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10 days in central Australia
Part 2
The Regent’s delegation at
Uluru.
On April 4th 2006 five students and a teacher from The
Regent’s School set off for 10 days in central Australia. The purpose of
their journey was to attend a Round Square Regional Conference at St.
Philip’s School in Alice Springs. The conference lasted five days, which
meant there was time for some sightseeing as well – we had time to visit
both Uluru and Sydney during the trip. Here two of the five students give
their impressions of the conference itself.
Cleaning Up the Todd River –
Environmental Day
by May
On the third day of the Round Square Regional Conference, all the
delegates were asked to go to the Todd River, the famous river in Alice
Springs which lacks water, to do some cleaning up. Every delegate was
encouraged to work in a group of three within their Baraza Group in order to
enhance their relationship during the conference.
Apple was the Baraza Group I belonged to. There were nine students and two
teachers. I worked with Emily and Olivia, students from Radford School in
Canberra, to complete two tasks: clearing up the dried grass around the base
of large trees to prevent damage in bush fires and picking up the rubbish
along the bank of the river for the benefit of the local community.
 Maria
with the kids from the Aboriginal community.
Firstly, we had to take a number of essential tools with us; mattocks,
spades, pairs of gloves and rubbish bags. After everyone had collected the
tools, we were separated to do one of the two tasks. Initially, my group
went to clean up the dried grass. I noticed that everyone worked to their
full potential regardless of how harsh the conditions were. After several
minutes of hard work, I got really exhausted and listless. However, my team
mates gave me their hands and told me not to give up.
After about one hour of clearing up the grass, my team mates and I went for
rubbish picking. We walked along the bank of the river in really strong
sunlight, which later caused us to try to avoid the sun by doing the task in
the shade of the few gum trees. Meanwhile, Ha Jung and Pom were being
interviewed by the local television network.
After I completed these activities, I actually realised the importance of
team work and friendship. I believe that both of these are the essential
elements for living in the outside world.
Visiting Indigenous Communities
by Maria
“Skin of different shades,
Eyes that are witnesses of different histories…”
The beginning of the Round Square Prayer conveys the importance of
international understanding. The visit to Aborigines’ communities on the
fourth day of the Regional Conference at Alice Springs fostered appreciation
of the culture of the indigenous people in Australia. We had heard an
inspirational speech on the indigenous culture around Alice Springs the
previous evening, and were keen to visit the communities to see them for
ourselves.
The Round Square delegates visited three different communities – Santa
Teresa, Wallace Rock Hole and Ntaria (Hermannsburg). The delegates from The
Regent’s all went to Ntaria. We presented sports equipment to the local
school and spent the day with the indigenous people.
The children that we met at the village were all smiles. Their energy,
enthusiasm and positive attitude truly inspired us. Playing sports,
listening to some good old music and above all making friends with the kids
all added up to create a great experience. It was also interesting to meet
the teachers at the local school and to learn more about the lifestyle,
traditions and art of the Aborigines.
The indigenous people have developed their culture over thousands of years.
The rituals for birth, initiation into knowledge, marriage and death are
still performed, even though they have changed over the last century since
white people came on the continent. Amalgamation of cultures is taking place
slowly. However, as Round Square delegates we appreciated the cultural
diversity.
We will never forget the big smiles on the faces of the children and we will
always remember that exciting day that we spent at Ntaria.
Conference Delegates: Ha-Jung, Maria, May, Pom, Tina and Mr. James
Teaching the teachers
A dozen Assumption staff
and teachers, together with course manager Stephen Gibson, before
heading off to their camp in Chanthaburi.
Staff from a school near Pattaya spent the summer
holiday brushing up on their English skills.
A total of 12 ACS teachers and admin workers from Assumption College
Sriracha went to a special camp in Chanthaburi for the eight-week
course.
Native English speaking teachers from Assumption ran the camp, and
organised a series of lessons to help the staff improve their English.
With Assumption’s expanding English department, it was felt important
that more Thai staff are able to communicate in English.
The Teachers’ English Programme Preparation Course (TEPPC) was popular
with the students.
Course manager Stephen Gibson said, “This intensive English course
certainly raised the standard of conversational English amongst the
students over the eight-weeks. All students were extremely keen to learn
and develop their English skills.”
As well as learning in the classroom there were several trips organised
so the students could practise their new skills in the real world.
The students went to Koh Chang for three days where they were able to
use their English skills to speak to tourists.
Assumption College Sriracha educates more than 4,000 students. Many of
the students come from Pattaya.
The school runs a large English Programme (EP) in nearly every year
group. For more details on Assumption, visit www.acs.ac.th
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at The Regents
Students at The Regent’s School will perform
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ on May 23 & 24 at The Globe theatre.
