1. Welcome to Ambassador Bilingual School Welcome Parents to Yuwathutsuksapatana Semester 1, 2010

3. Semester One Begins May 17th, 2010 to 1st October, 2010

4. Thank you to all those who joined us for our wonderful summer course.

6. Times of Note

7. Schedules

8. Pickup and Drop off

9. Communication

10. Newsletters and Communication

11. Rules

12. Field Trips

13. School Bus

14. Insurance

15. New Expansion

16. Clubs

17. Newsletter Fridays

18. Extra Costs

19. PAC

20. Food and Snacks

21. Routines for Children

22. Sickness and Lice

23. Late Policy

24. Absence

25. Morning Assembly

26. Holidays

27. Complaints and Suggestions

28. Tests and Curriculums

29. ABS Creates Global students

30. Independence

31. Morals

34. Schedules Every student will receive a copy of their timetable and schedule for this semester. Please take one from the table in front of the Meeting room. The schedule is still subject to change, as we build the new expansion in the back and new classrooms open.

35. Pickup and Drop off Pick up and drop off policy has changed slightly. In the morning both gates will be opened to parents to drop off their students. Please be advised that we will now enforce at 1 minute drop off time per car. If you require more time, please proceed to the parking lot and escort your child to the gate. After 4pm the Primary Level Gate will be locked and all parents must proceed to the parking lot to park and pick up their child. We have had concern with the children walking across the road with oncoming cars and for safety reasons, we are instigating this new policy until the new building has been constructed

36. Communications Call the office at 053308935 Our email address is abs_littlestars@live.com If you would like to contact a classroom teacher, please do so between the hours of 3pm to 5pm You may also leave notes in your students communication book for the teachers to read. This will be provided by the school. We also have a Facebook page set up at Abs Bilingual

37. Newsletters and Communication to the Parents We will be communicating to the parents of ABS through various means this school year. If you wish to receive emailed school updates and newsletters, please add your full name and email address to our list on the table. If you do not have an email address, please add your name to the list of those who wish to take a computer class, demonstrating how to set up an email account Newsletters will also be sent home attached to your child's homework book We will also be updating the website on a regular basis now that we have changed to a new web design software which makes it easier

38. Rules No Cellphones, no video games (PSP, nintendo DS etc.) No expensive toys No expensive jewellery We will be providing a small parent information booklet for you to have on Monday.

39. Field Trips The Thai Governments new mandate is to have teachers relate students learning to their surroundings We are planning several field trips this year Every field trip will have a letter of permission that you must sign The costs for the field trips are not included in the tuition price We would also ask for volunteers to help us with the students on these outings

40. School Bus School bus will begin its tour at 6am in the morning. The average School bus trip takes 90 minutes. Please have your children go to the bathroom before they embark on the school bus. The Fee for the school bus is between 1000 Baht to 2000 Baht. If you wish to know the route or be added to the bus schedule, please contact Goolarb in the front Office.

41. Insurance This year at ABS we have changed to a new Insurance Company “The Viriyah Insurance” The fee for this insurance is 200 baht per year and you are able to go to many hospitals around Chiang Mai. Anyone who has not received this insurance, please proceed to Mrs. Goolarb You will receive a small card which you can show to the hospital staff, or contact ABS for information.

42. New Expansion You may have noticed that we have begun construction of a new building addition at the back of our school. This is a temporary solution while we begin construction of the new building located beside the parking lot. The new building will house Nursery, Pre-school and Kindergarten students. These students will have private access to their own playground without having to cross the road. We are currently looking for funding and donations for this new project, so please give generously!

43. Clubs This year we will have several new options for afterschool clubs for your students. Clubs will be held dependent on the amount of students who have signed up for that club. Those with minimal amounts of students will not be held We will begin clubs on the 24th of May, 2010 to 17th September 2010 K1, K2, K3’s will have clubs starting from 3pm to 4pm Signup will begin this coming Monday from the 17th to the 21st of May.

44. Newsletters Friday Each and every Friday starting on May 21, students will be taking home a newsletter from your teacher. Please check for these every Friday night in your students homework book as there might be special homework assignments and spelling words which your student requires the weekend to study.

45. Extra Costs Throughout the year we often have special occasions that we host. As we are on a limited school budget we rely on the parents for donations, snacks, gifts, food and prizes. We have not added these extra costs into your students tuition as they are not mandatory and only to be provided should you feel generous and would like to help out and support your school.

