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The Regent’s School, Pattaya, Remembers...
Students
and a staff member from The Regent’s School, Pattaya, at St Niklaus Church
11/11/10. (L to R) Francis Calalang, Max Kirschner, Mrs Sarah Travis-Mulford,
Daniel Bowler and Ethan Northcutt.
It has now become traditional for students at the
Regent’s School, Pattaya, to join together during a special assembly, to pay
remembrance respects. A select few students were then chosen to attend the
British Legion’s Remembrance Day Service at St Niklaus Church on the 11th of
November. These students acted as true ambassadors of the Regent’s School,
carrying out important roles during the order of the service. The following
is a report of the assembly, made by Year 9 students, as well as personal
accounts of the Remembrance Day Service by the students who attended it:
Remembrance Assembly
Kristie Chow, Anuschka
Pinto, and Helena (Year 9 History students)
On Tuesday the 9th of November, the Secondary students of
The Regent’s School, Pattaya, participated in an assembly where there were
wonderful drama performances and presentations all related to Remembrance
Day, which takes place on the 11th of November every year.
In this assembly, classes did performances on what
Remembrance Day was all about and the other classes acted it out. One
student spoke about what Remembrance Day was and the symbol of war, the red
poppy.
The poppy is a well known symbol from World War One; this
is because the poppies were the only flowers that kept on growing despite
everything breaking down due to the on-going fighting.
People remember Remembrance Day as the day World War One
ended. Whenever it comes to the 11th of November every year, it is when
everyone shows respect to those who participated in the war and since then,
those who have fought in war for their countries. Many people show their
appreciation by wearing paper made poppies. Many members of our school
community were wearing the poppies during the assembly.
The assembly then took on an international perspective,
with a consideration of how World War One was not the ‘war to end all wars’,
but rather, the beginning of many more wars, even occurring right up until
the present day.
The assembly concluded with a rendition of ‘The Last
Post’, followed by a moment’s silence to pay our respects to those who have
fallen in wars around the world.
All in all, the assembly was very eye-opening, and
touched some members of our audience, who had lost family in wars.’
The Secondary Student Guild collected over 7,500 baht
from poppy sales this year in school and is proud to be able to give this
money to Bert Elson and the Royal British Legion based in Pattaya.
Remembrance Day Service,
St Niklaus Church, Pattaya
Daniel Bowler, IGCSE
History student
As soon as I walked through those doors, and walked
across the benches to sit in my designated seat to give out the wreaths, I
could instantly sense the change of atmosphere; it became cool and tense,
everybody was there not to have fun - they were there to mourn the dead and
injured of war. It was an amazing experience. It opened up my mind to just
how devastating war is, and how it can affect anybody. The experience has
given me a deeper understanding of how hard it must be for families to cope
with mankind’s most destructive tendency - war.
Ethan Northcutt, Year 8
As this was my first time as an American to participate
in a Remembrance Day Service, I was both excited and apprehensive. The
aspect which I appreciated the most about the service was how the wars
really came alive to me. Before, mention of the First and Second World Wars
were just stories; but during the service, whilst hearing the poems and the
speeches, I came to feel deep respect towards those who have fought for so
much - men and women who have given their last breath for their country.
At the end of the service, the one thing that stood out
the most to me was an extract from one of the poems which was read out:
‘When you go home, tell them of us and say: For your
tomorrow, we gave our today.’
Remembrance Day... a reminder never to forget.
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The Reason for the Season
The
adorable Year 1 and 2 cast takes
a break to listen to the narrators between songs.
Thomas Grogan
Even here in Thailand, one never has to go very far to
see brilliant displays of twinkling Christmas lights or smile a bit at the
hip swinging action of those mechanized Santas that so often adorn store
windows and displays.
Yet, the origins of this special holiday can sometimes
fade away in the lives of expats in Thailand amid the bright lights and
Christmas music. A traditional nativity play is the perfect way to remind us
of the reason we celebrate Christmas and Key Stage 1 students at Garden
International School did not disappoint when they took to the stage on
Thursday the 9th of December 2010.
