school year.
The last day of the school year ‘Traditional’ parents and students’ sports morning will once again take place this year. The last few years have seen very competitive games of soccer, badminton etc between students, parents and staff. If you are interested in participating, keep an eye out for notices.
The End of Year Academic Award Ceremony will be held June 11th, in the new Hall, Kirribilli Building. Invitations will be issued at the beginning of June.
The Year 12 Graduation Ceremony will be held June 12th, and again, information to follow in early June.
The End of Year / Graduation School Dance will be held on the night of June 11th. The student council will be issuing full details asap.
Notice has been sent concerning the Year 7 field trip on 6 June, 2025, to BEAT Active. On this day while Year 7 are on this trip, Year 6 students will attend the high school for an Orientation taster day. The Year 7 teachers will be running classes for the Year 6 students all day.
Thank you and wishing you well for the month of May.
Songkran Festival
Our secondary students kicked off the Songkran 2025 celebration with vibrant performances that brought Thai culture to life through music and dance.
They then took part in the meaningful Rod Nam Dam Hua ceremony, showing heartfelt respect and gratitude to their teachers.
Mr Michael
HoSS
Teaching and Learning
In Primary, we have been focusing on the continual analysis of school wide data (across Foundation - Year 6 - Soi 31 & 20) in literacy and numeracy, to ascertain which students require extra support. This has led to the development of a strategic Intervention Program for Foundation - Year 3, where students will receive daily sessions focusing on building key skills in literacy and numeracy. To launch this exciting new initiative, we led training with our wonderful Teaching Assistants, where we engaged in practising the activities that will be delivered daily to students. We look forward to bringing you more on this exciting program in the future.
In the Primary school, students are continually assessed through formative and summative assessment practices. This term, students will again be assessed in a variety of areas, including a whole school writing assessment, PAT tests in Maths and Reading, Essential Assessment for Maths for years 3-6 and the continuation of Initialit testing for Foundation - Year 2. These assessments will assist with determining report card grades for your children. In addition, the information we gather from Term 3 assessments also assists with student transitions to the next year level. All assessment data for students is passed over to your child’s new teacher so that all students can continue with their personal learning journey, exactly where they left off the year before.
In the Secondary school, exam season is here!
Teachers are working hard to prepare and support students for exams and many final major projects have been submitted or are ready for submission. At this stage of learning, student autonomy, effective time management and self-motivation are key aspects of a student’s development of independence with their learning. We wish all student’s the very best with their upcoming exams and thank the teaching staff for their support of all students.
FAREWELL!
Unfortunately, Our family made the difficult decision to return to Australia, due to a personal emergency.
Our time living in Bangkok will be remembered fondly. Chris, Ollie and I have all made many lifelong friends, whom we will greatly miss, but we know it is not goodbye, but ‘see you soon’.
Thankyou to the many fantastic teachers who educated our son in the Secondary school, and looked out for his welfare. It is so appreciated.
Most notably, Chris and I have appreciated just how amazing the students at AISB are. It has been such a pleasure working with students who are so kind, accepting and inclusive.
Thankyou to everyone who contributed to making our time here special; it will not be forgotten.
STEAM
Mr. Gareth Openshaw, Head of STEAM and Assistant Head of Primary
In April, the STEAM department welcomed parents to the Innovation Centre for our annual showcase. During the final week of Term 2, parents had the opportunity to experience our Innovation Centre based lessons (Visual Arts, Media Arts, Digital Technologies, and Design Technologies) just as their children would. They then also had the opportunity to tour the Innovation Centre and see all the amazing work our students have been producing this year.
Thank you to all parents who visited, and we look forward to hopefully seeing more of you next year!
Sports and PE
Mr. Chris White – AISB PE Coordinator
2025 House Super Splash
All of Secondary Campus enjoyed a wonderful swim carnival accompanied with separate fun water activities. A big thank you to Mr Peter, Ms Cari and Mr Tiaan for organising this successful day where Secondary students engaged in competitive swim meets for their House and also enjoyed fun water based activities outside of the pool.
