Secondary Principal’s Blog
April 23, 2021, Update
Christina Powers, Secondary School Principal

The Final Quarter of the School Year is Before Us

As we head down the final stretch of the school year it is important to remain connected and to communicate if you have any questions or concerns. This week our secondary students have transitioned from holiday back into learning with ease. We appreciate those of you who have communicated that you are still transitioning to your home country or are in quarantine. Having this information allows our teachers to make adjustments and to be more flexible during this transition time. Please do not hesitate to let us know your situation so that we can work with you through this challenging time.

Next week we will complete a student survey in order to obtain feedback on how virtual learning is progressing in order to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences

On Friday, April 30, 2021, the secondary team will be hosting virtual parentteacher conferences.  This is an opportunity to talk with your child’s teacher, ask questions, and learn more about what your child is learning in class.  To schedule a conference please see the link below. The opportunity to sign-up for conferences will close on Wednesday, April 28th at 5:00 PM Myanmar time in order to allow time for teachers to organize their conference day. If you would like to cancel, change, or schedule a conference after Wednesday at 5:00 PM please contact the secondary office for assistance (secondaryoffice@isyedu.org).

Directions for Scheduling Conferences:

  • Please see the instructions link  Conferences will be booked through PowerSchool.
  • The meeting times listed in the sign-ups are based on Myanmar time.
  •  All conferences are 7 minutes in length allowing parents time to transition between meetings.
  • If the conference times available do not work for you, please email the classroom teacher to arrange an alternative date and time for a meeting.
Exam Week

April 28, 2021, will begin the High School Students exam week.  Please see the schedule for the week

The May exam is a summative assessment where students have an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.  We have moved the exams to the End of April to allow teachers to assess students’ long-term learning and provide feedback to the students.  The timing of the exam allows teachers time to introduce a final unit before the end of the year which will be assessed and included in the quarter four report card. This allows for teaching and learning to occur until the final day of school. Spring exams are only one measure of how well students have retained and learned the course content.

Class Attendance 

The Secondary School continues to monitor and inform parents of their child’s class attendance. The secondary office communicates to parents when a student misses a class so that parents are aware of their child’s situation. We understand that at times the issue may be the internet related or there may be other factors that prevent a student from attending a class.  It is our belief that by informing parents we are simply providing you with information so that we can work together to help your child be successful.

  • In Middle School, the office will communicate with parents when students miss class.
  • In High School, we have automated the process by having Powerschool email at 9:40 if a student is not in class. Next week we will add a second email that will be sent home at the end of the day informing parents of all the classes that were missed for a given day.

Once again these steps are taken in an effort to keep parents informed. Please make sure to communicate with the office when possible.