NIVA POST Vol 01, Issue 02 - February 2017

STUDENT EDITION

Vol. 01, Issue: 02: February 2017

FEBRUARY Camps, Sports, and Love!

EDITORIAL

JOURNALISM CLUB STUDENT EDITORS: Punyapa Leephokanon (Angie) Le Thao Chi Tran (Claire) Jakob Meyer Herman (Jake) Natasong Yuan Kamolchan Tongthiraj (Moon) Samiksha Subrahmanya (Sonu) Hyeok Jin Choe (Timmy) Aeron Jan Role De Guzman Ioru Yasuda Song Lee Lee ADVISORS: Mr. Gabe and Mr. Bem

Quarter three is swiftly nearing an end and NIVA students are excited for all the upcoming events in the fourth quarter. We have so much to celebrate at NIVA these days and teachers and students alike are eagerly anticipating all the fun activities! Plays, field trips and of course, Songkran, are just around the corner so be sure to prepare for the upcoming exams and be ready to have a ball at NIVA! Mr. Gabriel Pierce Editor-in-Chief

Announcement: The Grade 3 and 4 ELD Class has a drama performance in the Heisler Hall on the 3rd of March, at 8:05 am. All parents are invited to attend our drama based on the story of Cinderella.

NIVA Post is an online newsletter showcasing activities and information about the school. For any inquiries or to submit articles, send an email to gabrielp@nivais.com. To submit photos, email the pictures to beme@nivais.com.

This month features articles from the new group of students in Journalism Club. They will be handling the Niva Post from now on with the supervision of Mr. Gabe and Mr. Bem. Photos were chosen by the students and this month’s layout for now was done by Mr. Bem.

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

for MARCH

1 - Whole School Field Trip 2 - Open Boys Basketball + U13 Futsal 3 - G.3-4 ELD Drama Presentation 10 - Charity Run 14-16 - Q3 Exams 17 - Teacher In-Service 21 - Open Girls Futsal 24 - Open Boys Futsal 27 - U15 Boys Futsal 31 - SPTC

Exercise Wednesdays Morning exercising is what we do every Wednesday morning at the flagline; all students and teachers participate and have fun! People volunteer to take charge of it, they prepare the songs and dance moves, and the students follow along. This is done so that we can have a fun time while we exercise in the morning, making us feel refreshed and ready to start the day. Students say that they had fun trying to follow the people guiding them and they enjoyed dancing with their friends. Morning exercising adds more color to each student’s day and students and faculty agree that it makes for a more productive and enjoyable day!

By: Punyapa Leephokanon (Angie), Grade 9N

Middle School Camp Middle school camp 2017 was hosted in the natural beauty of the SuanSaiYok Resort in Kanchanaburi on February 2nd til the 4th. This year’s middle school camp was full of fun and joy. All teachers and students enjoyed various events and activities ranging from cave tours and sports activities, to a walk rally through an Adventure Park. Also we had lots of fun during the camp-fire, the most fun event at camp. All of us can truly say that this year’s middle school camp was the most special and valuable experience!

By: Song Lee Lee, Grade 8N

More photos online HERE!

This month’s

Highlight Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love for your fellow friends. This year’s Valentine’s Day was nothing short of a spectacular celebration of love. Grade 11 handed out slips of paper so that students may request songs to be sung to their special valentines along with beautiful roses and delicious treats that were provided

by Grade 12. Grade 11 had the honor to travel from class to class to sing the requested songs to each valentine. Their performances carried smiles everywhere they went. While eating their lunches, students were serenaded with amazing performances from Earth, Bond, Bonus, Oliver, Carmel, Make, Pok, Diamond, and Ioru. May next year’s Valentine’s Day be just as amazing!

By: Jakob Meyer Herman, Grade 11G

More photos online HERE!

Cultural Field Trip

This was the first cultural field trip in NIVA and is very important to teachers and students. Students go there and study and learn about Thai culture.

