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Regent’s celebrates internationalism
The colourful flag parade!
Katrin Puutsa
International Day at the Regent’s School highlighted the
school’s internationalism with great success, celebrating all nationalities
that make up the school. A colourful array of costumes, traditional national
cuisine and performances that reflected each country created a real sense of
multiculturalism. Arranged by the students for the students, Lindon
Giuffrida, Lara Tshering and their team of organisers succeeded in putting
together a day that accommodated students, parents and staff alike.
Students in gorgeous Japanese
dress.
Though the event had previously been a weekend affair,
holding it on a Wednesday did not hinder the day’s success; the turnout
supporting both the Regent’s School and their community partners was equally
impressive.
The main events kicked off with great excitement and
hectic preparation. Each classroom, and any free space for that matter, was
transformed into different countries. Food, traditions and achievements from
each country were shared proudly with visitors but not void of the school’s
competitive nature, however, as Bhutan was voted as having the best display
winning the best country room award.
On stage performances kicked off with the Parade of
Nations. As if the world had decided to unite on the school’s doorstep,
flags were paraded around the oval which led into an exciting and vibrant
international fashion show. The manic work effort of the internationalism
team paid off; arranging a whole school parade would be a daunting task to
most but they took it in their stride and the result was a parade that ran
smoothly.
Thai Tim’s performing their
catchy songs.
The performances that followed kept the crowd in high
spirits with its offering of a variety of musical, dance-based and dramatic
acts. From the infamous Armenian tower to a Korean Pop dance piece, there
was a little (or big, in the case of the Armenian tower) something to keep
everyone entertained. Even when the weather reared its bad side, the
performers and supporters bravely persevered. It could be argued, without
difficulty, that the Tiny Tim’s adorable songs and dance lured the sun back
out, which seemed to make their visit from Triamsuksa School, Chantaburi,
worth it.
This year’s International Day World Cup saw the emergence
of an outstanding level of football skills. Nothing short of action packed
fun, we saw last year’s champion’s fall in the second round and all-star
contenders Armenia go on to be crowned champions for the first time.
A powerful performance of the
Haka.
The International Cafe remained popular the whole day as
it served up a variety of national cuisines to suit every pallet. Choosing
from the spoils of choice proved to be a difficult task. Strangely, it all
became so natural for Sweden to sit beside Malaysia, and Thailand to be
across from Japan. The little ones, not necessarily interested in food, were
enticed instead by the bouncy castle or the dunk-a-person. This got the
crowd cheering as the throw of a ball determined the victim’s fate of
whether they were submerged into a barrel of water. Needless to say, it was
an entertaining spectacle.
Artistic flare made an appearance with an Art Exhibition
by local artist Ron Leeman. On display were pieces from two of his
collections, the Art in Architecture and Tigers (Same, Same but Different).
His style of sourcing images and manipulating them electronically then
cutting and slicing made beautiful pieces. Students Joyce Tsai, Amber Bawden
and YuJin Ahn helped Ron create an architectural piece using images of the
school in an art workshop during the day.
In summary; there was something to please everyone,
regardless of where they were from. The Regent’s International Day had
covered all grounds.
Our little primary children
proudly singing on the World Stage.
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St Andrews International School hosts Science Fair 2012
All the winners
Sue K.
Have you ever wondered where a great scientist would
first show their potential? Well, we think we know the answer … A Science
Fair.
The 22nd and 23rd of March saw over 100 students from
three international schools from the Eastern Seaboard compete in the first
annual St Andrews International School Science Fair.
Lotte in front of her winning
exhibit.
There were over 50 amazing entries spanning all aspects
of the science world that caused the judges and observers to ponder such
questions as; What would you do if you were out hiking and your phone ran
out of charge? Why use a solar backpack of course…
Are new shoes really clean and fresh? Not if the
experimentation on “The monsters in our shoes” is correct.
Does revising for IB and IGCSE really work if you listen
to music? Yes but apparently music with lyrics works best.
How do we react to different images? The eyes are not
only the windows to the soul but lots, lots more it would seem if we are to
believe the work on “Not for your eyes only”.
These are just a few of the ideas that were kicking
around, but it wasn’t all display boards and exhibits. Whilst Nick Frost, St
Andrews’ Head of Science was involved in the judging, Ed Thorp and Charlotte
Harris put parents and students through their science paces by running a
Science Olympiad; a series of events that pitted parents against their
children building water rockets, solving logic problems and answering
general science questions. The competition showed that everybody needs
science and that learning never stops! The parents triumphed on the day much
to the chagrin of a few hundred youngsters. The competitors were also
treated to a ‘WizzBang Science Spectacular’ by the aforementioned King and
Queen of Chemistry that showed just how much fun the subject can be.
Charlotte Harris and Ed Thorp
putting on a great science show.
It was a fantastic event that showcased the talent of our
future scientists and proved yet again why Science is such an important
subject. There were 16 prizes up for grabs which were well worth winning
thanks to the generous sponsorship from Sodexo, Silamas Transport,
Caterpillar, Marriott Resort and Spa, PTT Chemical, Kaokong Petroleum and
the St Andrews Group.
