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Regent’s School takes part in Global Dance Competition
Some of the school’s youngest
students take part in the whole school dance.
The Regent’s School Pattaya recently brought their whole
school together to dance in a competition that unites 14 international
schools from across the globe. Nord Anglia Education, the premium schools
organization that The Regent’s joined in August, launched the competition
exclusively for their schools in September giving the schools nine weeks to
prepare their dance troops.
All students and staff congregated in the school gym to take part in Thai
traditional dance which also played a part in the Loy Krathong celebrations.
Joined by students from Wat Pong School who helped teach the dance to the
rest of the school and played the traditional Thai drums, everyone played a
great part in the dance which then moved outside onto the Oval.
Wat Pong students taking part
in the dance.
As over 1000 individuals were to take part in the event,
a lot of organisation and preparation had to take place to see that it ran
smoothly. The Dance Unites competition as a whole has brought together
10,000 students from across all the Nord Anglia Education family of schools
including schools from Switzerland, China and UAE.
The dance was videoed and is currently up for judgment by the judging panel
that includes representatives from Nord Anglia Education (Professor Deborah
Eyre, Education Director) and Pineapple Dance Studios (Maria Yacoob,
Choreographer and Dance Teacher). The winner will be announced on Wednesday
12 December, with the winning school being awarded Ł1,000 (around 48,000
baht).
Dance Unites is part of The Global Classroom which is underway at The
Regent’s School Pattaya. This offers the opportunity to connect students
from around the world within the Nord Anglia Education family and be part of
a large collaborative, global learning community.
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GIS celebrates Loy Krathong in traditional style
Let me help. A young GIS students gets help with
their Krathong.
Mark Beales
Photos by
Ritche Guisona
Garden International School (GIS) celebrated one of Thailand’s most
memorable festivals in style.
On November 28, students and staff dressed in traditional Thai costumes to mark
Loy Krathong.
In the morning, students sat and made their own krathong before floating it in a
pool. After lunch, students staged a variety of Thai shows that included a
display of Muay Thai boxing, traditional Thai dancing and ‘sword’ fighting. The
event ended with teachers, students and parents taking part in a traditional Loy
Krathong dance.
The Thai department did a great job in staging another memorable day to help
mark this important festival.
Krathongs are small vessels that are made from banana leaf. Incense sticks and
candles are then placed on the krathong, which is then floated on water.
The aim is to pay respects to the water spirits, release any sins from the
previous year and to wish for good luck.
GIS is based in Ban Chang near Pattaya. For more, visit
www.gardenrayong.com.
Primary students from GIS put on a
great show.
A display of Muay Thai boxing is
one of the highlights.
Ready to set sail.
Students re-enact a scene from
Thai history to tell the story of Loy Krathong.
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Jesters Care for Kids applaud the School for the Blind on their 25th anniversary
Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive 2012 Sponsored
by Glencore International and Canadian Jackalope Open
“We plan to stay the course with the School for the
Blind and we hope you will join in too.”
Lewis Underwood
Our favorite times at the Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind are
Sports’ Day and Teachers’/Benefactors’ Day; simply because the pageantry
displays the sheer enjoyment the kids
 derive from music, dance and sport.
Aurora Sribuapun, Director of the School, opened the ceremony for the latter
event this past year with the following introduction: “On behalf of the School
for the Blind under the royal patronage of her Royal Highness Princess Maha
Chakri Sirindhorn, I welcome you all here on the Teachers’ and Benefactors’ Day.
“I would also like to express my many thanks and appreciation for your generous
support through financial aid, time, energy and knowledge in order to help us
develop these blind kids to become independent and respectful persons amongst
their societies.”
There are only 11 facilities in Thailand for the visually handicapped and the
School for the Blind in Naklua is one such institution that offers education
from 1st year kindergarten to the ninth grade, as well as boarding, vocational
training and special care for blind and mentally impaired children. However, the
Redemptorists claim that over 96% of the blind people in Thailand still have not
been given the opportunity to get an education.
Khun Aurora, who is also blind, and has a master’s degree in special education
for the unsighted, helped initiate the School for the Blind with the late Father
Ray Brennan back in 1986. The school moved to their present location in Naklua
on Soi 16 about a half kilometer from Wat Po off the Pattaya-Naklua Road in
1992.
Presently the School for the Blind is part of the Father Ray Foundation, which
also includes the School for the Disabled, Children’s Home, Outreach Work
Center, Children’s Village and Day Care Center.
Khun Aurora makes it perfectly clear that their goal is to educate the kids so
that they are not ‘a burden on society’. While some blind students aspire to go
to university, many just want a high school education so they can earn a basic
living. When a student turns 18 he or she should be ready for the next step,
which hopefully is finding a niche in the world of employment. It is also
important for the older students to move on to make room for younger candidates
awaiting admittance.
The list of children waiting for spaces to open at the school is endless as
well. Despite the fact that they are full, there always seems to be ‘special
cases’ that need immediate assistance and are readily admitted.
