At St. Andrews International School Sukhumvit S107 in Bangkok, we shape young minds to better prepare them for tomorrow as successful adults by promoting our holistic approach to education.

We also support the well-being of our young learners by cooperating with their parents in order to have two-way support of their academic and socio-emotional development as would-be future leaders.

Strengthening parent-teacher partnerships allows young learners to truly learn in a holistic manner—both at the school and at home, leading to an all-encompassing educational approach.

The way our school at St. Sukhumvit interacts and communicates with our young minds’ parents directly influences the quality and impact of the children’s learning in a home environment.

The Importance of Positive Communications between Parents and Teachers

The students’ learning shouldn’t be limited to just the four walls of a school. Their home environment should not impede their development from being children to growing into mature teenagers who are ready for college and beyond.

It’s one thing for the primary and secondary school children of St. Sukhumvit International School to learn about academics, extracurricular activities, and socio-emotional skills on campus. It’s another thing altogether for them to practise what they’ve learned in a home environment that extends beyond any homework, assignment, or take-home projects assigned by their teachers.

“Improving parent-school partnerships helps parents monitor their children while also supporting their school work at home in a holistic fashion.” (Teacher Quote)

How do stronger parent-school communications and partnerships help with the development of the child or student? Let us count the ways.

For instance, when schools tell parents about a child’s performance and excellence, this will encourage the parents to involve themselves with their children’s studies. When schools instead only inform parents about bad performances, they’re less likely to benefit their children.

It defeats the purpose of combining different educational disciplines if the children aren’t able to find home support for their academic progression. It’s not truly “holistic”.

How Parent-Teacher Partnerships Help in Holistic Learning

According to research, parental involvement can free up the teachers’ time to focus on teaching children.

Furthermore, having more contact with parents allows teachers to learn more about their young learners’ needs and home environment, which they can then use to better meet those needs.

To remind parents, the holistic development of the child or student covers every aspect of their growth, whether it’s developing their intellectual, mental, physical, social, extracurricular, or co-curricular skills.

The teachers and parents should be on the same page on the academic and holistic maturation of the student to avoid sending mixed messages on the poor young man or woman.

Parents and teachers should keep tabs on the development of any given young mind so that there’s no need for a parent-teacher conference to ensure everyone is on the up and up in regard to the young person’s track record.

They should also tag-team the child so that they’re able to uniformly and positively influence their development in school and at home.

Positive reinforcement and focusing on the strengths of the child from personalised care at home and holistic treatment in school should help mould these young minds for the better without suffering from any incongruent development.

What are the Opportunities for Two-Way Communication between Parents and Teachers?

Even though our school caters to children from ages 2 to 18 years old, this cooperative partnership between teacher and parents is something we believe they should benefit from even at a young age.

The school’s opportunities for two-way communication between parents and teachers include the following instances:

• Parent-teacher conferences

• E-mail or school website contact page

• Phone calls and text messages (SMS)

• Parent-teacher organisations or school community councils

• Folders of schoolwork sent home for parent review every week or month

Parents should involve themselves more in their children’s education. Their learning shouldn’t stop at home even though there should also be time for rest and relaxation from school work. A school-to-home balance should be worked out.

The value of school involvement in home life is beneficial to parents to avoid turning the school into an academic baby-sitter for their children.

Instead, parents will be able to adjust home life to supplement school life, leading to a truly holistic system of education in a collaborative way with open channels of communication between St. Andrews and every parent.

How Involved Should Parents be with Their Children’s Education?

The parents should get ideas from St. Andrew Sukhumvit on how to support and help their children or teens to excel in every facet of their development.

Education in terms of academics and holistic development of the individual shouldn’t be shouldered by St. Andrews Sukhumvit alone. It should be done in a collaborative way with the parents of the youngsters themselves for the best results.

Their home life should not impede their schooling. The parents should assist in helping the child out when learning about the school’s academic programme and how it works.

