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International Day at The Regent’s

Jesters and PILC jointly fund new toilets at Nikom 9 School

Asian University students in free enterprise

International Day at The Regent’s

On Thursday 15th February The Regent’s School staged a celebration of the international nature of the school community with their annual International Day. Lessons were suspended for the day as all students and staff dressed up in nationally appropriate dress in order to promote their countries.

Students from the Fountain of Life also enjoyed the culinary delights from around the world.
43 nationalities are represented at The Regent’s and each one took over a corner of the school to decorate with souvenirs, posters, factsheets and other memorabilia associated with their home nation. Many countries also provided representative food samples, so that visitors could have tea and scones in England before diving into India for samosas and then visiting Taiwan for dim sum and milk tea. Key Stage 1 classes turned their classrooms into continents and there was even an Early Years nation.
As well as the food provided by each country, a group of parents led by Louise Grant set up an International Cafe. This proved a particularly popular attraction and raised in excess of 20,000 baht to support Round Square service projects such as the hill tribe project in Baan Ompai, Mae Hong Son. Meanwhile, the nearby stage hosted performances by the school’s choirs, as well as some national performances - particular highlights included the South African band, the Korean fan dance and the Taiwanese ribbon dance.
Each student was issued with a special International Day passport to enable them to enter each country’s area. In return for completing an activity in a country’s room, students collected visa stamps from around the world. There was also a prize raffle, with prizes generously donated by Pattana Golf & Sports Resort, and a range of games on the Oval.
After a grand parade of nations in the afternoon, the Secondary School entered the Globe Theatre to watch an International Day bonanza. This featured countries as diverse as Canada, Bhutan, Korea and New Zealand performing presentations to demonstrate the unique features of their countries. Meanwhile, the Primary School took part in a range of activities before entering the Globe for their own celebration of internationalism.
Overall, this was a suitably colourful celebration of the international make-up of The Regent’s School’s student body. Special credit needs to go to those students who helped organise the day, particularly Michael Tenisch, Melissa Farnworth and Angela Ahn.

Norway and the USA.

The flags of some of the countries represented at the school.

The parade of nations.

Some of the Primary School students in their national dress.


Jesters and PILC jointly fund new toilets at Nikom 9 School

Woody and Rosanne officiated by cutting the ribbon to open the facility, on February 27.

Woody and Rosanne receive a certificate of thanks from the school.

The school children present a loud cheer and a big thank you.

The Jesters’ Care for Kids’ and the Pattaya International Ladies Club jointly funded a project to buy and install new toilets at Nikom 9 School.
Rosanne, Ingrid and Alison represented PILC with BIC, and Lewis ‘Woody’ Underwood on behalf of the Jesters.
The project was a joint venture with each organization putting in 50,000 baht to enable a splendid new toilet block to be built for the 130 primary level children and 9 teachers.
Woody and Rosanne officiated by cutting the ribbon to open the facility, on February 27, receiving a loud cheer and a big thank you from the assembled children.
The intention is for the Jesters and PILC to continue giving joint support to this fine school.

Jesters Care for Kids and PILC jointly funded new toilets at Nikom 9 School.


Asian University students in free enterprise

Meeting the local administration.

A team of students at Asian University have just returned from a training session with SIFE in Bangkok. Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is a global non-profit organization active in more than 40 countries. It is funded by financial contributions from corporations, entrepreneurs, foundations, government agencies and individuals. Working in partnership with business and higher education, SIFE establishes student teams on university campuses. The team members use their skills and knowledge, and that of their faculty advisors and local businesses, to implement programmes of real benefit to their local communities.
Each year, national and international competitions are held between SIFE participants.
There are several other Thai universities taking part in SIFE projects, including the larger Chulalongkorn, Thammasat and Mahidol Universities.
This weekend a group of Asian University students visited a local village where charcoal is produced, to find if there are ways that they could help improve the production or the conditions for the workers. Most of the charcoal is produced from waste from furniture makers, and after 7 - 10 days in the “ovens” the charcoal is sifted and bagged. The familiar blue bags of charcoal are sold locally to restaurants and shops, and transported as far away as Chachoengsao and Bangna. The area where the charcoal is burnt used to be forest, and the industry grew when the saw-mills were first established about forty years ago. Now the villages have grown and surround the charcoal burning. The students are now considering if there are any ways that they can help the villagers using their contacts and resources.

Students gather information about charcoal production.

Students meet with the villagers.