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Panitram house nearly finished
The Panitram family.
The latest family that the Charity Club of Pattaya is
building a house for is the Panitram family.
The five children live with their mother in a leaky shack, which is made up
of different bits of scrap that they come across.
When the new house is complete the Charity Club will again plant fruit trees
and vegetables for the family to use and sell the surplus, and the club will
also provide some chickens and ducks.
Nearly done.
Before…
Poo Gan, Charity Club
of Pattaya’s little sweetheart
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Poo Gan before
the accident. |
Little Poo Gan in
January 2010. |
Christina Boden
Poo Gan is the little girl that fell into a fire aged 8 months.
The family couldn’t afford the hospital fees and ended up borrowing
money from a loan shark. This was when the Charity Club stepped in to
help. They cleared the debt and arranged for Poo Gan to been seen by the
doctors in Bangkok.
 Poo
Gan in pressure bandages.
The club has been paying for the family’s trips to Chulalongkorn
Hospital since, with the help of U.T.S. in Rayong, Wearside
Construction, and Auspro from Australia.
Poo Gan in now 3 years old and is still attending the hospital on a
monthly basis to have her pressure mask and pressure bandages changed.
She has endured many operations on her hand, arm and face and will need
further operations on her face to smooth the scarring.
Throughout this, Poo Gan has still remained cheerful and has taken what
has come with minimal fuss.
The Charity Club is committed to carrying on supporting Poo Gan until
she no longer needs help, which could be another year or two.
Anyone who would like to help with a donation of cash, food, clothing,
bedding, children’s clothing, shoes, toys and/or games can contact the
Charity Club at any of the following: charityclub [email protected] ;
Christina on 0895454185; Malcolm on 089 7441040; and Donations accepted
by Vic King at the Queen Victoria Inn Soi 6.
16 Rotaract Clubs meet at Horseshoe Point
PP Martin Brands hands
over 50,000 baht and other goodies to President Rawikarn and
event-organizer Wattanaporn Tungsana for the Club’s Community Service
Project in March in Chanthaburi.
PP Martin Brands
On Saturday January 30, the Rotaract Club of Chulalongkorn
University organized a youth camp at Horseshoe Point Resort for the 16
Rotaract clubs from Bangkok.
Rotaract Clubs are for people age 18 to 30 and are usually set up in
universities and colleges. Worldwide, Rotary has more than 8,000 of
these clubs with a membership of around 180,000.
 Youth
Exchange Student Nora Roehrken from Germany was a guest participant in
the youth camp.
With around 140 members, RCCU is one of the largest and most active
Rotaract Clubs in Thailand. Event organizer and fundraiser Wattanaporn
Tungsana said the objective of the youth camp was to bring the 16
Rotaract clubs of Bangkok closer together. That objective was achieved
Jan. 30-31 with lots of fun and games and by discussing service projects
and areas for further cooperation.
In her opening speech, RCCU President Rawikarn Dechdi explained the
objective and welcomed all delegates and two guests: Nora Roehrken from
Germany and PP Martin Brands.
Roehrken, 17, is a Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Goslar, near
Hannover. She will be in Thailand for a year and has spent the past five
months in Bangkok attending high school.
Like other Youth Exchange students, Roehrken lives with a Rotary host
family that changes every three months. Her first was the family of PDG
Kriangpet and her current family is that of PDG Suchida, of District
3350. She is very bright and will probably study philosophy and
economics after finishing her gymnasium education.
Martin Brands’ association with RCCU originates from their fantastic
support to the Rotary Center for Peace Studies at Chulalongkorn
University. The center organizes two three-month courses per year, each
attended by up to 25 Peace Fellows from all over the world with the
objective of providing practical tools and techniques to improve their
effectiveness.
Warming-up session with
lots of fun and songs at the start of the conference.
Representatives of the 16
Rotaract clubs.
Chonburi students
to receive free tutoring
Kindergarten collects Haiti relief funds
Muang Mai Kindergarten
School children and principal hand over their donation for Red Cross
relief efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Theerarak Suthatiwong
Chonburi secondary school students can receive free tutoring
from university instructors as part of a partnership between the
government and Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.
Called the Full Children’s Dreams for University, the project is a joint
venture between Chonburi Province, city and Chulalongkorn Teachers Club.
