VAHEN KING

THE STRENGTH OFMY

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Meg Bartmess

STUDENT EDITOR

Chloe Bartmess

Contributors

Clare Chen

Kochaporn Werojn

Andy Davies

Justyna McMilan

Marc de Vries

Michael Allen

Farah Thaxton

Honey Tondre

Mark Marshall

Dennis Harter

Melinda Kehe

Kerry Dyke

Vahen King

Justin Alexander

Debbie McDowell

Corry Day

Heather McCain

PTA Hospitality Team

PTA Korean Community Reps

PTA Japanese Community Reps

Poon V., 8th Grade Student

Shayne P., 8th Grade Student

Yumna Jawad

New York Korea Center

Rachael, All Recipes

PHOTO

Shuterstock

@LaneJensen

@Selahreflections

Chloe Bartmess

Nutdanai Pongnikorn

Harmony Casey

Sarah Steward

Mark Marshall

Stephen Romary

Kerry Dyke

Meg Bartmess

Okart Studio

ISB Facility Team

Fco-President

By: Clare Chen

As ISB parents, we are blessed to have a warming community the moment we enroll our children into this school. Everything surrounding the school is vibrant and diverse. The dedicated teachers, the ever helpful staff from the gate to the Grind and all the way down at the sports fields and back. Every step we take, there’s always a warm hello and a welcoming smile which ensures us that ISB is the best choice we made, not only for our children but also for us parents. This wouldn’t be made possible without the enthusiastic PTA volunteers!

I still remember as a new parent, fresh off the boat, in this new environment/adventure, trying to find my place, trying to see where to belong and which groups to join and mingle; even more so, meeting lifelong friends that we become family away from home. This wouldn’t happen without PTA being the platform and center of fabulous events created yearly by the most amazing parent volunteers. They build bridges for all parents far and wide, new, old and returning. It is the PTA that provides the community a chance to bond, a chance to grow and also a chance to be together again.

So, as I am today, with my years of receiving so much love from the community and experiencing the kindness of all cultures from all corners of the world, I would love to give back to the community that has made our children thrive and carry on with their adulthood with a special piece of ISB in their youth. Through PTA, the irreplaceable parent volunteers played as role models for our children as we embraced differences and similarities from the world into this vast campus. We are proud to be immersed as a part of this inclusive community where parents joined hand in hand over and over again, to bring the sparkles to everyone’s smile.

With Yok, my dearest co-president, we became friends because of ISB and we are together because of PTA. We shared high and low moments within school and outside school. We were separated when the pandemic hit and yet we are together again!

This is the magic of ISB PTA, to bring friends together again and again; creating bonds that last a lifetime. Through our collaboration, we want to put this wonderful experience forward and exert it to the community. We want to create an atmosphere for the ISB community, a sense of belonging, an opportunity to be together again after the pandemic. This is the essence of the Parent Teacher Auxiliary (PTA): to be the bridge and provide crossings from parents to staff and enrich our children’s experience in ISB through memorable moments.

2023 flips and marks our calendars, as our community travels home to be with family together again. We wish parents, staff and our precious children to have the best new year ahead, with the most uplifting new year resolutions and goals moving forward.

Don’t forget the PTA lounge, right next to Booster Hut is always open daily from 10am - 3pm. There isn’t much in the room, but filled with LOVE by our fabulous volunteers.

Come and join us!