Regent’s first term ends with Christmas Concert

Regent’s Primary Choir performing beautiful carols.

Dustin Northcutt

The long awaited annual Christmas Concert arrived at the Regent’s on the 13th of December for a musical ending to the first term at the Regent’s. After a busy term of events such as Picnic in the Park for Peace and events for the Thai floods, the music department had their hands full preparing for the Christmas concert, in addition to all the other items planned that term. If not for the hard work of both students and staff the Christmas concert would not meet its high expectations that it did this year.

The concert, like the concerts before, began with the King’s Anthem performed by the Primary Chorus accompanied by the Whole School Ensemble, which was followed by their stunning performance of ‘Oh I Say’.

(Above) IB Performance
by year 12 students.

Uh Sang Ahn then performed a beautiful violin solo called ‘Meditation Thais’ followed by Ralf Siegrist performing a great arrangement of Ave Maria by Pietro Mascagni. This followed exemplary performances by the year 12 IB music class, the Flute Choir and the Beginner’s Jazz Band which really demonstrates how the music across the Regent’s encompasses all ages.

To end the first half, the audience was treated to Chopin’s Nocturne Op.9 No.2 performed by Min Suk Choi, as well as a great performance by the Soul Band, a very prominent group within the Regent’s School, who recently performed at the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya.

The second part of the Concert began with Mr. Bob’s Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Andante from Piano Concerto nบ21 K467 composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte, a refreshing reminder of the classical side of the Regent’s music department. Afterwards things were jazzed up with ‘Skeleton Jangle’ and ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)’ performed by the Regent’s Jazz Band.

Regent’s full orchestra.

To end the night we heard from Mr. Mansell’s Brass group who did a brass arrangement of the classic ‘Little Drummer Boy’, the Girl’s band’s great first performance performing ‘In Christ Alone’, ‘Hey Soul Sister’ and ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ and finishing with the Orchestra who performed ‘Clarinet Rag’, the ‘Pink Panther’ and ‘Radetzky March for a strong finish to the night.’ There was also a surprise singing of Happy Birthday for Mr Bob.

Overall the Regent’s Christmas Concert really demonstrates how widespread and evolved the music department is, students as well as teachers. There were pupils performing from Year 3 up to Year 13. It was the combined effort of countless lunchtime and after school rehearsals and sacrifice of the time of students and staff that made this spectacular event possible. These work ethics combined with teamwork define the Regent’s community in and out of the classroom.

Merry Christmas.

Applause rings out for fantastic “Melton, the Warm-Hearted Snowman”

Backstage are Joseph, who played Melton, and Timeo, who played the doctor.

Gary Foster, Year 2 teacher at St Andrews International School

At St. Andrews International School in Green Valley, the performance of “Melton, the Warm-Hearted Snowman” was a real Christmas treat. After weeks of rehearsals, it was show-time on the evening of Thursday, 8th December. The performance took place on the school’s atmospheric, rooftop stage.

The Year Two children who were performing were very excited as they waited backstage, dressed as elves, reindeer and snowmen, as well as two very famous Christmas characters, Scrooge and Santa Claus.

Rudolph (Victor) and Vixen (Fa) get ready for the big night ahead.

The audience, made up of family and friends, was not to be disappointed as the show was a roaring success. The children’s performances were wonderful as they sang some very catchy Christmas songs and acted out the five scenes of the play with the stage-presence of professionals. It was hard to believe that everyone on-stage was six or seven years old and performing to an audience of this size for the very first time. Each and every child took their chance to shine and you could almost see the confidence grow in them as they spoke their lines loudly and clearly to the appreciative audience.

As the whole cast sang the final number and took their bows, the applause from those lucky enough to get tickets rang out into the night. It will be a night these children will remember for a very long time. After the show, it was time to go home and the children said goodnight with huge smiles on their tired faces. What a great night and what a big hit ‘Melton, the Warm-Hearted Snowman’ proved to be.

Emily played Mama Snowman, who didn’t want her son to melt.

Scrooge, the meanest man you’ve ever seen, was played by Martin.

The entire Year Two cast of Melton, the Warm-Hearted Snowman.

ISC holds Christmas in the Garden

The children happily entertain their parents with “Jingle Bells Rock!”

The ISC community recently joined together for “Christmas in the Garden”. Families arrived and with a Christmas juice in hand walked around the art exhibition displayed on the walls. All the effort that went into practicing poems and songs was worth it as the children happily entertained their parents.

The children weren’t so interested in the delicious pot luck buffet because they were waiting for a special visitor. Santa’s appearance on stage was the highlight of an evening that brought all the ISC families together in the spirit of the festive season.

The children’s Winter Wonderland art display wowed their parents.

Santa’s appearance is the highlight of the evening.

Wrapping up Jesters Care for Kids 2011

The Fountain of Life Center for children is one of the main beneficiaries.

Lewis Underwood

The memories of our September events for the benefit of kids in need seem distant now. Fortunately, the shining success of our Gala Party Night at the Amari Orchid Pattaya overshadows the first ever rainout of our Children’s Fair.

Though the former certainly helped us recover from the latter; we still took a financial hit in terms of meeting the cost of the Fair setup.

Nevertheless, overall our fund-raising efforts generated 5,615,980 baht in both cash and kind, and we would like to thank all of you for your support this past year, both the first-timers and those who continue to stay the course with us.

As the amount raised is less than recent previous years, before taking on any new projects, we have decided to first focus on our primary beneficiaries, namely the Fountain of Life Center for children, the Camillian Home for kids living with HIV and disabilities and the Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind.

Also of priority are those projects we provide for on a monthly basis, such as the Ban Jing Jai orphanage (food costs), Khao Baisri Special Education for the disabled (basic necessities) and Share Love with a Friend (rice and milk distribution to families with disabled children).