Under an agreement signed Feb. 5 at Chonkalyanukul School, students in
secondary school Class 5 can receive free tutoring from March 22 to
April 2 at the Chonkalyanukul campus.
In other Chonburi school developments, Sirawit Samnaksakul, principal of
Muang Mai Kindergarten School, presented 101,000 baht raised by 1,270
students to Wittaya Kunplome, president of the Chonburi Administrative
Organization, to go for Red Cross relief efforts in earthquake-ravaged
Haiti.
Making a world of difference at ISE
Mark Beales
Students from all corners of the globe recently celebrated a
spectacular international day at their school.
 Bill
Hartz is looking quite American.
Youngsters from the International School Eastern Seaboard (ISE) danced,
cooked and sang their way through a series of activities. ISE has 330
students who come from 22 countries, including England, USA, Australia,
France and Venezuela.
Superintendent Dr Robert Brewitt said, “This is one of our special days
at school where we all come together from pre-kindergarten through to
grade 12. The parents have an important part in today, too, as we
celebrate our nationalities and our backgrounds.”
Students began by parading their national flags around the school
grounds and then took turns on the stage to say ‘hello’ in their native
language. A cultural show featured traditional Issan dancing from Thai
students, a martial arts demonstration and a rendition of ‘Surfing USA’
from the American teachers and students.
 Supt.
of ISE Dr. Robert Brewitt talks about the importance of the day.
Students then tucked into a huge variety of international dishes,
including samosas, sushi and som tam.
Dr Brewitt went on to say, “It’s a chance for the students to wear their
national costume, to do a traditional song or dance and come together.
We had a terrific turnout from our parents; they are very enthused about
this kind of programme. We get very good parent support.”
For more on the school, which is in the middle of Burapha Golf Course,
visit www.ise.ac.th.
Mark Beales (center)
interviews Menchan Tsas and Aason Ash for PMTV.
GIS students test the waters
IB - Community, Data Collection, Team Work
Garden International
School IB Diploma
students take time out for a group photo.
David Moroney, Principal
Garden International School
Garden International School have just completed their annual testing of
water quality on Thailand’s most important river - the Chao Phraya. This
is the first time all IB Diploma students from Years 12 and 13 were
involved in the trip to promote team-work, group inquiry and encourage
them to explore the impact they have on their environment.
In collaboration with the Prem Centre’s Magic Eye Barge our two day trip
began in the northern suburbs of Bangkok and we travelled up-stream to
Koh Kret and onwards towards Ayutthaya. At a number of sites we stopped
to sample the water quality using nine different tests, as well as map
the land-use and collect soil samples. When added together the nine
water quality tests then gave us a WQI (Water Quality Index) value for
each site.
 The
beaches in some areas were quite polluted.
The geographers in the group primarily focused on the impact of land-use
on the water quality, while the biologists surveyed the impact of water
quality on the number of macro-invertebrates. Chemists had overall
responsibility for the chemical sampling of soil and river water while
the artists in our IB Diploma programme provided impressions of river
life and some stunning photography. Meanwhile, the physicists and
mathematicians were interested in the flow of the river and the
statistical analysis of water quality data. Our students shared their
knowledge and skills to create a detailed summary of how the land-use
changed with distance from Bangkok and the impact this has on the river
system as a whole.
Our results suggested that near to Bangkok both residential and
industrial land-use had the effect of reducing water quality overall,
while further upstream the water quality improved as the land became
more dominated by agriculture even with the influx of fertilizers and
pesticides as a result of these practices. Point source pollution was
monitored outside a factory; its effects clearly seen as tests revealed
that water quality was significantly reduced in this area.
Of course, it wasn’t all work! We kayaked and swam (in the cleanest
section of the river we sampled), took part in an environmental role
play debate (based on real conflict within the Chao Phraya River Basin),
cooked our own food, and cleaned the converted rice barge from bow to
stern.
Regent’s School Pattaya Haiti
Appeal raises over 30,000 baht
Mr. Rawlings, Mr. Pickles
and Mr. Byron jamming.
Dustin Northcutt
(Year 10Y)
Last week the Regent’s school raised funds for Haiti, which was led
primarily by year 10 form groups. Regent’s had many events to gain money
for the rebuilding of Haiti. One of the events was the rapping teachers
contest, formed by 10Y. Teachers who volunteered for the challenge had
jars that held money donated by teachers and students. The teacher who
had the most money by Friday would have to do a rap.
