Dragon News - 06.01.20
Principal's Message
Over the past week our community, nation and the world have responded to the killing of George Floyd and the centuries of oppression in our country that it represents. Our children are watching and listening, and most importantly speaking up and speaking out. It is important as parents and educators that we hear their voices. There are no words that I or any staff member can share that will ease the pain, frustration, and multitude of emotions that well up within so many in our country right now. However, we are here to listen to the experiences of our students and families and take action within our school, district, and community to bring about change.
Our mission at ISB is to encourage students to learn through an international lens as thoughtful, compassionate world citizens. We actively embrace intellectual rigor, intercultural respect, service to our local and world communities, and the promise of a peaceful world. It seems that a peaceful world is not possible without compassion, without respect for one another's humanity, and without confronting the shortfalls of our society in an intellectually honest way. I'm grateful to work with an entire school of IB Educators and student scholars who engage in the difficult work of viewing the world through multiple perspectives and grappling with issues that have no easy answer.
Warmly,
Jill O'Neill
Zoom Updates
Students experiencing tech issues with Zoom should restart their Chromebooks. This will allow their Chromebooks to reinstall Zoom from the Chrome Web Store. Shutting down the Chromebook nightly is a good idea for many reasons, but an important one is that it allows the machine to complete software updates when restarted.
Summer Reading
The ISB Reading Challenge is now over and it is now time for summer reading with the Washington County Cooperative Library Services, WCCLS.
Sign-up for the WCCLS summer reading program starts today, June 1, and is online at: https://www.wccls.org/srp/main2020.
If you are looking for some new books to read please click on this link for information about the Sora App. Sora audiobooks and ebooks can also be accessed through the ISB library at: https://isb.beaverton.k12.or.us/academics/library - the Username is your BSD ID# and the Password is your BSD password.
Curbside Drop Off and Pick Up: Yearbooks, T-Shirts, & Student Belongings
We are waiting for yearbooks to arrive and then will schedule a final curbside drop off and pick up event. We still have student belongings from hall lockers, PE lockers, band room, and art rooms for pick up. Current 8th-11th graders will also be receiving a special gift.
Students who plan to attend a Beaverton School District school next year should keep their Chromebooks and library/classroom materials. Students who plan on attending a school outside of the district, should turn in all library/classroom materials, as well as their Chromebook, charger, and stylus.
Northwest Science Exposition
NWSE, the state science fair, went virtual for the first time this year.
The middle school competition was held the week of May 25-28th. The nine students from ISB who participated had already successfully competed at the Beaverton School District science fair. Four of these were recognized for their work at the state science fair:
Sam Rocke (8th Grade) 2nd place in Consumer Products Testing category for the project “The Effects of Bottled Water Brand on Microplastic Content”
Shreya Ragade (8th Grade) 3rd place in Math and Computer Science category for the project “VENTUREIN: Using ADD-Themed Metaphors to Create a Stimulating Game”
Marina Case (8th Grade) Honorable Mention in Microbiology category for the project “The Effect of Herbicides on Growing Yeast”
Nora Tatic (7th Grade) Honorable Mention in Medicine and Health Sciences category for the project “The Effect of Storage Temperature on the Effectiveness of Amoxicillin”
The high school competition was held April 10th. Eight students from ISB participated in the digital fair. Four projects were recognized with the following awards:
Kevin Zhang (12th grade) Honorable Mention in Chemistry for the project “Investigation on the Rate of Boiling Point Elevation with Ethanol Solutions”
Reed Talus (11th grade) 2nd in Environmental and Earth Sciences for the project “The Effects Of Nitrogen Dioxide On Plant Matter”
Alex Lim & Ronald Lin (9th grade) Medicine and Health Sciences for the project “Redesigning Dialysis: Recreating the process of hemodialysis”
Irene Lim (9th grade) Pacific Northwest Scientist Award certificate & Award for Excellence in Scientific Research in Environmental Health for the project “Getting Oil from Plastic: Is it Possible at Home?”
Congratulations to all!
Murdock Trust Grant
ISB science teacher, Georgi Harris, was recently awarded a $10,000 Murdock Trust Partners in Science Supplemental Grant. This grant opportunity came as a result of her completion of a two-year Partners in Science program, engaging in epigenetic research at the Oregon National Primate Research Center along with her mentor, Dr. Rita Cervera-Juanes, in the Primate Genetics Section of the Division of Neuroscience. Ms. Harris's project "The dynamic nature of science - An investigation into the epigenetics of the PTC bitter tasting gene (TAS2R38)” was part of “The longitudinal effects of alcohol use on the methylome of Macaca mulatta” research.
The goal of this program and the supplemental grant is to help teachers bring knowledge from the research lab directly into the classroom, to promote student inquiry and hands-on science education. In addition to biotechnology investigations for biology students, the equipment funded by this grant will be available for all students (6-12th grade) to use in their individual science research projects (IA, EE, STEM Expo and science club) in biotechnology, microbiology and environmental science. The hope is that, in working with the equipment, students will learn basic biotechnology lab skills and may even be sparked to pursue a career in biotechnology and/or research.
As a part of this grant, mentor and principal researcher, Dr. Rita Cervera-Juanes, will be available for consultation on biotechnology projects and potentially host an interested ISB student for a summer internship in Dr. Cervera-Juanes's lab (COVID-19 has currently resulted in restricted access to the primate center).
Student Help Desk Is Available
For students needing help with the BSD student device or applications, IT has created a student help desk. Students can email the help desk at shd@beaverton.k12.or.us or call (503) 356-4656 for support. Please visit this link for more information.
Yearbook Sales
Our Yearbook Staff are in the process of completing the 2019-20 Yearbook and are still accepting orders. Yearbooks will likely be delivered to the school in June and we will arrange a curbside pick up for those who have pre-ordered their yearbooks. You can order yours online for $45. Go to commpe.pictavo.com, find ISB and follow ordering instructions.
CONTACT AND FOLLOW US
International School of Beaverton
Jill O'Neill, Principal
Email: isb_communications@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/schools/isb/
Location: 17770 SW Blanton St, Beaverton, OR, United States
Phone: (503) 356-3690
Facebook: facebook.com/isbdragons
Twitter: @isb_dragons
The Beaverton School District prohibits discrimination and harassment based on any basis protected by law, including but not limited to, an individual's actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national or ethnic origin, marital status, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, familial status, economic status, veteran status, or because of a perceived or actual association with any other persons within these protected classes.