0
Monday, June 21st 2010
What a week for our primary school. Not only was everyone very busy in their classrooms but there were lots of other activities happening around school over the last week.
Year 4 African Assembly Year 4 have been studying Africa as their topic for the past half term. They presented songs dances, information about the continent and the South African world football cup in their Assembly last Friday. As you will see from the Key Stage 2 pages this was an excellent assembly showing all the hard work and effort they had put into their studies this term
Year 6 Bake Sale This was a tremendous success at Friday break with Year 6 students in their Houses each having a table of wonderful cakes for sale. They did a great job organizing their tables, prices, discounts and all. Well done to Year 6 and their teachers.
Year 3 – Greek days Year 3 were finishing their Greek topic this week. On Thursday and Friday all the children and teachers were dressed in brilliant Greek costumes and did lots of activities together. A Greek restaurant from the centre of town came and talked about the Greek food the ancient Greeks would have enjoyed eating. They then provided a buffet of these foods for the children to taste and experience: pitta bread, olives and tzatziki. On Friday, there were the original Olympic Games taking place on the field with everyone completing in the different activities such as javelin throwing. It looked great fun for everyone.
Early Years/KS1 Splash Day As explained in last week’ newsletter each of the Year groups in Early Years had a fun splash day in the 25m swimming pool. Lots of parents enjoyed watching their children have fun races and challenges in their House teams. It was a hot day well suited to the day’s activities. Lots more pictures of the Early Years and Key Stage 1 fun splash day in that section of the Newsletter.
Page 1
Important Calendar Dates
Well done to all the children, teachers and teacher assistants involved
Tues 22nd June Wed. 23rd June Mon-Thurs 21-24th Fri. 25th June
Primary House Swimming Gala 8.30-10.15am Summer Music Concery, 4 pm. Drama Studio. House Basketball (12.45pm) House Dance Competition, 1 pm.2.30 pm., Sports Hall
***************************************** PTG News Dear Parents, This week we have three items we would like to highlight. Donating books to the Library
Primary Art Exhition This coming week there is going got be lots to enjoy. On Tuesday there will be the Primary Art exhibition with a focal point of displayed work in the Drama Studio as well as lots of work around the school celebrating the great art that has been produced. Parents are invited to come and see the work displayed.
Music Concert On Wednesday there will be the end of Year Music concert. Different groups will be playing their final pieces they have been practicing. There will be the School band which won the TISAC Battle of the Bands Concert as well as other performers who have done well this year.
House Champions On next Friday we will have the House Dance competition which is always a fiercely contested battle between the Houses and will gain extra points for the winning House as we lead up to the final rounds of the House Championship. Who will be the winning House this year? This will be nd announced in the final assembly of the Year on Friday 2 July.
Paul Schofield Head of School
There are four boxes for each house inside the library. If you or your children have any books you no longer want you can donate them to the library by placing your books in the box provided for your house. After a certain period these boxes will be emptied by the librarian. The Librarian will be responsible for checking the condition of the books and then counting the books to determine how many points each house receives. Any adults books received will be placed in the PTG room for parents to have access to. Any unsuitable books will be given to charity. Donating Second hand Uniforms to the PTG. If your child’s uniform is now too small and in good condition you can donate it the PTG. We shall have a second hand uniform sale just before school starts next year. Uniforms will only be accepted if they are in good condition, they have been washed and enclosed in a plastic bag. You can drop them off at the PTG room from 7.30 – 8.15 am on the last two days of school, 1st and 2nd of July. Sale of second hand uniforms Second Hand Uniforms will be on Sale in the PTG room from 10.00 – 12.00 on Thursday, 19th August and Friday, 20th August. We hope you have an enjoyable week. Thanks Your PTG committee
Page 2
Dusit News Our St Andrews International School at Sukhumvit Soi 71 is a centre of excellence for the education of Early Years and Key Stage 1 children. This high level of expertise will be at the heart of our new Dusit Campus and have the full range of all the support services and programmes we offer especially in Learning support, EAL and languages. If you have friends who live close to this area of the city and they are interested in an international education for their children the Dusit Campus would be a fantastic place to start. From August we will have classes from Nursery through to Year 2
Dusit News
Nursery Teacher Miss Catriona What a busy week we have all had. This week we were learning the colour ‘yellow’. We had yellow water in the tough tray with yellow ice cubes and yellow glitter…..very cold. We had yellow play dough with yellow animals hiding in it. We painted some ducks. Finally, on Friday we all wore yellow and shared our yellow toys together. For snack we broke some eggs, beat them, added some cheese and salt and cooked some omelet. On Thursday we had a VIP. Khun Fai, the librarian, brought her rabbit, Moo Pin, to play with us. At first we were all a bit scared but eventually we plucked up the courage to hold the rabbit and stroke her gently
This campus is located close to the junction of Sawankhaloke Road and Rachawithi Road near the Victory monument. There is a map showing the exact location of the new campus on our web site www.standrews.ac.th. If you have the time and would like to visit our new site please contact Adeline:- 02 668 6231. Email: dusitcampus@standrews.ac.th
All clubs will end on the week of 28th June (28th June – 2nd July)
Catriona
Page Page 13
Friday saw the children in Early Years and Key Stage 1 take part in their splash day. Each splash day session showed the development of the children’s swimming skills. Thank you to all the parents came and gave their support. The teachers will share with you what happened during their events.