 Grant
plays the violin.
In the end, it was a tight race between Mr. Rawlings and Ms Goldsmith
versus Mr. Carolan. However, on the last day, Mr. Rawlings and Ms
Goldsmith passed Mr. Carolan and they will be rapping very soon in front
of the entire school.
Many students and staff also participated in the busking held during the
lunch hour under the clock tower. Year 10B had a bake sale that was able
to raise over 12,000 baht in a single day! 10G students were even
willing to sacrifice their Friday to be auctioned off as servants to
students and staff, while 10R gave up their break and lunch times to
gather donations.
It was outstanding that so many people were involved and how quickly the
Regent’s school responded to the crisis in Haiti. Dustin Northcutt (Year
10Y)
Posh and Mark entertain
the other students.
Jin and Uh Sang
performing.
Burapha University’s GSC
students honor college’s founder
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Students and alumni from Burapha University’s Graduate School of
Commerce (GSC) honored the college’s founder, Associate Professor Dr.
Suda Suwannapirom, who finishes her term as the dean of the college
after 16 years of teaching business there.
 Students,
past and present, say thank you to Assoc Prof Dr. Suda Suwannapirom,
founder of Graduate School of Commerce Burapha University.
The Feb. 6 retirement party at the Zign Hotel saw more than 500 staff,
students and alums enjoy Chinese delicacies and singing, while later in
the evening Dr. Suda expressed her feelings and shared with everyone
stories about the early days when she had to fight hard to launch the
MBA courses.
Suda, the former dean of GSC, launched bachelor’s, master’s and
doctorate programs in business administration in 1994. She said the
university’s location is close to commercial, industrial and tourism
businesses made it a perfect school for such an endeavor.
“Currently, the College of Commerce has assets of 800 million baht in
addition to its own building and is independent of the main budget,” she
told the group. “It is a national asset and produces more than 7,000
qualified graduates. All of this work has made me feel that I have
created good things for the land, and given something back to Burapha
University, which I have loved doing during my 16 years of work.”
Assoc Prof Dr. Suda Suwannapirom will run in the next election for
Burapha University director.
Varee Chiangmai School Previews International Annexe
Varee Chiangmai School.
Wyndham Hollis
Chiang Mai, already considered a hub for educational excellence
in the Kingdom, moves one step closer to stealing Bangkok’s crown with
the announcement that one of its most successful and fastest growing
schools is to launch an International Annexe this August with a special
preview day on Saturday, February 27.
The International Annexe at Varee Chiangmai School will open in August
2010 with its own teaching staff, a dedicated floor in a new building
and work to the international school calendar. The curriculum will lead
to the International GCSE and A-Level exams devised and administered by
the Cambridge International Examinations Board, now taught in over 120
countries worldwide and similar to the UK National Curriculum.
In less than a decade, VCS has grown from a successful and sought after
Kindergarten to a premier league educator, offering a unique and
outstanding mix of forward looking English programmes and first class
teaching in a caring and creative environment.
The drive and vision of its founder, Ajarn Varee Patravanich, has
fuelled this startling rate of growth and being a new school has enabled
the provision of the latest in educational technology on a modern
purpose built campus with a range of facilities that set a new benchmark
in the city.
This exciting venture is the only new international school to be
established in the last few years and one of a select few to offer the
highly respected Cambridge IGCSE curriculum in Northern Thailand.
Says Ajarn Varee, “The International Annexe at Varee Chiangmai School
will strive to offer the best of both worlds. To be an exceptional place
of learning where high standards of education from the West blend
seamlessly with the traditional Asian values of respect and cultural
self-awareness, bringing the advantage of a global education to our
students and with it the key to success in the world of their choice.”
The 2010 intake will be in Years 7 - 10 (Prathom 6 - Mattayom 3) and all
interested parents are warmly invited to a special launch preview on
Saturday, February 27 from 10 a.m. – 12 noon where they can learn more
about the range of opportunities this latest development offers their
children.
The International Annexe at VCS is located at Varee Chiangmai School,
Mahidol Road, Nong Hoi, Chiang Mai 50000. Tel: 053 140 232 or 0898 536
976. For more information, including a map see www.varee.ac.th/international
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