IMPACT 26 by Concordian International School

Issue 26 of IMPACT, the Back to School edition published in October 2019, opens the 2019-2020 academic year at Concordian International School, a trilingual IB World School in Bangkok. Editor Megan Ames welcomes readers back and previews stories of overseas internships, competitions, graduation flashbacks and service trips. Welcome messages come from Founding Director Varnnee Chearavanont Ross, school director Ajarn Vichitvong Chanarat, Head of School Laurent Goetschmann, and Secondary School Principal and Director of Academics Dr. James Leung. Mr. Goetschmann notes the school has close to 1,000 students and 250+ full-time teachers and teaching assistants, with a 4:1 student-teacher ratio.

The Counseling Corner reports on university acceptances for the Class of 2019. As of May 2019, 56% of acceptances (out of 39 students) were to the world's top 100 universities, with destinations including Cornell, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, King's College London, the University of Edinburgh, NYU Shanghai, Chulalongkorn, Mahidol, Thammasat and many others, alongside scholarship offers. Founding Director Ross adds that more than half the class was admitted to world top 50 universities, four will attend world top 10 universities, and two will pursue medical school.

The edition introduces almost 30 new faculty from more than 10 countries, including two returning Concordian alumni, and shares updates from the PYP Early Years, the PYP and Middle School Student Councils, and Grade 6 students adapting to the MYP. Athletics coverage features Grade 5U girls basketball, boys varsity volleyball, and Ninja's U14 bronze medal at the ASEAN Chess Tournament in Mandalay, Myanmar.

Showcase highlights include Tiger (G4) winning medals at the World Championships of Performing Arts in California, Hui Hui (G8) earning second prize in a national Ranad contest, Mind (G6) winning the CSTD Grand Prix, and Concordian bands at the AISAA Battle of the Bands. Events covered are House Competitions, Mother's Day, Wai Kru, the G5, K3 and Class of 2019 graduations, the G11 IB Retreat in Pattaya, G8-10 bonding trips, and a CP Super Brand Mall internship in Shanghai. The school also held its first Alumni event on July 27, 2019 at the Waldorf Astoria with over 100 attendees, marking a decade of graduates, plus Residency Program and Operation Smile service reflections from Nakhon Pathom and Surin.