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A day out for a good cause
Regent’s School Pattaya hosts Picnic in the Park 2013
Alicia Warner
Returning for a third year, The Regent’s School Pattaya’s Picnic in the Park
was a wonderful day, buzzing with community spirit. The structure remained
by and large the same as the previous years but with the sense of seclusion
that the new venue had to offer the returning combination of musical
performances, food and fun felt even more relaxed and intimate than previous
years.
A
Regent’s soloist brave enough to take to the stage.
Under the much needed shade of the trees the crowd
enjoyed a programme that had a variety of performances, organized by Year 12
student Julianne with the support of Mr. Clarence, music teacher, and the
Round Square team.
Father Dennis from the Father Ray Foundation, the organization that shares
the organisation of the event, greeted the attendees and thanked them for
their valued contribution which will aid their efforts in constructing a
Special Needs Centre at the Father Ray Foundation. A justified greeting of
appreciation it would seem as the event drew in an impressive 33,000 baht.
The performances involved the school’s youngest students alongside some of
the oldest students and even parents and staff. Students from St. Andrews
School, Garden International School and Father Ray’s Children Home also
shared the stage, contributing to the talent that kept the picnickers
entertained. Ranging from dance numbers to solo musical numbers, the brave
performers kept spirits high.
The efforts of the Australian BBQ team did not go unnoticed and their
delicious burgers and hot dogs once again made a substantial contribution to
the community event.
A traditional Thai
performance.
Children enjoy the bouncy
castle.
Even Zumba, a combination of
dance and exercise, made it to the stage.
Musical performances from
primary students.
Staff perform a vocal duet.
Students and staff perform
alongside each other.
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When football becomes art
Regent’s students meet the Urban Street Team
The Urban Street Team shows off
their skills.
Paul Madden
On Thursday 9th May 2013, Regent’s students took part in a freestyle
football entertainment workshop, thanks to the Urban Street Team who travelled
all the way from Singapore to visit The Regent’s School Pattaya.
The Urban Street Team was formed in May 2009 and is the only football freestyle
crew in Singapore. The team was due to visit Thailand and with some gentle
persuasion, we managed to get them to come and visit our students.
Football freestyle is very impressive and hugely popular. The Regent’s Primary
students had a great time watching the fantastic array of skills on show. They
were treated to synchronized and choreographed performances and interaction with
the young crowd. Just as the students thought they had finished, the Urban
Street Team then invited students on stage to teach them a skill set, and the
students then competed with each other.
The team also got students
involved with football tricks.
Overall, the students had a brilliant time and were blown
away by the skills on show. It is amazing how influential something like this
can be, with many of our students still talking about this fantastic experience
for days after.
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A normal life
No one will ever hurt them while
they are living at the Father Ray Children’s Home.
Derek Franklin
We all have our own ideas of what a normal life is. But for many children
living in Pattaya, what they would call normal, others would say it is anything
but normal.
There are children living in poverty in Pattaya who go to school wearing dirty
hand-me-downs and with flip-flops on their feet. Eating just one meal a day and
falling asleep each evening feeling hungry is normal for many. So is being
verbally abused, being told they were worthless and beaten every day. If abuse
occurs regularly then a child will think it is a normal part of life.
But tell a child that they are being taken away from an abusive environment, an
environment which they believe to be normal and it becomes a big upheaval in
their young lives.
Recently nine youngsters arrived at the Father Ray Children’s Home. Just looking
at them it was obvious they were nervous, wary of what will happen to them and
worried about how they will be accepted by the other children.
However, the residents at the Home welcomed these new arrivals with open arms,
as they do with all new arrivals. They all know what it feels like to be the new
kid on the block, at one time every resident at the Home was the new arrival.
They know where these new arrivals have come from and what they have been
through, they all came from similar backgrounds.
It will take a few days, maybe even weeks, for these nine children to get used
to their new home, but the first thing they will realize is that they are safe;
no one will ever hurt them while they are living at the Father Ray Children’s
Home. No one will ever beat them, call them names or scream abuse at them. They
will receive three nutritious meals a day, and never lie in bed too hungry to
sleep.
Now they can start to have a normal life.
More information on the Father Ray Children’s Home can be found at
www.fr-ray.org or email [email protected]
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Green Pattaya Community Big Buddha Hill clean up
With gloves and rakes, and ready to help clean up
around the temple.
Nigel Quennell
Photos courtesy Amazon Travel, Jonas Moberg
On the 12th May the Green Pattaya Community gathered over 120 people to clean up
around the temples on Big Buddha Hill. The cleaning preparations started in the
early morning when members from Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard put up the
marquees, organized refreshments and erected signs. Both temples on the hill
came and gave their blessing to the clean up.
Once again Pattaya City Hall Environmental Department kindly dedicated to the
occasion two big trucks, over 15 staff plus 150 different tools for clearing and
cleaning. They took care of all the rubbish bags and bins and sorted out the
recycling.
Time for some delicious watermelon.
Work commenced about 2 o’clock and within one hour the trucks from City Hall
were full. But the cleaning continued until 6 o’clock, filling more trash bags
which were all tidily removed by City Hall the following day.