The Field trip was held on February 7. This day, students who received a GPA higher than 3.75 received a reward to go an a cultural trip. The Thai cultural event was located at Chandrakasem Rajabhat University.

Students learned about the food that King of Rama 9 loved to eat, including the variety of spices and flavors, and how fabric

is decorated. Mrs. Garshashbi informed us about the Thai culture, while Mr. Freddy helped and supervised the students. The students followed the instructor from the beginning until the end. After the tour, all the students returned to the school. At that time, we asked some students to provide their opinion about the tip. And they said, “This was a good experience and I want to go again!!” This field trip was successful for all students who went on the field trip especially the foreigners who didn’t know about Thai culture.

By Hyeok Jin Choe (Timmy), Grade 11N

More photos online HERE!

Once Upon A Time Once upon a time, both grade 4 homerooms each collaborated to write their very own fairy tales with the intent to present them to lower grades. Tailoring creative characters, armed with their enthusiasm, the students visited kindergarten on February 21st. They performed with enthusiasm, dedication and leadership, bringing home with them yet another exceptional experience, while, at the same time, leaving our little ones in kindergarten with the memory of a funny and colorful encounter.

By: Mr. Philippe Burelle

More photos online HERE!

Health Class with Mr. Anthony

On Thursday, February 16th, a special appearance was made in the Grade 9 health class. Mr. Nathan Anthony, the CEO of Niva, came in for a scholarly speech about the importance and development of love and relationships over the course of a person's life. The students were kept interested and focused, often raising their hands to answer questions and delve deeper into the topic. When asked about their feelings towards this presentation, several students said it was ‘very interesting’ and they ‘enjoyed it very much’. It was the first time the students got to discuss this important topic openly as they progress into maturity. It was a memorable experience for all of us.

By: Claire Tran, Grade 9G

Psychomotor Skills with the Nursery

Students are learning to insert a string into uncooked pasta noodles by practicing to steady their hands. It takes concentration and also learning to differntiate colors

by alternating the red noodles and the yellowish noodles. After they finished, they were able to wear the necklaces around their necks.

More photos online HERE!

Camp for Grades 1-3 On February 3-4, 2017, students from Grades 1-3 of Niva arrived at Charliena Resort, Nakon Pathom, to enjoy their two days and one night camp.

Charliena is surrounded by nature, varying from a lotus pond, orchid garden, and endless rows of trees along its perimeter. When asked about the elementary students of Niva, Ms. Vanna, the resort manager, was pleased. “Teachers took great care of the kids, every child was always within their eyesight and in one big group. Also, and the kids remained within the limits that teachers had set for them.” There, the kids visited Chulalongkorn University’s Museum of Natural History, enjoyed the activities arranged by teachers at the resort, and visited a cow farm before heading back.

By: Kamolchan Tongthiraj, Grade 10G

More photos online HERE!

Powerful Youth Leadership By: Kamolchan Tongthiraj, Grade 10G David Charron, a co-founder and director of impact “Powerful Youth”, who believes that young people can make a difference, has been all over the world but he was impressed with Niva in particular. On February 21, when asked “Who is a leader and why?”, a student answered “Me, because everyone can be a leader”. Dave smiled and replied “Thank

you” before he began to lead the 10th and 11th Graders through a Leadership Workshop.

Through the activities, students made decisions and followed through with their plan as they worked as a team, and learned to adapt, communicate, and understand each other better.

SPORTSHIGHLIGHTS NIVA U15 Boys get second place in the ISAA Basketball Match On February 2017, the ISAA Basketball Match was held at NIVA international school.

Players were all nervous during the match and exhausted after 5 matches. The players were Pomp, Teddy, Joey, Alex, Sun, Earth, James, and Benz. They practiced really hard and were ready to win. Most of them shot about 6 times per match and nobody got injured on that day. Their efforts paid off and they came in second place. “Next time, we want to win�, said Earth(Gr. 8N).

By: Ioru Yasuda, Grade 11N

NIVA U15 Girls play hard during the ISAA Basketball Match

On February 16, the NIVA Girls basketball team showed a diligent effort in the ISAA tournament held at our school.