The most effective forms of communication between parents and teachers include personal contact through curriculum nights or open houses, telephone calls, home visits, and conferences.

This helps establish rapport between parent and teacher, although it’s also important to note that the teachers deal with many children and parents, so they couldn’t report the status of every young mind to every last family.

The Benefits of Collaboration between Parents and Teachers

When St. Andrews teachers communicate with the parents, they consider their remarks in light of categories that influence their participation. They typically communicate about the accomplishments of the child, classroom learning activities, and how parents can help at home with the holistic learning of their children.

There’s significant evidence of how parental involvement of parents with teachers significantly benefits the children or students in terms of raising their achievements.

Not only are the parents made aware of the St. Andrews’ holistic system of learning that develops the child both academically and holistically as an individual and future leader. Their involvement also serves as an incentive for the child to do their best.

Children who are taught under the parent-teacher collaboration system tend to have a more optimistic attitude towards school work and homework in general.

A young learner with an involved parent who regularly communicates with St. Andrews Sukhumvit teachers tend to be more motivated about learning, is less likely to misbehave, and will regularly attend classes.

Parents who are involved with their children’s education have a more positive attitude towards teachers, which boosts teacher morale.

The Bottom Line

At St. Andrews, we make it our mission to help children realise their inherent holistic potential by providing them with the resources they need to succeed in their current and future endeavours. We do this by establishing a solid partnership between our school and our young learners’ parents.

Meanwhile, St. Andrews Sukhumvit British International School S107 is part of the international Cognita School Group — an organisation that manages schools in America, South America, Middle East, India, Asia, and Europe.

Do you want to find out what our international school has to offer? Visit the St. Andrews campus to learn more. Fill out our online form to book a school tour or watch our school’s personalised interactive virtual campus tour for more details.

Here at St. Andrews International School Sukhumvit S107, we holistically mould young minds to help children become successful individuals in the future with our holistic system of learning.

The holistic development of St. Andrews children includes the enhancement of their intellectual, extracurricular, social, physical, mental, and co-curricular skills. The school designed its learning programs to focus not only on a single aspect of children’s learning and development but on all of those at the same time.

Part of that holistic learning system also includes incorporating the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. These proven educational programmes also holistically mould your kids.

What is the International Baccalaureate (IB) Curriculum?

Students aged 16 to 19 can enrol in the IB Diploma curriculum, which is an international educational programme offering a demanding, stimulating, and well-rounded education to a holistically educated St. Andrews child.

They also have a primary years and middle years programme for younger children aged 3 to 16 that prepare them for the IB Diploma, which needs 120 credits overall.

“The IB curriculum is all about children learning how to learn. In the future, it’s not about what you know but how you learn them.” (Teacher Quote)

Students can choose from six subject groups to study a wide range of subjects and take examinations in:

• Science

• Mathematics

• Social Sciences

• Arts/Design/Technology

• Literature and Performance

• Language A1 (First Language)

• Language A2 (Second Language)

Each subject group should at least provide 24 credits to make the 120-credit requirement. It also covers two core components—Creativity Action Service (CAS) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK).

In other words, your child will acquire a broad, even holistic, range of academic experiences under the IB banner, which include information analysis and critical thinking skills.

They’ll even be taught to solve problems creatively as well through local organisation volunteering and service-learning projects for good measure.

The Educational Programmes of IB

The International Baccalaureate Organisation offers several challenging, top-tier educational programmes to a global community of schools with the aim of promoting a better, more harmonious society.

• Primary Years Programme (PYP): St. Andrews children from ages 3 to 12 years old can avail of the PYP or the Primary Years Programme. It helps develop these impressionable minds into engaged and kind children with a motivation to learn.

  The PYP instils passion and fascination about learning centred towards self-improvement and maturation. Your child can become a lifetime learner with PYP’s inquiry-based and transdisciplinary programme. It’s structured to bolster conceptual knowledge at an early age.

