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Celebrations and farewells at Asian University
Susan Joyce
Tuesday 21 September was 2010 Commencement Day,
Graduation at Asian University. Lord Ronald Oxburgh again attended and
conferred the Master and Bachelor degrees to the candidates.
Lord
Oxburgh, Robert and HE Anand share a laugh at the anniversary party.
The graduates were congratulated by the university
president, Dr. Viphandh Roengpithya, and by Lord Oxburgh, who both wished
them all happy and successful futures.
Lord Oxburgh pointed out to the graduates and students
that they were lucky to study at Asian University with its very low student
to staff ratio; small classes meant plenty of attention, confidence building
and the opportunity for students and faculty to get to know one another. The
family atmosphere on the campus allowed students from all years and
faculties to mix and learn from each other.
Lord
Oxburgh chats with the students.
The auditorium was filled with proud parents, alumni and
teaching staff, as well as current and graduating students. Lord Oxburgh has
conferred the degrees every year since the first undergraduate degrees were
awarded in 2002, and is now retiring from this position.
Asian University, located on Highway 331, near Jomtien,
first opened its doors to students in 1998, and this year is celebrating its
twelfth anniversary. On the evening of Saturday 18 September, Dr. Viphandh
hosted an anniversary party at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. This was
attended by past and present students and staff, Asian University council
members and friends of the university. H.E. Anand Panyarachun Hon. K.B.E., a
past chairman of the university council, was one of the guests of honour..
Sima
receives her certificate from Lord Oxburgh.
HE Anand
chats with graduate Ting at the party.
Friends
around the world, Gi (Chinese), Kirill (Russian) and Durian (Thai).
Pensive
graduates anxiously wait for the ceremony to start.
Katha
poses for a graduation photo with his proud family.
Students
congratulate their friends.
Happy
engineers and friends on graduation day.
Students
form a reception line.
Alumni
enjoy catching up at 12th anniversary party.
Students
and graduates pose for a group photo with
Dr. Vip at the 12th anniversary party.
Final staging of Wizard of Oz receives rave review
(L to
R) The scarecrow played by Sarah Thomson, the Tin Man played by Jack Soanes,
Dorothy played by Maria Hannah C. Quiwa, and Toto played by Kasididach
Kumwongdee.
Janette Oracion Bagsic
The two-night final staging of the Wizard of Oz by Rayong
English Programme School during the 16th-17th of September is over and there
is no other word to describe it. It was Fantastic. The GIS hall was
packed and some people even came to the second night performance to watch it
again.
Let me start with the activity and sound. It has had a
constant vibrancy which pulsated the hall. The chorale was singing to its
utmost quality and gave out their adaptation of the songs featured in the
musical-comedy TV series Glee, which added to the scenes with importance and
excitement. The audience couldn’t stop singing along to the familiar tunes:
On My Own, Jump, Lean On Me, You Can’t Always Get
What You Want, A House Is Not A Home, Keep Holding On,
True Colours and Don’t Stop Believing.
(L to R)
The scarecrow played by Sarah Thomson, the Tin Man played by Jack Soanes,
the cowardly lion played by Tom Dacre, Dorothy played by Maria Hannah C.
Quiwa, and Toto played by Kasididach Kumwongdee.
In the lighter moments, a sense of comedy was never lost.
The audience was laughing at the playful frolics and creative dramatization
of the scarecrow played by Sarah Thomson, the cowardly lion played by Tom
Dacre, and the Tin Man played by Jack Soanes. And of course the whole cast
mesmerized the audience with their convincing acting skills.
(L to
R) Paruthada Tosukonwan as the wicked witch of the West, Maria Hannah C.
Quiwa as Dorothy, and Senny Soanes as the good witch of the North.
Dorothy in the lead role, played by Maria Hannah C. Quiwa
maintained her character from the start to the end, captivating the audience
with her singing and acting. Other important members of the cast whom the
audience especially mentioned, were the two witches played by Senny Soanes
(the good witch of the North) and Paruthada Tosukonwan (the wicked witch of
the West). And who can forget the Wizard of Oz (played by David Mortela),
who elevated the mood of the play to another level as his voice echoed over
the entire hall.
Credit can be given to the following REPS production team
for producing a fantastic show:
“I’ll
get you my little pretty, and your dog Toto, too!”
First and foremost Dominic Halliday, the producer and
technical director, met all of the huge technical demands of both sound and
staging, as well as overseeing all areas of the production team and
directing his technical crew.
Director Corinne Harding and Assistant Terry Hopkins
showed tremendous skill in inspiring the cast to display and develop their
acting abilities, bringing energy to every scene.
The group of impressive singers and fabulous choreography
gave credit to the vocal coach Natalie Burgard.
The extensive and vibrant set was artistically created by
Pramoon Maolee and Alisson Mclallen.
A great array of bright and colourful props and costumes
were also necessary contributions to this amazing production and were all
made by REPS teachers.