On Friday, Reception Lions and Tigers took part in their annual Splash Day. It was a fantastic morning, with children showing off the swimming skills they have developed over the year and having lots of fun in the water with their friends! We started with a fun warm up game before moving onto some races across the width of the pool. Each child took part in a stroke race and then a fun noodle race. We also had some team events with children competing in house teams for points. Once the events were over, the points were all added together. The result was very close, with just 8 points separating first place to fourth. The overall standings are below: 1st – Yao 2nd – Karen 3rd – Akha 4th – Lahu
KG and Nursery had a great time at our annual Splash Day. Children rotated between activities in the small pool and the sandpit. K. Joy, K. May & Miss Carla entertained the kids with a relay race using coconut shells (& of course water) and a fun version of musical statues. In the pool, Ms Lisa & Mrs Meg saw some amazing relay races using noodles and kick boards & a “dive for dinosaurs” where the children gained house points for collecting dinosaurs (extra points were given for finding coins). Thank you to all the parents who came along to support the children and cheer along their houses! Mr Alistair The children were all very proud of their swimming skills as they swam not 1 but 3 length races. Everybody tried hard and was good sports. We had freestyle and backstroke races, followed by the noodle race and lastly a dive in the water to retrieve the sunken hoop. The children, parents and a very loud Lahu cheerer…Khun Phed, kept everyone going. The results were: 1st= Karen 2nd=Lahu 3rd = Akha 4th=Yao
Miss Zoe Excellent participation by all and what fantastic swimmers we have in Early Years! Miss LIsa
Page 4
Year 2 had a great time on Friday afternoon for our splash day and swimming races. All of the children tried very hard and showed off their fantastic swimming skills. The children competed in their house teams for free style, backstroke and breast stroke races as well as some fun relay activities where the children had to work as part of a team. The final scores for Year 2 were very close: in fist place came Akha followed closely by Yao, Karen and Lahu . Well done to all of the children. Thank you to all the parents who came to watch, we really appreciated your support.
Swimming gala
Tuesday 22nd June is the KS2 swimming gala. The event will start at 8.30 in the big pool. Please come along and support the children as they compete in the various races.
Art Exhibition Don't forget that the Early Years and Primary Art Exhibition will be on Tuesday. Please come to the Drama Studio from 3.00pm onwards for refreshments and exhibits from each year group. From there you can pick up a plan that will tell you where to find the rest of the work. We have volunteers from Year 5 and 6 to help show you around. See you there!
Zoe Brittain
Year 3 Last week was a very exciting time in Year 3 as we all travelled back in time to Ancient Greece. There were definitely some stares from parents and children as everyone turned up in their best Ancient Greek costumes. On Thursday we learnt to write in Ancient Greek and got to sample some delicious Greek food when the people from Olive restaurant paid us a visit. Everyone was very brave and had a go at trying all of the dishes. Even Mr. Paul couldn’t resist coming along and trying some Greek food with us. On Friday we all got the chance to represent a city state at the Year 3 Olympics. Teams from Athens, Sparta, Argos and Corinth competed in the javelin, shot put, long jump, sprint and tongue twister contest. The competition was fierce and all competitors worked hard.
Page 5
A great time was has by all and it was a wonderful way to finish our Ancient Greece topic. Myself, Miss. Diane and Miss. Charlotte would like to thank everyone who got involved. Mr. Geoff
Year 4 Last Friday, Year 4 had our Africa assembly in the Sports Hall. They had spent all last week practising and preparing a range of things, in order to make it an exciting and informative occasion. All the children got involved and performed absolutely fantastically. Some children had written their own playscript based on an African story, others helped to choreograph an African style dance. We had some children read out information about Africa and a group of footballers showcased their football skills – very fitting at the moment with the World Cup taking place! All the children learnt the words to a song for the World Cup and sang beautifully. The children really enjoyed preparing for and taking part in the assembly, and it was well received by the other children, staff and parents. The Year 4 teachers would like to say a special thanks to Khun Toon and Miss Belle for helping to sort out props and costumes for the assembly. You both did a great job and we appreciate your help.