Year One and Two children at GIS performed their yearly
Christmas play by sharing an absolutely adorable rendition of ‘It’s a Baby’
to a full hall of parents, relatives, teachers, and friends.
The performance transported the audience to a crowded inn
and stable long ago with a beautifully designed set and provided some
classic scenes from the students who enjoyed singing songs such as ‘Wise Men
Three’ and ‘Knock, Knock, Knock at the Door’.
Lucy Howett, the GIS Year 2 teacher, managed to adjust
the original script and add enough parts for the nearly 30 children that
participated in the final performance. The Key Stage 1 team also faced the
challenge of putting together all of the costumes for the youngsters in a
short period of time.
Another reason the play was extra special this year,
given the content and the mixed community at Garden International School, is
how that didn’t stop any of the children from a huge range of cultural and
religious backgrounds coming together to take part in the Nativity story.
We have had such positive feedback from parents and
children alike and several parents have said that their children had been
singing the songs so much at home that the adults now know the words too.
So, hopefully this holiday season when you’re sitting
down to that savory Christmas dinner or unwrapping those brightly gilded
gifts with loved ones, you will take just a moment to reflect on the story
of a tiny baby laying in a manager a long, long time ago. Merry Christmas
from GIS!
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Korean students boost city links
The
ISE students at their booth in Bangkok.
Korean students from the International School Eastern
Seaboard (ISE) in Pattaya gave up their time to help promote their
homeland.
Six ISE students from Grades 10 and 11 volunteered to
lend a hand at the ‘Bangkok Sister Cities Week 2010’. The event aimed to
promote good relationships between Bangkok and its 16 sister cities. The
event had the theme “The Art of Living for a Better Life” and each city
presented its country’s products and activities in booths on the first
floor of the Siam Paragon Shopping Complex in Bangkok.
ISE’s students volunteered to help run a booth to
promote Seoul. Students worked as assistants, helping to arrange
equipment, running a Polaroid photo event and helping visitors wear the
traditional Korean costume, the Hanbok.
The students are in the school’s IB Korean Language A
program and their voluntary work was part of their CAS (creativity,
action, service) program. This gives students the chance for personal
growth, self-reflection, intellectual, physical and creative challenges,
and an awareness of themselves as members of their community.
Part of the aim of the day was for the students to
learn the benefits of doing voluntary work and to help share experiences
of different cultures.
Bangkok’s sister cities are Washington DC, Lausanne,
Beijing, Teochew, Guangzhou, Fukuoka, Seoul, St Petersburg, Moscow,
Brisbane, Budapest, Astana, Jakarta, Manila, Hanoi and Vientiane.
For more on ISE, visit www.ise.ac.th.
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Regent’s students meet with Bill
Gates Senior and Mechai Viravaidya
Brittany and Eye buying the 10,000 baht worth of Bread rice from Khun
Air of the PDA on behalf of Goldfish PLC which they will be selling from
now on.
By: Brittany Tang,
Year 10 student and CEO Goldfish PLC
On Monday November 29, Eye alongside myself and Mr.
Crouch took a day trip to Bangkok where we met with Bill Gate’s Senior
(Microsoft Bill Gates’s father) and his wife. Prior to the consultation,
we were briefed by Mechai Viravaidya himself (the founder of the
Population Community and Development Foundation) on youth philanthropy.
We learnt the importance of giving and what an impact a simple act of
kindness can have on the lives of others.
By all who attended the meeting on behalf of Mechai
Viravaidya, it was unanimously agreed that in this world it is not what
we take up, but what we give that makes us rich. We learnt that when you
peel away the fabricated exteriors, the significance of possessions and
wealth, we are all equal and all revel in the unpretentious beauties of
life. It is the implementation of such ideas which will only further
benefit our society.
Mechai’s philosophy is very similar to that of Gold
Fish PLC (our school Business for Social Enterprise group): which is to
empower others. The issue with charity is that solely giving teaches
others to ask for more, it is a temporary fix and provides no solution
for the future. In order to truly impact those living in poverty, we
need to educate them. Business is the solution of the future!