To date, we have distributed 3,654,193 baht of your donations this year, and as usual, we will keep you updated where the remaining funds are dispersed in the New Year.

In the meantime we would like to thank the Sutlet Group Pattaya branch for overseeing our accounting since 2010.

Despite the exposure of our two annual events, corporate and individual sponsorship is the main source of our fund-raising that allows us to continue to have a significant impact on children’s charities in our community.

And since we feel like we can never thank you enough, we would like to do so yet again. We would especially like to acknowledgment our major sponsors, who perennially get our charity quickly up and running each year; starting with our Diamond Sponsors, or 400,000 baht donors, the Canadian Jackalope Open and Glencore International. Both of these organizations have come in at this level for the last 4 years.

We would also like to thank our Platinum Sponsors, or100,000 baht donors, Club Nevada (8 years), Dave James (7 years), Glencore International (5 years), Herrod Foundation (6 years), Hyolim (5 years), Jelly Belly Candy Company Thailand (new at this level), The Links (New), Lolita’s Pattaya (3 years), MBMG Group (10 years!), Mermaid Offshore Services (5 years), Mike Koerner (7 years), Pat and Reg Warner (6 years), Pattaya Bay Resort (3 years), Pattaya Mail (10 years!), Pattaya Sports Club (7 years), Sinto (9 years), Whitehouse Condotel (4 years) and World of Wine (new as Platinum).

Thanks, too, to hosts of our events: The Diana Garden Resort (10 years!) Amari Orchid Pattaya (new), and Jameson’s who have not only hosted our Party Night for the previous 5 years, but also were Platinum Sponsors during that period.

Thanks also to those who donated auction items and grand raffle prizes for our Gala Party Night, and especially our top grand raffle prize, a Honda PCX: Thomas Sundkvist, Paul Shortino, Murray Kerr, Mike Franc, Mike Clayton, Jamie Lebeda, Luc and Serge Lafreniere, and Mityon Honda for the discount.

We would also like to thank our entertainers on that night too: Pookpick, Jimmy Sinatra, Dave Woody, the Band of Smiles, and, of course, Jimmy Page for just being there.

And a special huge thanks to our most valuable 2011 voluntary committee and associates: Debs Philbrook, Tony Malhotra, Capt Steve Ponter, Jeff Paladeau, Bill Freeman, Kevin Mitch, Bernie Tuppin, Kim Fletcher, Linden Phanpho, Karyn Walker, David Smith, Judi McNamara, Alan Whiteway, Richy Rhodes, Paul Strachan, Poodle Pete, Russell Jay Darrell, Mark Rogers, Peter Kraemer, Paul Shortino and Bob Philp.

On behalf of the Jesters Care for Kids 2011 and Jesters MC Thailand, we hope you and your families have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We look forward to seeing you again just around the corner in 2012!

Remembering Miss Caulfield

Khun Aurora pays respect to her teacher.

Derek Franklin

On the morning of December 12, the Pattaya School for the Blind held a memorial ceremony to remember Miss Genevieve Caulfield who passed away in 1972.

Miss Caulfield was born in the United States, a healthy baby until she lost her sight when she was just two months old. During her teenage years she dreamed of becoming a teacher. After finishing college with determination and perseverance in 1923, at the age of thirty five, she travelled over to Japan and became an English teacher.

Apart from teaching English to earn a salary she also taught young blind students to read and write using the Braille system.

She then moved to Thailand and in 1938 she founded the Bangkok School for the Blind, which she financed using her own savings.

During World War II she refused many offers to return home to the United States, staying in Bangkok where she continued educating the blind.

The students stand for a minutes silence in memory of Miss Caulfield.

For her work in educating the blind of Asia, Miss Caulfield was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1961. Two years later she received the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon B. Johnson and she also received the Royal Decoration of the White Elephant by H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

One of Miss Caulfield’s students was a young girl by the name of Aurora. This young student would grow up and follow in her teacher’s footsteps and, with the help of Father Ray Brennan, open the Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind.

The Pattaya School for the Blind opened in 1987 and offers an education which will give the blind students the opportunity to learn the skills where they could lead as independent a life as possible. Since the school opened, almost five hundred youngsters have enrolled and have studied from kindergarten up to grade 9.

Khun Aurora is still principal of the school in Pattaya, and each December the 12th the students gather together, just as they do at similar schools throughout the Kingdom, to remember Miss Caulfield. The students stand for one minute of silence to pay their respects and give thanks to a lady whose determination and devotion ensures that they receive an education.

FKA Optimist Club treats kids to Christmas Shopping Spree

Getting ready to head into the shopping paradise.

Earlier this month, the Friends of Youth, Pattaya City (FKA Optimist Club) sponsored a holiday shopping spree for 29 children from the Children’s Protection Development Center.

After all the kids picked out their favorite holiday shoes, everyone went to Dairy Queen for a small treat before returning to the center.

The center provides a safe haven for street children and other kids who have problems at home. The center operates under the umbrella of the Human Help Network Foundation Thailand. To learn more about programs sponsored by HHN contact Toy at 038 488 0956 or info@hhnthailand.org.

To become a part of Friends of Youth activities contact Jerry Dean at 083 115 8475 or email ncrusso1@gmail.com.

Toy from the Human Help Network Foundation Thailand helps one youngster pick out a pair of shoes.

Youngsters celebrate their fancy new footwear.

Shopping done, it’s time for some ice cream.

Regent’s first term ends with Christmas Concert

Applause rings out for fantastic “Melton, the Warm-Hearted Snowman”

ISC holds Christmas in the Garden

Wrapping up Jesters Care for Kids 2011

Remembering Miss Caulfield

FKA Optimist Club treats kids to Christmas Shopping Spree