A person-eating plant, a mad dentist, a ‘geek’ named
Seymour who finds romance with the captivating Audrey: these are some of
the unusual ingredients that have gone into making ‘Little Shop of
Horrors’ one of the most popular of Broadway musicals and a smash-hit
with audiences worldwide which will be performed by the students of
Regent’s School on Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th May at 7.30 p.m. in
The Globe Theatre.
The musical, with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan
Menken, is based on Roger Corman’s cult-classic ‘B’ Movie of the same
name. The show deliciously satirizes science fiction, ‘B’ movies,
musical comedy and ‘the king’ himself, Elvis Presley! One of its many
strengths is the show’s accessibility to audiences young and old, across
cultures and continents. Apart from its outsized plant, the show is
packed with memorable tunes, from lyrical ballads to full-on chorus work
which will be certain to send audiences happily whistling their way home
at the end. Somewhere in the world, right now, someone is singing
(probably in the shower) the show’s most rousing number, ‘Suddenly
Seymour’.
A cast of nearly 40 dedicated and talented students, aged 11-14,
accompanied by an accomplished band of musicians, have been working
non-stop polishing their song and dance routines, not to mention their
mid-Western American accents!
Tickets at 100 baht for adults and 50 baht for students can reserved by
email on [email protected], by phoning 090143002 or they can
purchased at the door on the evening of the performance at which
refreshments will be available.
Diana Group presents scholarships to children of employees
Piyavadee Suvannahong
The Diana Group held a scholarships presentation ceremony on May 9
at which the children of staff members received donations that will help
with their education.
Managing director Sopin Thappajug presented the scholarships and school
supplies, a tradition maintained by the company for the past 18 years.
 Sopin
Thappajug presents scholarships and school supplies to the children of
the Diana Group’s staff.
Besides the scholarships, the Diana Group supports the children of the
staff in training and receiving work experience during the summer. This
is to prepare them for a working environment when they finish their
education, and there is the added benefit that the children learn how to
use their free time productively and can be close to their parents
during their school vacations.
There were 67 scholarships presented to the children of the Diana
Group’s staff. The donations were for kindergarten, primary school,
secondary school, and higher and lower level vocational school level.
The money for the scholarships totaled 159,500 baht.
After the presentation the children were taken to Khao Kheow Open Zoo
for a field trip.
Sopin Thappajug poses for a group picture
with the children that received the scholarships.
Jesters Care For Kids Charity Drive 2006 is well underway
Koh Phi Phi kids at daycare in Krabi, who
Jesters Care for Kids helped after last year’s tsunami (and who they
continue to help).
Lewis Underwood
The 9th Annual Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive has been
steadily building up steam since New Year and is now picking up more
speed as we head toward our two main events: The Jesters Children’s
Fair on Sunday, September 10th at the Diana Garden Resort and
Driving Range in north Pattaya and the Jesters Pub Night on Saturday,
September 16th at Jameson’s Irish Pub at the Nova Park Hotel in central
Pattaya. If you haven’t already, we invite you to come along and join us
this year.
Last year we raised over 5 million baht for the second consecutive year
resulting in an overall total of 25 million baht raised since 1998
principally to provide needy children on the Eastern Seaboard and in
southern Thailand with educational opportunities. The kids would not
have benefited so greatly over the years without your generous support.
We have recently sent out our second sponsorship letter (also available
on our website) asking for your support once again this year. We are
pleased to report that as of this writing, we already have 13 Platinum
(100,000 baht) Sponsors committed, namely: Baltex Industries, The
Classroom, Club Nevada, EK Crane Logistics, Jameson’s Irish Pub, Laem
Chabang International Terminal (LCIT), MBMG International, Nagas MC,
Northern Thai Group, Pattaya Mail, SJ Lake Consulting Services, Unilever
(x2) and Wood Group.
Additionally, we have 5 Gold (50,000 baht) Sponsors to date (Alice and
Roses, Kevin Fisher, Sawatudom Engineering (Rayong), Ultimate Technology
& Services (UTS), and Kaefer Engineering (Thailand).
We also have 5 Silver (25,000 baht) Sponsors (Hog’s Breath Golf, Gez
Tracey, ISE High School Student Council, McConnell Dowell and Jackalope
Open) as well as 14 Bronze (10,000 baht) Sponsors to date (Joe Otter,
Luc Lafreniere (x2), Paul Shortino (x2), Keith Meehan (x2), Kevin Scott
(x2), Ronnie Gorrie, Stuart Daly, Kiwi Fire Protection, S/V Sea Marie,
Special Forces Chapter III, Mark Muehr, The Regent’s School Secondary
Student Guild and Richard Wibrow).