Year 5 Year 5 have been writing World Cup reports and looking at the history of the competition, as well as looking at famous players.
Year 6 Last week they were preparing their Movie Maker projects (with photos, sounds, music and text) in preparation for this week’s Assembly. Parents are welcome to come along and watch, especially as it will be the children’s last Primary assembly! It will be in the Sports Hall, starting at 8.30. In English, Year 6 have covered discussion texts and looked extensively at the language of debate. Next week, they will move onto looking at persuasive writing and the language needed to try and change someone’s opinion on a matter. In Maths they have started to cover more problem solving based units of work.
Miss Heidi Now that SATS have finished, her Year 6 literacy group has started looking at the topic of Big Issues. This week they are looking at a balanced discussion essay about the Use of Nuclear Energy and comparing its features to a persuasive essay. Next week they will be producing a balanced discussion essay of their own. This week, her Year 3 literacy group is comparing the Olympics of present times to that of Ancient Greece. Next week, Miss. Heidi plans to have the students write a recount of what they did on Ancient Greek Day. Have a good week. Mrs. Leanne
Page 6
The Carnegie Club As the judging of the Carnegie Awards draws closer, the Key Stage 2 club members have been conducting their own reading survey! Last Thursday saw the club members fanning out across the school campus, interviewing lots of willing teachers and students about their reading habits. It has to be said. Some of the results were very interesting!
Mr. Oliver Mr. Kris Miss Heidi
Some of the teachers surveyed Khun Daeng Mr Ben Khun Nui Mr. Alf Mr. Lee Mr. John
But who do you think said what?
2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Who was not a fan of the Danish book “Miss Smilla’s feeling for snow”? Which avid reader has a Grandma and Grandad who read more than him? Which fan of “Fever Pitch” by Nick Hornby likes books about people? Which member of the PE Department reads anything and everything but prefers books that are exciting? Which fan of “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak reportedly reads much more than his cat? If you are interested in running, who would recommend reading “More Fire” by Tony Tanser? Which teacher has “The Twits” as her favourite book of all time? Who has romantic Danielle Steele novels at the top of their favourites list? Which KS2 teacher enjoys reading about travel, sports, history, autobiographies and anything by Bill Bryson?
Mr. Oliver Mr Ben Mr. John Khun Daeng Mr. Alf Mr. Lee Miss Heidi Khun Nui Mr. Kris
Miss. Diane
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
1.
The REAL World Cup: Success for St Andrew's at the World Scholar's Cup I am writing this Newsletter piece from Concordia International School in Shanghai, the venue for the 2010 World Scholar's Cup competition. It's Saturday afternoon at the moment and the St Andrew's Senior Teams are currently involved in formal debates with teams from many top schools from around the world. The St Andrew's team of 27 students is, in fact, the second largest at the Cup! One of our Senior Teams, Rita, Pree and Rameet, all from Year 12, have just emerged victorious from both of their debates: a tremendous achievement, considering that many schools have been coming to the event for years and this is our first time in the competition. The girls first had to argue against the proposition "Schools should be allowed to select students on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion and gender" and then argue for the proposition "Rich nations have the obligations to help poor nations." These challenging topics clearly proved to be no problem for our excellent, articulate students. Congratulations! News is also coming to me that our other Senior Team, Vanessa, Irene and Jivan, from Year 10, have also won their first debate and I am excitedly waiting to hear how they fared in the second. Our Junior Teams, who debated this morning, also met with some great success, none more than Liam (7S), Nathan (8I) and Tulha (9B) who won all three of their debates. In addition to the debates, students have also completed an individual writing event and, amongst other activities, The Scholar's Challenge: an individual examination based on the study material that the WSC organisers issued prior to the event. A trip to the Shanghai Expo on Saturday made an exciting break from the academic proceedings and allowed the students to make new friends with young people from all over the world. The talent and ability of St Andrew's students has never been in doubt but this weekend has illustrated how we have many future leaders in our community. Competing against 200 other teams from all over the world has given our students the confidence and the inspiration to strive for even greater success in their school work and in their extra-curricular activities.
Page 7
Just as important as the students' performances in the academic competitions (and, possibly, more important in the long run) has been the opportuinity for students to meet other young people from all around the world and share their cultural perspectives on the issues being discussed. Over 20 countries were represented at the WSC and our students made friends from all over the world. I overheard an engrossing discussion between an Israeli student and a St Andrew's student about their respective governments and how life is different in Israel and Thailand. These intercultural learning experiences are what international education is all about.