Khun Aurora admits that there are some ‘special cases’ involving young adults
where mental impairment is also an issue and finding a useful place in society
is unlikely. For these persons there are special homes in Bang Prakong, Papa
Daeng (Samut Prakhan) and Nonthaburi, where they can reside indefinitely. Still
others can return to their families and qualify for special pensions from the
government.
The Disabled Persons Act requires companies of 200 employees or more to employ
at least one handicapped person. She adds that blind persons can work in the
hotel industry answering phones, making bookings, translating languages, etc.,
while partially sighted individuals can be porters, waiters/waitresses and/or
work in laundry. She acknowledges that one of the biggest demands for blind
people is in the capacity of masseurs or masseuses, who are also qualified to
diagnose ailments through their art of touch.
The Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive has been assisting the Blind School for
the past 11 years. The following is a brief history of our involvement with
them:
* In 2002, we provided 200,000 baht from Paul Baker’s Farewell Sponsored Push
Bike Ride for the purchase of a variety of essential supplies including desks,
chairs, storage cabinets, etc.
* In 2003, the Standard Chartered Bank joined us and donated 100,000 baht,
specifically to the School for the Blind as part of their ‘Seeing is Believing’
campaign. These funds went for the purchase of additional tables and chairs for
the 200 plus students, as well as musical instruments for the band and choir.
* In 2004 and 2005, we continued to provide educational aids and supplies and
made some structural repairs to the buildings, totaling 181,000 baht.
* In 2006, we supplied furniture and appliances for the Father Ray Home, an
independent living project for teen-agers, so they could experience a real life
social environment. We also provided bunk beds and bedding material for the
students in the dormitories. Total cost: 406,000.
* In 2007, 245,730 baht went for educational materials, sports uniforms and
equipment, computer hardware and Zegrain protein supplement.
* In 2008, we supplied 280,000 baht for medical supplements and renovation and
repair of the roof over the sports facility.
* In 2009, we did a major upgrade to their main water system, including the
purchase of industrial pumps to get water to the top floors. We also built a new
office for them next to the front gate, so that the old office could be
converted into another classroom. We also paid for specialized footballs with
pebbles inside them so the athletes could locate them during play. Total given:
408,440 baht.
* In 2010, we furnished the new office with air conditioners for 90,000 baht.
* In 2011, 110,000 baht was provided for medical supplements and a drinking
water system across the street at the vocational training center.
* Total donated to date: 2,021,170 baht.
Supporting blind children has been important to us, as well as other special
education schools assisting the disabled. We plan to stay the course with the
School for the Blind and we hope you will join in too.
Khun Aurora asks us all, if you see a blind child on the streets, please
encourage his or her family to enroll the child in their school.
For more information, please visit us at www.care4kids. info and/or www.facebook
.com/jesterscare.forkids
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Mayor distributes scholarship, tablet computers
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome presents one of the new
tablet computers to a teacher and student from Pattaya School No. 1.
Warunya Thongrod
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome awarded 100,000 baht in scholarships and handed
out the first of more than 1,200 tablet computers to Pattaya first graders.
Flanked by top city officials and bureaucrats, Itthiphol presented 100 students
selected in August by the Mahakit Phaisal Foundation with 1,000 baht stipends
Nov. 15 at city hall.
The ceremony also marked the start of distribution of Pattaya’s allotment of
1,282 Chinese-brand tablets purchased by the national government under
Thailand’s “One Tablet Per Child” initiative. Prathom 1-level students from
Pattaya’s public schools will be able to keep the tablets for two years after
parents secure them with a paid deposit.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra proposed the tablet plan as part of her
election campaign last year. The government this year purchased 860,000
seven-inch “Scopads” from supplier Shenzhen Scope for $81 each as part in a
government-to-government purchase. Pattaya was one of the last cities to receive
its allotment.
Pattaya teachers in October were trained to teach courses with tablet use in
mind, as the Ministry of Education has loaded the tablets with reading, writing
and storybook programs. The city purchased 35 tablets for first-grade teachers.
“Pattaya is happy for children who have received the tablets from the government
since the government has given importance to education and have issued concrete
policies,” Itthiphol said. He added that seventh-grade students will receive
their own tablets next year.
First-grader Pitchaya Laojai said he was happy to get his Scopad saying he’ll
use it to help finish his home and “make my parents proud.”
“The good point of having a tablet is that children will have the stimulation
and interest with extra attention in learning from the colorful information,”
said Aaporn Rajsinghho, principal at Pattaya School No. 8. She said schools
would make sure the tablets are charged and offer places for storage for kids
whose parents didn’t pay the deposits to take the devices home.
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Sandy to take on Schumacher & Vettel!
Garden International School student Sandy Stuvik is to race at the same event as
Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher and new World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
 GIS student Sandy Stuvik is to compete in a ‘Race of
Champions’ featuring legends Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
The “Red Bull Singha Race Of Champions” will be held December 14-16 at
Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok. Singha Corporation will send two of its
top racing stars - and one of those is Sandy, who studies at GIS, based in Ban
Chang near Pattaya.
IB student Sandy, 17, has already won many racing titles, including the 2010
Asian Formula Renault championship.
This will be the 25th Race of Champions, but it is the first time it has been
held in Thailand.
For more on Sandy visit
http://www.sandystuvik.com/
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