We are very grateful for this early outpouring as we continue to provide
funds for our projects throughout the year, as well as initiate new ones
before the culmination of our events in September.
This year some of our new projects will include Ban Jing Jai in Nong
Prue, an orphanage accommodating 54 children at present that needs major
improvement to their living conditions. We are also looking to assist
the Plouk Daeng Hospital, a drug treatment and rehabilitation center for
juveniles, south of the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate, and the
Camillian Center’s Independent Living Project in Rayong Province for
teenage orphans living with HIV/AIDS.
At the same time we will be maintaining most of our present
beneficiaries that still need our support, such as The Fountain of
Life’s Children’s Center, the Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind,
Rayong Training Center, Next Step Program, Happiness Camps, Khao Baisri
School and Mercy Children’s Center.
At this juncture, besides seeking more corporate and individual
sponsorship, we are also looking for Grand Raffle prizes and Auction
items. Re the latter, we already have signed memorabilia from Joe
Montana (NFL Hall of Fame); Fredrik Modin (NHL Tampa Bay Lightning and
member of the Triple Gold Club); the winning Canadian Olympic Women’s
Ice Hockey Team, including speed skater Cindy Klassen, who won 5 medals,
including Gold at Turin 2006); Dean Richards (English Footballer); and
Thai Golfers Thongchai Jaidee, Taworn Wiratchat and Chinarat Phadungsil.
We also have a Presidential Travel Putter gift package and a Siam
Country Club family membership for auctioning. Our auction garnered
nearly 1 million baht last year, so despite this great start, we still
are looking for more.
Top Grand raffle prizes have proven to be a little harder for us to come
by this year, particularly from the airlines which are struggling with
the higher fuel costs. Airline prizes have typically filled our top 5
prize slots. At the moment we are working to put together domestic
holiday packages, which include air travel and hotel stays, as well as
air tickets in the region. We also look for our gift and restaurant
vouchers from the community and in Bangkok as usual.
At this point in time, we are also seeking advertisers for our fair
program guide this year. Rates will be the same as the previous year,
with a full-page color ad going for 7500 baht and a half page for 4000
baht. The two inside covers go for 9000 baht. All of our Platinum
Sponsors get free full page ads in our fair program guides. These guides
by the way will also be used for promoting next year’s 2007 charity
drive.
If you are interested in contributing monetarily, a grand raffle prize,
an auction item, and/or advertising, please contact us at
[email protected] or visit our comprehensive website at
www.care4kids.info. Alternatively, donations and helping us in the ways
mentioned above, as well as renting a stall for our Fair day, can also
be done easily through our on-line facility.
Bumper stickers for Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive 2006 are free at
many locales, including the Pattaya Mail office and the Fountain of Life
Center. New black promotional T-shirts will be available at those
outlets soon. Let’s keep on helping the needy children in our community.
Rotary names inaugural class for unique, short-term peace program in Bangkok
Applications now being accepted for second class in January ‘07
Evanston, IL USA, 3 May 2006 - Rotary has chosen a diverse group of 17
applicants from 13 countries as the inaugural class of the Rotary Peace
and Conflict Studies Program at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
Beginning July 1, this diverse group, which includes upper-level
professionals from governments, non-governmental organizations, the
military, academia, media, law, law enforcement and the faith community,
will spend three months studying conflict resolution, mediation and
other skills necessary to reduce conflict and promote peace worldwide.
Members of the inaugural class hail from Argentina, France, India,
Italy, Laos, Liberia, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, South Korea, Sri
Lanka, Thailand and the United States.
The program asks each participant’s employer to cover the approximate
cost of US$5,000 for the three-month session, including tuition, room
and board, educational materials, insurance, and other related expenses.
The Rotary Foundation will provide funding for round-trip travel for
participants living outside of Bangkok, as well as a limited number of
full and partial fellowships to those from resource-strapped developing
countries. For participants not requiring housing, the cost is $2,500.
Applications also are being accepted on a rolling basis for the second
session, which begins January 8, 2007. For more information and a Rotary
Peace and Conflict Studies Program application, please contact your
local Rotary Club or send an email to Bangkok.PeaceStudies @rotary.org
Rotary also offers a separate two-year, graduate-level, peace studies
program at seven Rotary Centers for International Studies based at major
universities in Argentina, Australia, England, France, Japan and the
United States. The program admits up to 70 fellows each year. For more
information, visit www.rotary.org
Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united
worldwide who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill
and peace in the world. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians
who are members of more than 32,000 Rotary Clubs in nearly 170
countries.
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