• Middle Years Programme (MYP): As for kids aged 11 to 16 years old, the MYP or Middle Years Programme is designed with their maturation and holistic needs in mind. The MYP helps children better understand the foundations of PYP.

  These young ones will be applying what they’ve learned when it comes to learning through gaining a deeper understanding of their subjects beyond rote memorisation and cramming, thus nurturing their social and personal development as well as future prospects.

• Diploma Programme (DP): The difference between DP and PYP/MYP is the same as the difference between high school and college. The DP is the most well-known and most challenging programme in the IB curriculum.

  Youngsters aged 16 to 19 years old can avail of this curriculum. It’s made with their specific academic needs in mind. It provides subjects such as:

• The Arts

• Sciences

• Mathematics

• Language Acquisition

• Language and Literature

• Individuals and Societies

They can complete the programme with requisite examinations, which includes a Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course and extended essays.

How to Choose the Best IB Course

It’s imperative that parents figure out their children’s strengths and goals to determine the ideal IB level for them relative to their age.

Some can handle going from PYP to MYP to DP or getting a complete DP menu. Others start at MYP or go straight to DP. There are even those who can only enrol for specific courses if the school allows for such an option.

Parents and their children should consider the following when selecting IB courses and navigating through the IB curriculum available at St. Andrews Sukhumvit.

• Consider Early Sign Up: The initial step to getting an IB diploma is registering for the IB diploma examinations. Signing up early can save you trouble down the line. It will also give you leeway when going over course materials or choosing test dates.

• Learn to Schedule: To better handle your IB coursework, make your own personal schedule for it. It will assist you in maximising your time, even if you’re merely scheduling the first few weeks of lessons at the start.

  Scheduling also helps out those who are new to the IB curriculum and wish to juggle it with their other co-curricular and extracurricular obligations as part of St. Andrews’ holistic learning package.

• Acquire a Worldly Perspective: The IB curriculum emphasises global mindedness, which encourages children and teenagers to develop a more nuanced, comprehensive, and considerate understanding of the world in light of today’s globalised society.

• Experience Personal Growth: Being under the IB curriculum encourages the child or teen to do things like persevere, embrace innovation, and take chances or calculated risks, whether they’re facing artistic or academic dilemmas.

  It specifically values creativity and imagination as well as thinking out of the box. This allows these young minds to learn life values like mental fortitude, perseverance, endurance, and patience.

• Develop Critical Thinking Skills: IB learners get to foster their research and problem-solving skills, which mainly develops their critical thinking abilities. They’re tools that don’t only ensure academic success but also lifetime learning and career troubleshooting.

• Find Collegiate and Job Opportunities: Many candidates for IB continue their study at major universities such as the Plymouth Institute of Education, Jain University, and the University of California to pursue training as teachers.

  They can also pursue a career as researchers and make their mark that way because of their previous research experience and stellar academic records, among other related careers.

• Achieve School-Life Balance: To prevent burnout, it’s ideal for children to achieve a balance between their studies, extracurricular activities, and personal leisure under the IB curriculum. Just as work-life balance is essential for adults, school-life balance should also be given priority for these young minds preparing for adulthood.

The IB curriculum has been developed for a broad audience, which means its success primarily hinges on the child’s ability for time management and meeting the deadlines set by the school. As long as deadlines are set and exams are passed, he’s good to go.

Summary

The success attained by a child under the IB curriculum isn’t random or by chance. It requires a nurturing atmosphere of an international school like St. Andrews Sukhumvit, tenacious children, and thorough preparation when push comes to shove.

At St. Andrews, we’re committed to empowering children to succeed in both their present and future endeavours by helping them understand their potential and the satisfaction that comes from improving from day to day.

St. Andrews International School Sukhumvit S107 is part of the worldwide Cognita School Group, a company that operates multiple schools from across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and so forth.

If you want to know more about St. Andrews Sukhumvit and see it in person, please answer our online form to book a school tour. You may also watch our school’s personalised interactive virtual campus tour for more information.