The big surprise of the day was the more than 30 children from Human Help
Network & CPDC Child Protection and Development Center who not only helped clean
up but donated from their pocket money a total of 10,000 THB. They collected
loads of rubbish and showed everybody how it should be done. They and all the
other volunteers were very appreciative of the watermelons brought by Ainsworth
Property Group and bottled water from Kingdom Properties and The Universal
group.
The Bangkok Pattaya Hospital provided first aid kits and the Defence
International Security Services provided security through the whole day.
Children from the Human Help Network and the CPDC
Child Protection and Development Center were a big help.
By six o’clock it was time for the Green Pattaya team to round things up,
dismantle the marquees and call it another successful clean up. Remaining fruits
and water were donated to local children at the Human Power Foundation.
Green Pattaya in association with Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard are committed to
improving the local environment. “Pattaya City Hall has become aware of the
problems relating to handling of litter in the area and the need for improvement
and maintenance; that’s what we wanted to do, to create awareness, educate
people and gird them into action,” said Neo in an interview with Pattaya Mail
TV. “For example, Green Pattaya brought attention to the statues at the entrance
to the park which had not been painted for years; they now have been painted …
people staying at the temple have been discussing with City Hall the best
location for garbage bins.”
A small army of volunteers begins the cleanup.
Volunteers were very appreciative of the watermelons
brought by Ainsworth Property Group and bottled water from Kingdom Properties
and The Universal group.
Green Pattaya is a non profit grassroots community and an initiative by members
of the Rotary Club of Eastern Seaboard (Club 65768, District 3340). The next
event, to which everyone is welcome, is planned for Saturday 8th June 2013; to
check the time and place see information available on Facebook: https://www.face
book.com/GreenPattaya or via the web at www.pattaya-events.com.
In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out
completes the circle and comes back to us.
The city trucks were filled early, but the cleanup
continued with trash bags until 6 p.m.
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Jesters Fair’s new venue is now
official at The Regent’s School Pattaya
Regents Fair venue looking east.
“The Jester’s Fair has always been an important event for the Regents School
community. I have attended eight fairs myself and I really enjoy the events. I
have particularly valued the opportunities for Regents students to get involved
in setting up activities that raise money for the worthy causes.
“We at The Regents School Pattaya are delighted that this year we are being
given the opportunity to host the Jester’s Fair. We really look forward to
welcoming all the individuals and organisations from the local community who
make this such a special day.”
Mike Walton
Principal
Lewis Underwood
On behalf of the Jesters Care for Kids 2013 committee, we are pleased to
announce that The Regent’s School, Pattaya will be our new venue for this year’s
Fair. Yes, we had a good run with Diana from 2002 to 2012, but it was time for a
change; time to freshen it up; time to get out of the city away from the
congestion; and out to the country and the wide open spaces.
Though most people laud our decision, some are concerned about the distance from
the city; but believe us, it’s better than one might think. Typically, it’s only
a 15-minute drive during commuter hours from South Pattaya to Regent’s on
Highway 36, via Sukhumvit and the new Highway 7 link.
Regents Fair venue looking east from above during
the school’s International Day in late March of this year.
Still, for those who think it still might be a daunting task, we are considering
to provide a shuttle bus around Central Pattaya, possibly near Father Ray’s
Foundation on Sukhumvit. As for the Dark Side denizens, this new location will
be a piece of cake and shouldn’t require using Sukhumvit at all.
The Regent’s has been gracious in offering us the entire premises, as well as
their full cooperation. However, we plan to focus primarily on the grassy oval,
which is nearly 400 meters around, and central to the school grounds.
Additionally, the students and staff of the school have been loyal supporters
for our fair, and the charity drive as a whole, as well as being familiar with
many of our needy kids’ projects. The students will also serve as helpers on the
day and provide entertainment too.
The fixed cover, where event goers will be able to
have full view of the stage.
Parking, which is a concern for many, should be much better than before.
Besides, the designated lots, there also will be parking available all around
the perimeter of the school. Still another worry is the weather, albeit rain or
too much sun, but then there is plenty of fixed cover already in place and we
plan to augment that by putting a canopy over the stage.
The stallholders should also be happier this year too, especially the food
vendors. Not only will they be paying the same fee of 1500 baht, like the rest,
but no one will have an unfair advantage this time around: the playing field
will be level for all.
Bill, our fair site coordinator, is already busy soliciting stallholders this
year, especially since we are not sure how many stalls we will be able to
accommodate at this juncture. As in previous years, in order to avoid
disappointment, we ask you to book through our website at your earliest
convenience. Already bookings are coming in quickly.
Besides renting stalls you can also help us by providing assistance on the day
and donating canned beer. The sales at the beer tent have been instrumental in
defraying fair set-up costs on the day.
Please remember that our fair is not only for families in the community but also
for our project kids, who will be joining us for a day of fun.
For more info about our events and projects, please visit us at
www.care4kids.infoand/or
www.facebook.com/jesterscare.forkids
Main Events:
Children’s Fair: Sunday, September 8th, at The Regent’s School Pattaya
Gala Party Night: Saturday, September 21st, at Amari Orchid Pattaya
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