Sadly we did not win but our girls showed tremendous effort.

There were drives and defense moves that titillated the audience at every turn. The games were close and each basket made by our excellent team were met with cheers from the excited audience.

NIVA may have had a bad break that day but we will come back stronger and even more driven than ever before.

GO NIVA!!!!

NIVA Alumni Success Stories NIVA Alumni Showcase

Sathita Amnuayskul (Chompoo), IGCSE class of 2006, Student Government President of 2005-2006 The NIVA alumni highlight for this issue is one of our brightest graduates, Chompoo, who works as a Customer and Sales Support Specialist at Google’s regional offices in Singapore. Chompoo graduated with a degree in BioNano Engineering from Chulalongkorn University and got a job at Thomson Reuters as a technical support specialist even though her university training was not in a technical field.

“Thomson Reuters looks for bright and capable people and trains them to their advantage and I was willing to take that challenge and now it is Google. I was also the SG president at NIVA when I was graduating in 2006; it was a life changing opportunity.” says Chompoo.

“Don't limit yourself to what you know and what you learned, explore! Give yourself a chance to advance in everything that opens up for you . You never know what heights you can reach.” Quoted in her words.

Fun fact 1: A lot of people think I am American because of my accent.

Fun fact 2: I was not always sure that I would make it to such high levels but my education, and my attitude to be the best, springboarded my ability to rise.

From the recent trip of Mr. Anthony and Ms. Nikki Reported by: Marie Kishi, Senior

Music Challenge Niva’s Dance Troupe and Pop Band partook in the “KPIS Music Challenge 2017: Singing, Band, and Dance Contest.” The contest was on Friday the 24th of February, a highly recognized music competition, which involved participation of about 20 schools around Thailand. The audience was wild with hand waves and clapping as they cheered for NIVA’s first performance. The High School Pop Band “Diamond is Punk”, performed the song Sunday Morning by Maroon 5. After the lively band and singing contests, the dance competition began. NIVA’s dance troupe went in a “Joker” theme which tantalized the viewers with the haunting tunes and synchronized movements. With the crowd on the edge of their seats, all the “Jokers” were killed as “Batman” emerged in the finale of the song, along with a burst of clapping and whooping from the audience. Although NIVA did not win the challenge, it was a memorable experience and our performances made certain other schools will not forget us.

By: Natasong Yuan, Grade 10G

Niva’s Got Talent 2017 By: Jakob Meyer Herman, Grade 11G Gifted and Talented students are anything but few and far between in the halls and classrooms of Niva International School. The school body was thrilled and amazed by the performances of Niva’s most talented students. From the absolutely energetic band performance from Chopin, Pok, Perth, and Ford to U - Jean’s tranquil piano performance, these students proved that they are much more than what they appear to be. But the students were not the only ones who proved

their worth; Mr. John’s and Mr. Freddy’s air guitar skills surprised everyone. Mr. David stunned the crowd as the lead singer of his Grade 10 band. First place went to Aaron’s beautifully jaw dropping piano performance.

Second Place went to Ioru’s rhythmic and daring drum solo. Lastly, third place was won by the Grade 9 boy band. Although not every performance could be considered the very best, they are nothing short of talented and brilliant students.

Nursery & Kindergarten Field Trip Our Nursery and Kindergarten students learned many things about sea life during their field trip to Ocean World on February 24th. Ocean World is the largest indoor ocean park in Asia and many of the sea creatures and animals from around the world are

found there. The students were priviledged to experience the wonders of the sea. They also witnessed the penguin show, were treated to a shark-feeding show, and experienced walking through a glass tunnel that was surrounded by live sharks and exotic fish.

More photos online HERE!

Ms. Maam’s Thai Weaving Class One of the most interesting activities of this month was basket weaving! The middle school Thai foreigners’ classes, under Ms. Maam, made wicker baskets as part of their Thai culture learning experience.

