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.

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.

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.

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.

Regent’s celebrates internationalism

St Andrews International School hosts Science Fair 2012

St Andrews’ students explore their local environment

Changing peoples lives