Secondary School Blog

New Schedule

Mike Simpson

Secondary School Principal

November 14, 2024

Following a directive from the Ministry of Education, we are required to provide a specified number of Myanmar Language, History, and Geography classes for Myanmar students from Grades 1-12. To comply with this requirement, we have made schedule adjustments that ensure these classes fit within our school day while maintaining the integrity of our core curriculum.

In the Elementary School, we have implemented a quarterly rotation schedule for Art and Music classes for Myanmar students. This means they will continue to experience both subjects but on a rotating basis throughout the year. This adjustment allows us to accommodate the new requirements while ensuring that key learning in the core subjects of English, Math, Science, and Social Studies remains unaffected. Social Studies for Myanmar students is integrated into a morning block.

In the Secondary School, we will shift from five 60-minute sessions to seven 45-minute sessions for students. This preserves instructional time in all core subjects. Additionally, Chinthe Communities’ time will be reduced to accommodate the additional Myanmar Language, History, and Geography lessons for Myanmar students in Grades 6-10. IB Diploma courses will have an additional class in addition to their normally scheduled number of classes per week to ensure that IB Diploma requirements are met.

We are committed to balancing these requirements while continuing to provide our students with an ISY high-quality education experience.

The new schedule will be followed from this will be followed from this Monday, November 18. All Secondary School students and their parents will be emailed their individual schedule before Monday. If you have any questions about your child’s schedule, please contact the Secondary School Office.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we work to meet both our school’s standards and the Ministry’s directives. 

Secondary School Events

This week:

Saturday, November 16:

  • High School Yangon Math Competition (refer to email sent to students and parents)

Monday, November 18:

  • HS YAC Soccer vs YIS at ISY

Tuesday, November 19:

  • HS YAC Soccer vs ILBC at ILBC
  • YAC MS Volleyball – ISY with ISM at ISY

Thursday, November 21:

  • YAC MS Volleyball – ISY with YIS at ISY
  • Elementary School Invitational Swim Meet at ISY from 4pm
  • Middle and High School Invitational Swim Meet at ISY from 5:15pm

Friday, November 22:

  • Semester 1 ASAs Finish

Upcoming Events:

ISY Family Fun Fair: Saturday, November 23: Mark your calendars for an exciting day where the whole ISY community comes together to support our Service Learning clubs and have lots of fun! Please stay tuned for more details… coming soon!

IB Diploma Grade 10 Parent Evening, Tuesday, November 26 from 5:30pm to 6:30pm

High School Homecoming Dance, Thursday, November 28 from 6pm to 8pm

Activities & Athletics

Here is a link to Ms.Rebekka Jensen’s Athletics and Activities Blog for up-to-date information regarding Activities and Athletics at ISY.

Holiday Bazaar Donations Needed: 

Clothing & Toys

The Care to the Least service learning group and Elementary School Student Council are collecting gently used clothing, accessories, and toys for a special sale to support the Chinthe Fund. Thank you for your support. 

Drop-Off Details:

When: November 13th – 29th

Where: Front steps of the school

Chinthe Expeditions

We are very much looking forward to our Chinthe Expeditions. 

A detailed travel and activity summary has now been emailed to all parents. If you have not already, please fill out the Parent Information and Authorization Form that is linked to that email. This provides us with important medical, dietary, and other information that we will share with our expedition partners to ensure a safe and enjoyable expedition for all.

This week, we have met with High School students to prepare for their expeditions.

As a reminder, our students are going on the following expeditions:

Grades 6, 7, and 8: Chiang Mai, Thailand: Sunday, January 5 – Friday, January 10

Grades 9 and 10: Chiang Mai, Thailand: Saturday, November 30 – Thursday, December 5

Grade 11: Ho Chi Minh & Mekong Delta, Vietnam: Sunday, December 1 – Thursday, December 5

Grade 12: Malacca, Malaysia: Sunday, December 1 – Friday, December 6

International Day Notices

Cultural Show Sign Up:

On behalf of the Cultural Show Team, we invite you to join the Cultural Show and share your traditions through music, dance, or other forms of art! Celebrate our community’s unity and uniqueness. Sign up by filling out one form per group by Wednesday, November 27th. If you have any questions, please contact the Cultural Show Team at rjensen@isyedu.org.

Country Booth Sign Up:

On behalf of the Parents Association, we invite you to sign up for an International Day country booth.  Groups of parents set up tables and celebrate their country through food and decorations.  Each booth provides a glimpse into the heart of a nation, creating a vibrant global village for our community to explore. Sign up now to share, learn, and celebrate as a truly global community at ISY.

Raffles:

The Parent Association is excited to host a raffle on International Day, with all proceeds going directly to support student activities!  We are inviting families to help make this raffle memorable by donating prizes. Drop off items at the school office (B Building) or call 880441040 ext.100 for details. Join us in creating a fun and meaningful event that benefits our students—your contributions make a difference!