Following Mechai’s inspirational speech, we were then
treated to a delicious lunch at the Cabbages and Condoms restaurant in
Bangkok.
After lunch all student representatives were sat
around a conference table and given the amazing privileged to ask Mr.
Bill Gates Sr. whatever we pleased.
It was said that philanthropy not only improves the
lives of those in need, it also provides reward for those enthusiastic
about helping others. The trip was a great success and meeting such a
significant role model will forever empower me to only further do good
for the society. Once we collected the 10,000 baht worth of rice that we
had ordered from the Mechai Pattana School days before, we were off
travelling back to Regent’s Pattaya to start selling the rice and more
motivated to make a difference!
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St Andrews Primary Choir sing at
a Christmas Performance in Central
Festive singing.
Singing with the ISE choir.
Mrs Amanda
McCloskey, Music teacher at St Andrews School
On 14th December our Primary Choir performed at
Central Festival Plaza, Pattaya. We took 40 excited students from Y3-Y6.
They all worked hard to memorise four Christmas songs and learn how to
perform them to an audience.
We were amazed to see such tremendous support from
our parents. The students felt like movie stars!
Congratulations to the students for a fantastic festive performance.
Mrs
Crouch gets festive.
Generous gift from Germany
Father Peter welcomes the guests to the Father Ray Foundation.
Derek Franklin
The 17th of November 2003 was a day that changed
forever the life of German tourist in Thailand Mr. Jens Maspfuhl. On his
way to play golf in Rayong he was involved in a road traffic accident
which unfortunately damaged his C7 vertebrae; in layman’s’ terms he had
broken his neck.
He was rushed to the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya where
he received treatment for two weeks before returning to Germany where he
spent a further six months in rehabilitation.
Deputy Mayor Wutisak Rermkitkarn welcomes Jens Maspfuhl.
During his rehabilitation he never forgot the
kindness he had received from the people of Thailand so he set up DUK, a
German based charitable organisation whose aim is to provide aid and
support, raise awareness and promote integration for people living with
disabilities in society.
Through his dedication and hard work, and his many
contacts in Germany, a shipment of equipment arrived at the Father Ray
Foundation which included more than one hundred wheelchairs, donated by
Meyra Ortopedia, with wheelchair support equipment from ‘Shcwable’ and ‘KIK’.
Other donations included fitness equipment that will
be used at the Redemptorist Vocational School for People with
Disabilities, thanks to donations from ‘Rehability’. Other donations and
support came from Siam Nissin in Bangkok.
Students from the Vocational School for People with
Disabilities were on hand to help unload the truck which had arrived
from Laem Chabang port, and the donated wheelchairs, commodes and
walkers will be given to people with disabilities in the local Pattaya
community, as well as in Nong Khai and in the southern provinces.
Deputy Mayor of Pattaya Wutisak Rermkitkarn was
present to welcomed Jens and his guests. Also in attendance to receive
the donations was Father Pattarapong Srivorakul, acting president of the
Father Ray Foundation and Suporntum Mongkolsawadi, managing director of
the Father Ray Foundation.
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St Andrews host festive carols by candlelight evening
Singing carols by the piano.
Khun
Mameaw, the instrumental teacher, plays the violin.
Mr.
Gary wows the crowd.
Mrs Amanda
McCloskey, Music teacher at St Andrews School
On the 10th December we had a very successful evening
of ‘Carols by Candlelight’. Mr. Gary and Khun Mameaw entertained the
crowds whilst they enjoyed their picnics. Students had great fun
decorating candles with the help of our parent group.
As night fell the Christmas lights were turned on and
everybody lit their candles. It was very atmospheric and festive.
Students enjoyed singing some Christmas songs on the stage. It was then
everybody’s turn to sing traditional Christmas Carols together by the
light of our candles.
It was a wonderful evening and we’d like to thank the
Parent Group for organizing the event and decorating the Early Years
playground.
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