Well done to all who really contributed to the success of
the Wizard of Oz. It was two nights of sheer delight, thanks to all the
tremendous effort from both staff and students, thus making it the best show
seen in these past few years!
Dorothy,
played by Maria Hannah C. Quiwa talks with the scarecrow played
by Sarah Thomson as Toto played by Kasididach Kumwongdee looks on.
Cast and
crew celebrate an outstanding performance.
Garden International School enjoys working hard
at 12th Annual Jesters Fair
“Jesters
Care for Kids is an excellent cause. It shows that the people in our
community can all work together to help children that are in need of help.”
Nachanok (Grace)
Kijjaroenvisal,
IB1 Student, Garden International School
On Sunday, 12th of September, Garden International School
(G.I.S.) took part in this year’s Jesters Fair at Diana Garden Resort,
Pattaya. The school organized two stalls; a bottle stall and a refreshing
Thai dessert that goes by the name of “Nam Khang Sai.” We hoped to
help raise as much money as possible for the Care for Kids organization with
the help of the whole school community at G.I.S.
The IB students spent the entire day manning the stalls,
as well as promoting the “Guess the weight of a homemade chocolate cake”
(made by Nicolai Neufeld and Bhunyanutch Kanjananon) and “Guess the number
of sweets in the jar.” We announced the results to the very happy winners at
the end of the day.
We all worked hard in the scorching heat; battling for
the attention of customers to buy our bottles and the dessert. By the end of
the day we felt extremely tired, but also proud of the effort we had put in
to make 9,100 baht for Jester’s.
“We all
worked hard in the scorching heat; battling
for the attention of customers to buy our bottles and the dessert.”
The process of us loading and unloading the many bottles
that all of the students at Garden International School donated was very
tiring, but at the end of the day we all came into an agreement that our
efforts were worth it; furthermore, we feel that to be able to be a part of
a good deed in order to help other children in need is an honor and a
pleasure.
Planning the event was fun, though we did meet some
challenges along the way. One example of this was that we kept running out
of raffle tickets as there were more bottles donated than we expected.
Having to market ourselves to customers on the day was also a challenge as
it was not a skill many of us had really tested before. However, at the same
time, we found it very satisfying when we did get customers and as we saw
the money coming in. This gave us determination to keep going.
Jesters Care for Kids is an excellent cause. It shows
that the people in our community can all work together to help children that
are in need of help. It reminds us that we are so privileged and we are able
give them the opportunities they need in the future for a better life.
The Australian Wine Experience
(L to R)
Richard Smith, Janet Smith, Executive Chef Jens Heier,
Dr. Iain Corness and young Melisa.
Dr. Iain Corness
The Amari Orchid Resort has been promoting a regular
monthly wine appreciation event, where the attendees have the opportunity
experience many different wines while taking food designed to complement the
different wine styles.
The September event was for Australian wines, one of the
more popular New World wine making nations. Wine aficionados are always
present at these events, but there were as many people who just simply enjoy
wine, without considering themselves to be ‘experts’ in any way.
(L to
R) Piyawan and James Phillips chat with Bruce Hoppe.
The Aussie wines included one sparkler (Queen Adelaide
Brut), four whites (Kookaburra Laughing White chardonnay, Blue Moon Valley
sauvignon blanc, Wolf Blass Eagle Hawk Semillon chardonnay, and Cap 270
sauvignon blanc). Three reds completed the wines (Kangaroo Ridge shiraz,
Blue Moon Valley cabernet sauvignon and Half Mile Creek cabernet merlot).
The selection of Australian fusion cooking by chef Jens
Heier included some very popular seafood skewers with various dips
(including a great guacamole), wok fried pork ribs with black pepper and
coffee sauce, Tuscany tomato and bread salad, a universally popular spicy
tomato cream soup infused with lemon grass and for those with a sweet tooth,
mini fruit Pavlova and passion fruit cream, a dish served in every
Australian household on special occasions.
Alan
Sherratt samples some of the soup.
Wine appreciation is always reflects a very personal
taste, but for me, the Eagle Hawk semillon chardonnay (you’ll never go wrong
with a Wolf Blass wine) and the Half Mile Creek cabernet merlot were the
wines of the night. And of course, you can keep going back to your own
choices!
At B. 750 net, the Amari’s Wine Experience evenings are
not expensive “Around the price of one bottle of wine,” says Resident
Manager Max Sieracki. “And our experience is that most people drink around
one and a half bottles!” With many choices in styles and grapes, good food
and pleasant company, the Wine Experience events are definitely worth
attending. The next one will be Friday October 29 starting at 6.30 p.m.
Dr. Iain
Corness interviews Executive Chef Jens Heier for PMTV.
Kangaroo
Ridge shiraz - one of the 3 reds featured at the dinner.
Throw
another shrimp on the barbie, mate.
The
attentive staff makes sure the guests are well taken care of.
The
selection of Australian fusion cooking includes some very popular seafood
skewers with various dips.
Guests
were treated to some fine ambiance whilst dining.
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