Scan this code with a QR app on your Smartphone. Important Dates
I S S U E
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Monday 9th May— Years 6 SAT’s Assessment Week.
The International School of Samui Newsletter
Thursday 12th May—
ISS celebrates Songkran 2016
Year 10 Business Studies Trip
Thursday 12th May— Primary School Film Night
Saturday 14th May— Adventure Club trip to Koh Tao
Monday 16th May— Year 11 Revision Leave begins
Monday 16th May— Whole School Photos begin (1 week)
Thursday 19th May— Family Film Night
Thursday 19th May— Year 10 Business Studies Business Enterprise Event
Wednesday 25th May— Year 6 Parents Transition Meeting
Thursday 26th May— Reception Parents Transition Meeting
Thursday 26th May— Senior School Film Night
Friday 27th May— Primary School Talent Show
May 30th & May 31st School closed for two days - Half Term Break
Our Songkran Festival was organised and celebrated at ISS on Thursday 31st March and proved to be a resounding success. The day began very early for our Nang Songkran volunteers who were at school by 5am to get ready in their costumes and make-up. The Songkran festival was celebrated by all parents and staff with such enthusiasm. We loved watching our Nang Songkran Senior Girls show off their beautiful outfits followed by our primary dancers. This was then followed by the water blessing ceremonies and games for both Primary and KG. Our senior school students were treated to a trip to the Pink Elephant Water park. The finale of the day was when all students, parents and teachers joined together to share in the fun games, music and food. The whole celebration ended in our traditional water fight, where lots of fun was had by all. We were very proud to celebrate the Songkran festival in such a happy and meaningful way. The Songkran celebrations are a very important time in the Thai calendar. One part of these celebrations is to provide an opportunity for family members to be together and express their respect to the elders by pouring scented water onto their hands which includes a merit-making ceremony to dedicate to their ancestors. The Elders in return wish the youngsters ‘Good Luck and Prosperity’ which is called “Rod Naam Dum Hua”
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
Charity Swimathon in aid of The Sunny Smiles Foundation The ISS Swimathon took place on Friday 18th March. Our challenge was to swim as many lengths of the school 25m pool as possible to help raise funds and awareness for Miss Wakelin’s new charity, Sunny Smiles Foundation. Each student was either sponsored per length they completed or raised a sum of money for completing the swim. All our students from Reception to Year 12 participated in this worthwhile event. The results were amazing...The final result of the day was absolutely breathtaking with a total number of lengths swum equaling 3314 lengths (an impressive 82850 metres). As a school community a staggering 79,701.00 THB was raised, which has been donated to Miss Wakelin’s Charity. We are so proud all our students members of our community for their support and dedication making this event such a resounding success. The finale of the day was a presentation in the sports hall, led by Mrs Taylor Hawkins. Our senior school student council then organised a delicious BBQ in the school café area. This special day was a showmanship of the strong values we promote at ISS: Teamwork, Excellence, Perseverance, Dedication and Friendship.
Samui Sharks competed at the Rocket Science Swim Meet in Phuket
The ISS Swim Sharks Squad took part in the Rocket Science Swim Meet which took place in Phuket on 25th - 27th March 2016. The event was hugely competitive with school teams from all over Asia. ISS Sharks showed some amazing talent by coming 4th overall in the team rankings. We must congratulate Tatiana Riviere in Year 3 for her podium finish with a 2nd place in the Under 8 girls category. Many of our swimmers received medals with a total haul of 35 individual medals (gold, silver and bronze) and 10 team medals in relays. Every ISS swimmer tried their hardest! Our youngest swimmers performed well and for some this was their first competition. We congratulate them for their perseverance and enthusiasm despite the intense heat. Big thank you to our coaches, Mr Hawkins, Mr Withers, Coach Bianca and Pi Oar for their patience and good humour over the weekend.
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
Kindergarten Songkran Celebrations Kindergarten enjoyed a fun filled morning of Songkran games, many of which involved water. These included the bike carwash, Jumper ( popping water balloons with their heads), building a giant sand pagoda, and Soy Doow ( batting down a surprise present from the tree using a long stick). After break the children got into their House teams and played traditional Songkran races. The parents joined us in the afternoon for the Water Pouring Ceremony and to learn about the tradition of Songkran in Thailand. The day finished with a fun water fight which involved all the children, teachers and many parents getting very wet!
New Mini-beasts Topic in Kindergarten This term in Kindergarten as part of our topic the Ladybirds and Busy Bees are busy learning all about mini-beasts including ladybirds, snails, bees, grass-hoppers, caterpillars, butterflies, spiders, beetles, worms and ants. In Reception the children are learning about Life-Cycles including plants, mini-beasts and mammals. As a finale in Kindergarten, we are hosting an Ugly Bug Ball on Friday 10th June where all the children may come to school dressed up as a mini-beast and enjoy many fun-filled activities.