Students competed in the following races:
Kickboard
Freestyle
Breaststroke
Backstroke
House relays
Mixed relays
Boys relays
Girls relays
And finally teachers versus students.
Whilst swim times were not recorded, places were and House points awarded, resulting in the following House results:
Grevillea topped the House Supersplash Carnival with 622 points.
Eucalyptus with 592 points
Wollemi with 567 points
Acacia with 561 points
Telopea with 485 points
Finally, Correa with a courageous 429 points.
Some big individual efforts were achieved in the pool on this special day and awards, such as age champions will be celebrated at school soon - stay tuned!
Regarding the water based activities outside of the pool students participated in the following, all in the spirit of Songkran:
Blind Water Bomb Battleship - students sit either side of the wall with water bombs and launch bombs on teacher command. If struck with a water bomb you are out!
Target Dunk - Students must hit a target with a Vortex resulting in the seated student or teacher being soaked in water.
Mega Slip n Slide - 16m by 5m slip and slide soaked with water and detergent. Students chose between body slide, bodyboard slide and donut slide.
Running of the Gauntlet - Obstacle course where students attempt to complete and dodge water bombs launched by fellow students in a restricted space.
Giant Volleyball - Huge (2m by 2m) blow up beach ball used as a volleyball with teams competing against each other.
Paired Water Bomb Throw - Pairs team up and underarm throw to each other. Each successful throw and catch resulted in pairs taking two steps away from each other.
All in all a fun, competitive and good spirited day was had with plenty of student smiles.
CELEBRATING SUCCESS
Amelia Accepted to RMIT University
Please join us in congratulating Amelia on her acceptance into the Certificate in Arts program at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
Amelia has shown consistent dedication to her artistic practice, always approaching her work with thoughtfulness, curiosity, and a strong creative voice.
We’re very proud and excited to see Amelia continue growing in a space where she can deepen her skills and passion.
Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
Congratulations to Hana and Selar from Year 7 Daintree for passing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)!
We are incredibly proud to share that both students successfully passed the JLPT held last December at Kasetsart University. The JLPT, organised by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchange and Service, is a highly respected international exam recognised across more than 85 countries for certifying Japanese language skills.
Their achievement reflects the spirit of perseverance and global learning we value at our school. We look forward to seeing them continue to reach new heights!
Myanmar Donation Drive
Summer School 2025
Join us at AISB for an exciting and enriching summer experience. Our Summer School 2025 runs from 16 June to 11 July, offering engaging weekly themes, hands-on activities, and endless opportunities to learn, play, and make new friends.
Click the link below to learn more and secure your child’s spot
Curious Possums Playtime
Curious Possums Playtime is back!
Join us for a fun-filled farmyard morning at AISB, specially designed for little ones aged 1–3 years.
Sing songs, create crafts, explore messy play, and enjoy delicious snacks—alongside your little explorer.
📅 Date: 24th May 2025
🕥 Time: 10:30 AM – 12:15 PM
📍 Location: AISB Soi 20 Campus
👩👦 One caregiver per child is required
🎟️ Spots are limited! Don’t miss out on this special session of fun, exploration, and connection.
📧 RSVP today: krystal.abo@australianisb.ac.th📞 Or call us at 02-260-4575
Chess Championship Tournament 2025 – Saturday, 31st May
We’re inviting our AISB chess enthusiasts to take part in a day of strategic thinking, friendly competition, and focused fun at our Chess Championship Tournament 2025.
Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdC94EYOrbdpo15J9qd-vnauA9diHa2NKVTu2QDGF2RH_VJg/viewform
AISB School Calendar 2025/26 Now Available
Our AISB School Calendar for the 2025/26 school year is now available on our website. Stay informed about important dates, school events, and holidays.
Make sure to bookmark it for easy access throughout the year!
That's all for this month!
We hope you enjoyed this month's newsletter. If you have any feedback or news you'd like to share for our next newsletter, please send us an email at enquiries@australianisb.ac.th.
