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St Andrews International School hosts the first
competitive Science Fair of its kind
Counting the right number of
drops for the experiment.
Nick Frost, Head of
Science, St Andrews International School
“I believe in intuition and inspiration. Imagination is
more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination
embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.
It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.” Albert
Einstein
St Andrews International School is proud to host the
first competitive Science Fair of its kind on the 22nd - 23rd March
involving students from three other international schools.
Loading the box with CO2.
The aim of our fair is to get students from St Andrews,
Regents, Garden International and ISE to think critically about science, to
investigate their observations, to test old ideas and to think of new ones.
Who knows, they may yet solve something we have always wondered about.
The fair will be a great event where students, limited
only by their imagination, will compete for some fantastic prizes. The St
Andrews Science Department will also provide a Science Show and run an
interactive Science Olympiad involving bottle rockets and potato cannons for
participants to compete with or against their parents.
Pupils checking their pupil
sizes!
It would, however, not be possible to run an event like
this without the generous support from the following companies who have
invested in the young people from the area and sponsored the event. A big
thank you must go to Sedexo; Silamas Transport; Rayong Marriot Spa & Resort
Caterpillar; Kaokong Petroleum; PTT petroleum, as well as Pattaya Mail who
will be covering the event.
The fair will run on March 22nd and March 23rd and will
be open to the friends and parents from the participating schools, as well
as interested members from the public who wish to come and be amazed.
Viewing times: 22nd March - 1pm - 3pm and 23rd March - 9am - 1pm
Monitoring how quickly bread
goes moudly under different conditions.
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St Andrews School Maths Challenge Week 2012 – A Secondary Match Report
Snakes n Jenga.
Owen Lewis, Head of
Maths, St Andrews International School
February 27th saw the eagerly anticipated return of Maths
Week. Whilst the talk of the staffroom was whether the oncoming Book Week or
Science Fair would see an even larger banner for the front of school, the
students were eager to learn about the upcoming challenges in Maths.
Each day, bleary eyed secondary form groups split into
their island communities and faced a series of early morning challenges
centred on logic and mathematics. Students in Year 7 to 10 also spent
lessons in the ICT labs navigating their way through an on-line Mathematics
learning package and challenged students from round the world in quick-fire
mental maths quizzes. All students were given security access to this site
from home and it was pleasing to see so many take advantage of this limited
opportunity, spending considerable amounts of time on independent study.
Word Play.
Maths Week climaxed on Thursday afternoon in the activity
sessions. Again, in community teams, the secondary students competed in fun
mathematical games, involving football, Jenga, word spellings / definitions,
basketball and Snakes and Ladders.
Staff and students alike became absorbed into a most
pleasurable and educational afternoon which was enjoyed by all. Here are
some of the comments:
“I enjoyed the part when we got to work collaboratively
to gain points. It exercises teamwork and leadership which makes us a better
community!”
“I really liked the basketball as it was a race and you
had to answer quickly and work well as a team. We had to use our brain and
then run and shoot basket hoops.”
“Spelling was challenging and we got a lot of points and
bonuses, especially when we matched correct definitions!”
“A great way to improve teamwork, and to make maths more
enjoyable.”
“I would love it if we did it every year.”
…and so we shall! A big thank you to all involved in both
preparation and execution to make it such a fun and stimulating afternoon.
Target Numbers.
Samet Victors - the winning
team.
Basket Cases.
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Mercy Pattaya have
a new sports area
William Macey
It was almost two years ago that Fred Doell invited
me to an area of land just beyond route 36 which will, eventually,
become the new home of Mercy Pattaya (previously known as Mercy Centre).
As you can see, the field was overgrown and had too
many coconut trees which would have to be removed. I seemed to remember
indicating to Fred that there was much work to be carried out before the
children could move there. But when Fred and Dianne decide to do
something for the children nothing is impossible. Now, big changes have
taken place and the move to the new site was carried before Christmas.
The Mercy Pattaya now have 27 abandoned or neglected children in their
care and room for up to 50 when building is complete and they have been
helping children in need for more than 10 years.
Pattaya Sports Club members think along the same
lines as Fred and Dianne and it was agreed that PSC donate funds to
build a multi-purpose, all weather playing area for children who need
somewhere to rid themselves of their excess energy and sport. It is also
an ideal vehicle to promote healthy bodies and to develop friendships
that could last a lifetime.
Children love to play and, who knows, there may be a
budding champion just waiting to be discovered.
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Jesters Revisit their Flood Relief School Project in Nakon Pathom Province
The group, which includes
the principal, faculty, Pattaya YWCA, Police Academy members, students
and us.
Bernie Tuppin
In Pattaya Mail issue VOL. XX No.5, Friday,
February 3, 2012, “Jesters’ Flood Relief Project”, I reported on the
Jester’s Care for Kids’ participation in the renovation of a school in
the village of Baan Laak Tak Pha in Amphur Nakon Chaisri.
This area relies heavily on the propagation of
orchids and is renowned for its pomelos, but the recent floods
devastated both of these industries by killing the trees and washing
away the orchid farms.
The village itself was immersed for several weeks and
the local school was badly damaged, when the Jesters agreed to help.
Update… On Sunday 4th March, I traveled with Jesters
chairman, Lewis (Woody) Underwood to the village to see the completed
renovations at the Wat Puttamrangsi School.
We were met at the site by Noi from Pattaya YWCA who
had originally alerted us to the difficulties being faced by these
villagers and her husband Police Colonel Chatchanun, who was in charge
of disaster relief in that area.
We were welcomed at the school by Principal Sathaporn
Nalai and members of his staff along with many of the locals who had
helped with the work. A tour of the renovated classrooms followed, both
Woody and I were impressed with the quality of the work that had been
done and heartened by the display of genuine gratitude displayed by
these folks.
It was a real example of how a small isolated
community can come together to overcome adversity.
After the tour we were treated to a feast that had
been prepared by the parents; a nice touch was added by the school band,
who had given up their free time to entertain us with traditional Thai
music.
I would like to thank all of those people who helped
make this project a success with special thanks to Udom from the Police
Academy, who recorded the project from start to finish with his camera
and guided us on each visit in his ancient Datsun Sunny. The damage
caused by the floods that ravaged many areas of Thailand may take many
years to repair but Jesters Care for Kids are proud to have made a
contribution to one small village and humbled by the gratitude shown by
its residents.
Woody stands in front of
the whiteboard in one of the new classrooms.
A before look at the same
classroom.
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