The baskets (shown in the pictures) were made out of colorful plastic strips carefully overlapped and woven in the traditional Thai method. In fact, people have been making these baskets for hundreds of years! The students had lots of fun making these baskets. They said it was tiring but they still enjoyed it a lot and that they learned a lot about Thai culture and history.

By: Samiksha Subrahmanya (Sonu), Grade 9G

NIVA’s BEST for the month of FEBRUARY 2017 Best

By: Aeron Jan de Guzman

Grade Point Average (GPA) Pacharapus Khoomsyn (Tus), Senior

Best Basketball Players

Alex and Earth for Boys Basketball

Sydney and Sumai for Girls Basketball

EXTRA! JUST FOR FUN:

“Best Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Music Producer” Kittibodee Jatuchai (Porsche), Gr. 10

Best in Academic Excellence: Gold Award (GPA 3.75 - 4.00) Mary Irene Itchayatikan (Irene), Gr. 1 Baramee Wanlopbanhan (Buun), Gr. 1 Nitchakhun Khamsrikaew (PP), Gr. 1 Sean Chaleekul (Sean), Gr. 1 Krittapas Yasena (Otto), Gr. 1 Thitirat Boonserm (Pingpong), Gr. 4 Pichaya Viwatassawin (Ming), Gr. 4 Wadjanapa Itthipoowadol (Kleis), Gr. 5 Chutikarn Kanchanaat (Ujean), Gr. 6 Milin Udomsaph (Milin), Gr. 6 Parisa Charoensook (Paris), Gr. 6 Tansiri Praditphonlert (Ninja), Gr. 6 Plaifa Tachapahapong (Pei-Pei), Gr. 6 Kunapas Sumpunwetchakul (Kimnite), Gr. 6 Bipasa Pradhan (Nanu), Gr. 7 Sanjana Subrahmanya (Sanju), Gr. 7 Yixian Isaac Tan (Isaac), Gr. 7 Parit Vacharaskunee (Peter), Gr. 7 Kulchat Harnchanpanich (Kaopunn), Gr. 9 Thanita Kaninanant (Palmy), Gr. 9 Punyapa Leephokanon (Angie), Gr. 9 Ploynapas Sirinuanchonaon (Ploy), Gr. 9 Narika Pramunwong (Moma), Gr. 9 Piruda Lertdetdecha (Dada), Gr. 10 Isabelle Yitong Tan (Belle), Gr. 10

Aeron Jan De Guzman (Aeron), Gr. 10 Cyrel Clark Licardo Leano (Cyrel), Gr. 10 Natasong Yuan (Natasong), Gr. 10 Kamolchan Tongthiraj (Moon), Gr. 10 Sireeporn Laohabutr (Name), Gr. 10 Nattamon Panichakul (Petch), Gr. 10 Kanyapat Taechapeti (Mimi), Gr. 10 Karitha Kongkasai (Bonus), Gr. 11 Puvis Thongthanomkul (Saab), Gr. 11 Arina Sangphadung (Phia), Gr. 11 Nutaya Pimolsaengsuriya (Beamy), Gr. 11 Nuttavan Teevaranone (Lek), Gr. 11 Melada Lertdetdecha (Mell), Gr. 11 Chanakan Rojanapenkul (Mimi), Gr. 11 Nuz Wattananaphakaseam (Peaky), Gr. 11 Maylin Cerf Catherine (Maylin), Gr. 11 Jakob Meyer Herman (Jake), Gr. 11 Hance Adriene Pesarillo (Hance), Gr. 11 Korawin Phagudom (Jazz), Gr. 11 Rinradee Sae Lao (Lily), Gr. 11 Atikarn Khemklad (Karn), Gr. 11 Pacharapus Khoomsyn (Tus), Gr. 12 Min Jeong Kim (Min), Gr. 12 Puttinart Krungkraipetch (Perth), Gr. 12 Somsri Dumrongruxsoontorn (Pingping), Gr. 12 Elamarie Carmel Mission (Carmel), Gr. 12

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Tel: 02-948-4605-7