46. Parents Association Committee (PAC) We have a Parent Committee that meet once a month to discuss issues concerning the school. We are looking for dedicated member that can meet once a month for the entire duration of the school year. We help in making the school better by assisting the teachers with various items around the school. We do not want people who complain, but constructive members willing to help, understand and support the school. We require one parent from every grade level to be a part of the PAC. Of those selected, we require a Chief, secretary and treasurer.

47. Food and Snacks The Thai government and Teachers Association have expressed concern with childhood obesity levels rising in Thailand. As of now, we will not allow any unhealthy snacks to be eaten at school. The following will be confiscated by our newly established snack and health division: Chips, Crisps, Candy, Sugary foods, Pop, Lays, cakes, sweets, deserts, pizza, any fatty foods. Snacks allowed are: Milk, low sugar fruit juice, Yogurt, Fruit, Vegetables, healthy low fat cookies, rice cakes seaweed.

48. Routines and Sleep for Children In order to have your children at their best and ready to learn, Child Psychologists recommend that children receive at a minimum, 8 hours of sound sleep. Research has also proven that there is a direct link between the length of sleep a child has and childhood obesity. Therefore, a well rested child is a happy, smart and healthy child. Researchers also recommend a set routine throughout the day for your child. Please try and start a routine with your child, so that they wake up, sleep, eat and play at the same time everyday.

49. Sickness and Lice Starting this year, any student with the following will not be admitted into the school: Lice Fever Sickness Disease Flu Parents will be called to come and pick up their students and bring them home to heal.

50. Late policy This year at ABS we have adopted a new lateness strategy. It is extremely important that your child be at school for first bell so that they may hear any announcements and sing the national anthem with their class. We understand that we are all very busy, however children can arrive no later than 9:00am and 8:45 for Elementary or they will be marked as late by the teacher and the student will be required to check in at the Front Desk and provide a note. Upon receiving 3 late notes, the parents will be required to come to the Front Desk to personally sign in their child before that child is admitted to class. After receiving three late notes, you will be contacted by administration to come to ABS for a meeting. A mark for Behavior and Attendance will appear on your child’s report card. Lateness and Absence will affect their overall grade.

51. Absence All students in Thailand must attend 80% of their courses during the school year. Failure to do so will result in Failure of that Grade level. If your child will be absent for an extended period of time, please do not hesitate to contact the front office so that we may make arrangements to assist your child while they are away.

52. Morning assembly Check uniforms for cleanliness Check for lice Check fingernails and cleanliness of the children Check for any communicable diseases or viruses Prepare the students to get ready for a day of learning Send home any students who are sick, have a fever, have lice, or are unfit to learn.

53. Holidays We have a list of holidays for the parents and students During these days we will not be hosting our Clubs Often new holidays and mandatory holidays are created or removed from our calendar by the Thai Government. We will try our hardest to inform you of these changes as soon as we become aware of them.

54. Complaints and Suggestions As we are a positive learning environment please consider this when approaching us with suggestions or complaints. Please try to have a suggested solution to any problems or concerns that you may have during the school year. Please do not yell, scream or insult any of our staff or teachers at ABS as this is not the positive role model we wish to display to our children. If you have any concerns please contact the Front Office or Director Preecha and Director Derick

55. Tests Curriculum and Projects Curriculum Assessment Written knowledge tests Projects (kinesthetic assessment) Communication Learning for life

56. ABS Creates Global Students Language cannot exist without culture therefore we have to accept that for student to receive a global understanding of English, the English culture needs to be taught. Sometimes we make mistakes and have misunderstanding between our cultures, we hope that everyone can have patience and understanding. We must work together to minimize the conflicts between our cultures. We want ABS students to be studying in the global university system where they can create new technologies for the entire world.

57. Independence This year at ABS one of our goals is to help your children become more independent and self reliant. Children will take pride in what they do at school and at home. Children will understand how to take on responsibilities and the reasons why we do these things such as: Cleaning up our own mess, tying our shoes, cleaning our classrooms and homes, helping Mom and Dad with dinner. Children will feel a sense of accomplishment by becoming more self reliant.

58. Morals At ABS we feel that a strong moral foundation makes for very successful and bright students in this Global Economy We have established a new Morals class for our students where we discuss how to behave and better ourselves. We discuss issues that arise at school, at home and on the playground; What we do to help others, how to behave, what do we do when we see someone being hurt. Children will role-play, tell stories and read stories to each other.

59. Questions?