A Celebration of A Year in Music Featuring selected pieces from Y6, 7 and 8
Various Solos And a performance from the TISAC Battle of the Bands winners “Fallen Angels” Wednesday 23rd June 2010 4 pm. In the Drama Studio
Please come and support some of St. Andrews finest dancers battle it out in this year’s BREAKING NEWS: Natcha (9M) has just come third out of 450 students in the Individual Writing Competition Natcha, Malaika and Proud have come fourth out of 150 teams in the overall Junior Writing Competition.
Simon Lawrence
House Dance Competition Date: Friday 25th June Location: Sports Hall Time: 1 PM.
Page 8
With only two weeks left until the end of the school year, every point will count in the battle to become this year’s House Champions! Akha is currently leading, but Karen is hot on their heels, and you never know: Lahu or Yao might come from behind to pip the other two at the post. VERY EXCITING!
BAKE SALE Last Friday, Mr. Ewen and the student council organised a House Bake Sale. Students from the different Houses brought in cakes to sell, and the House who raised the most money would earn the most points. The money raised will be given to the four charities. It was a fantastic event with plenty of choice of delicious cakes and cookies to buy. Yao House even had a parent volunteer to make pancakes! The majority of cakes were sold and lots of money was raised. You will find out the actual totals and which House won very soon. Thanks to Mr. Ewen and the student council for arranging such a worthwhile and tasty House competition.
At lunch times this week, Mr. Steve is running a Primary House Cricket Competition. Some children have put their names forward and will be showing us their batting and bowling skills. The competition for the High School will take place at lunchtimes next week. We also have the U13 and U15 House Basketball Competitions being run at lunchtimes this week. This is always an exciting event to watch, as there are many talented basketball players at St. Andrews.
HOUSE DANCE COMPETITION On Friday afternoon this week, at 1pm, the eagerly awaited House Dance Competition will take place. Some of the House Captains and myself have spent the last two weeks auditioning children from Year 2 to High School. The standard was, as usual, very high and we found it very difficult deciding which students deserved to go through. I know how much time and effort all the dancers put into their routines, so they will all receive 5 House points for auditioning. There is a whole range of different types of dances in the actual competition, and the judges will have to make some tough decisions. Which House will become this year’s House Dance Champions? Come and find out on Friday! LOCATION: Sports Hall Also, remember next Thursday afternoon will be the wonderful House Music Competition. I know Mr. Matt, Mr. John and Miss. Alice have been auditioning the students recently, and that the standard of music being played is very high. It should be another great competition to enjoy watching. Have a good week, and thanks for all your support.
Mrs. Leanne
WHATS’S COMING UP THIS WEEK SPORTING EVENTS On Tuesday morning, it is the KS2 swimming gala. It will run most of the morning with the formal races taking place from 8.30am until break, and the informal races taking place between 11.10am and 12.10pm. Parents are welcome to come and watch the children as they hope to help their House become this year’s House Swimming Champions.
Page 9
Physical Education Fitness testing An integral part of the PE curriculum is to encourage students at STA to engage in physical activity. This has well-researched benefits on fitness and mental well-being, as is believed to help concentration in the classroom too.
Whilst we provide as many opportunities as possible for students to develop their fitness, we all need to do a little extra beyond the classroom. Joining your child in a workout or a game of badminton will help you too!
Each term, we test the fitness of students from KS3 upwards (although KS2 experience the tests and do all the fitness work too!) This is testing season. KS3 have recently done the COOPER TEST, a 12 minute continuous run that gives a good measure of cardiovascular fitness. They will also do the MULTI STAGE FITNESS TEST. All the scores are on display in the sports hall. We graph the data to show progress and set targets for individuals and small groups of students (students wishing to make a school squad, for example, must meet certain fitness requirements).
U15 FOBISSEA GAMES 2010-11 @ ABC International School, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam 25-29th November 2010
An exciting opportunity to participate in an international sporting competition for some of STAs finest athletes in Y8 and Y9
Swimming, Athletics, Football,Baskeball
Above is an example of a Y9 MSFT graph, showing individual scores over time. The group average is shown with a red dotted line. Even those with relatively low levels of fitness are making progress, which is great to see!
Upcoming Events Primary House Swim Gala nd Tuesday 22 June 8.30am U13s House Basketball Mon/Tues 12.45pm U15 House Basketball Wed/Thurs 12.45pm
House Basketball
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12