A big thank you must also go out to Pattaya Mail TV
who covered the event and made some of our students and staff feel like
stars.
Roll on SAIS Science Fair 2013!
The list of winners
Year 7: Sodexo Science Award for Excellence
1st Lotte Van der Heide (SAIS)
2nd Charis Stanley (SAIS)
3rd Kamola Kaitova / Mild Trakarnsakdikul / Fay Sae Ngaw
(SAIS)
Year 8 Rayong Marriott Resort and Spa Science Awards for
Excellence
1st Alfred Van Der Heide (SAIS)
2nd Conner Bastien (SAIS)
3rd Abhigyan Khullar (GIS)
Year 9 Caterpillar Science Awards for Excellence
1st Nicole Brobbel (SAIS)
2nd Tim Davison / Gla Kanjanarat / Stephane Grzelcyzyk
(SAIS)
3rd Ty Kerr / Im Sungpapan / Farruhk Khaitov (SAIS)
Year 10 Silamas Transport Science Awards for Excellence
1st Nuttapong Lertchaipat tanakal / Bright
Chavintanangkul (SAIS)
2nd Matt Ratkliang / CJ Trono / Mickey Ngamtrakulchol
(SAIS)
3rd Guitar Chaitrakulthong / Momoe Jitjaeng / Jin Kim
(Regents)
IB PTT Global Chemical Public Company Science Awards For
Excellence
1st James Popp / Ben Lan yon (SAIS)
2nd Karl Tillman / Apinan Hasthanasombat / Mae Underwood
(Regents)
3rd Yok Manokatithan / Shani Coe / Joel Huang (SAIS)
Lotte Van Der Heide (SAIS), Kaokong Petroleum Best in
Fair
The Van Der Heide family were a proud family winning both
the year 7 and the year 8 categories.
The fair will be run again next year and promises to be
an even bigger event with schools from Bangkok being invited. See you there.
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St Andrews’ students explore their local environment
Checking out the local
produce.
Mr. Gary, Year 2
Teacher
Year Two have been busy exploring the local environment,
comparing village life to city life and becoming more aware of the lives of
others. We visited Ban Chark Mark, a traditional Thai village.
First, we visited the Chinese Temple, which was very
colourful and eye-catching. It was covered with pictures of animals. Next,
we looked at the local shop and it sold a really wide variety of products.
There were so many things that you would not be able to get at the
supermarket. It was fascinating! It was a very hot day so we took the
opportunity to buy ice pops. They were surprisingly cheap, compared with
city prices.
The Singha lions outside the
temple.
After that, we visited the laundry house which was also
extremely interesting. We found out that the laundry house has a high season
when more people visit the local area. During high season, more clothes need
to be washed, dried and ironed. The lady in the laundry house sometimes has
to launder over a hundred different items of clothing each day.
Finally, we visited the village temple and were lucky
enough to be shown around by one of the monks. The temple was really
beautiful and had some elaborate decorations on it. It was interesting to
hear that the Singha (golden lions) were positioned in front of the temple
to protect it from evil spirits.
The following week, we visited the local school in Ban
Chark Mark. It was great to meet new friends and to learn alongside the Thai
students from the school. We were made to feel very welcome. We noticed many
differences between our school and the village school.
We were fortunate enough to see our new friends again two
weeks later. This time, it was our turn to be the hosts. We had a great
afternoon taking part in a variety of activities such as cake decorating and
making crafts with the children from Ban Chark Mark. We really enjoyed this
experience.
Meeting the local monk.
Studying the different types
of houses.
Visiting the local shops and
enjoying ice pops.
Working alongside the local
Thai children.
Joining in with a lesson in a
local school.
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Changing peoples lives
This entrance exam could
change this young man’s life.
Derek Franklin
On the morning of Monday 2nd April sixty young adults
arrived in Pattaya from all over the Kingdom.
After nine years at school
this young lady has no problem filling in the application form.
They had travelled on buses, taxis, trains and in the
back of pick-up trucks. One young man was carried by his father, and all
were hoping for the same thing; to be interviewed for a place on a course at
the Redemptorist Vocational School for People with Disabilities.
Since 1984 the school has accepted, taught and
successfully graduated more than two thousand five hundred young adults with
a disability. The School provides not just an education, but also
accommodation, meals, medical assistance and a guarantee that all students
will have found suitable employment before they graduate.
While residents of big cities, such as Pattaya and
Bangkok, are more accepting of people with disabilities, life in the rural
areas can be difficult. Living in small towns and village’s people using a
wheelchair, crutches or are missing limbs often find it difficult to find
suitable employment.
One of sixty young people who
arrived at the Vocational School for an interview.
Families tend to over protect a child with a disability,
saying that this is no need to work, and yet all a youngster with a
disability wants is to be treated the same as anyone else. They want to
work, earn a decent salary, be independent and not become a burden of their
families.
In early May a new school year will start, and there will
be many new students. On that very first day they will feel nervous, worried
and anxious. Many will be away from their families for the first time, and
yet for most it will be the start of the best two years of their life.
At the school no one will make fun of their disability or
abuse them. They will make friends, their confidence will grow and it is
often said they those graduating are not the same people who arrived two
years earlier, they have grown so much.
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