Welcome Back Miss Bates Mother and Toddler Group We are very happy to welcome Miss Bates back to school for Term 3. Miss Bates was severely injured in a motorcycle accident on her way to work back in January. After undergoing rehabilitation throughout Term 2, we are happy to have Miss Bates resume her teaching role back within our Nursery class. On behalf of all the children, parents and staff, welcome back Miss Bates!
Every Thursday from 10:15 – 11:15 am the Kindergarten hosts a Parent and Toddler Group open to everyone in the community. We invite you to bring along your toddler (under 4 years of age) to join in our activities. We would appreciate if parents would stay with their children throughout this session. Please book early as there is a maximum limit of 15 places. Please contact the school secretary on 077 484548 or email secretary@iss.ac.th to reserve a place.
Kindergarten and Primary School Easter Egg Decorating and Hunt This year our Easter celebrations were held on Wednesday 30th March with an Easter egg decoration competition and then an Easter Egg hunt. Congratulations to Atom (KG), Moritz (KS1) and Emily (KS2) for their winning Easter art. Well done to Darwin for comfortably winning the Easter egg hunt. A big thank you must go to our parent helpers for preparing the eggs on Monday and helping to hide them on Wednesday. Thank you to our super Easter Bunny, Pavel (Iakov's dad in year 2) and also Miss Spencer for volunteering to be the Easter bunny in the early part of the day.
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
Primary School Dance Show –Friday 15th April
Important Dates
Wednesday 1st June—Primary 3 Day International Projects.
Friday 3rd June— Senior School Speech Day.
Friday 3rd June—KG Thai Food Day
Our primary dance show which took place on Friday 1st April was a resounding and a fantastic way for pupils to showcase their hard work in their dance lessons last term. The talent was breathtaking including the costumes, the music and choreography which all put together made for a spectacular show. Thank you to our teachers Mrs Andrewartha and Mr Oakley for putting together this event and for parents for supporting your children. Thank you to Ilya (our Ballet teacher) for his well executed interval dance pieces with the support of his Ballet and Contemporary dance students.
Primary School Private Music Recitals
Monday 6th June— Adventure Training Week
Monday 6th June– Primary School Thai Food Days begin
Friday 10th June— KG Ugly Bug Ball
Monday 13th June— Year 6 and Senior School Transition Week
Monday 13th June Year 10/11 Work Experience Begins
Tuesday 14th June— Senior School Thai
Our private music students took part in private music recitals on Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th March 2016. This event was a wonderful showcase of our private music students' talents, dedication and commitment to their discipline. Their parents were invited to listen to them perform and treated to a light lunch. Thank you to our music teachers, Jaymie, Rick and Aria for giving our children this wonderful love of music. Big thank you to Mr Gubbins for organising the music recitals. We are already looking forward to our next recital which will take place in the middle of Term 1 of the next 2016/2017 academic year.
Primary School Songkran Celebrations
Food Days begin
Friday 17th June-KG Sports Day
Y7&Y8 End of Year Prom Dinner
Saturday 18th JuneY9,10,11&6th Form End of Year Boat Trip
Monday 20th JunePrimary Sports Day
Tuesday 21st JuneSenior Sports Day
Wednesday 22nd June-Reception Graduation
Friday 24th June– Primary Speech Day
www.iss.ac.th
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
Senior School Spring Term Production 2016 - Beauty & the Beast
Well done to all the talented students who performed and were involved in our ISS Senior School play. Also an enormous thank you to all the teachers and parent helpers who worked so hard to make this the best show ever at ISS! Congratulations Mr Denman and his team for this unforgettable production of Beauty and The Beast. (If you would like a copy of any photos of your child performing please bring a USB stick to Victoria in the Admissions Office who will willingly download them for you)
Senior School House Swimming Competition On Friday 29th April our senior students took part in an inter-house swimming competition. All our students showed great determination and courage especially for those students, who are not proficient swimmers. Students competed in various disciplines including 25m backstroke, 25m breaststroke and 25m freestyle sprint races as well as a house group relay race. Both houses, Oxford and Cambridge showed strong team-spirit. Congratulations to Oxford for taking the overall house cup. Furthermore, individually congratulations must go to Kya (Y8) U-13 Girls, Charly (Y8) U-13 Boys, Gaia (Y9) U-15 Girls and Harry (Y11) U-15 Boys. Thank you Mr Hawkins for organising another wonderful swimming event.
Senior School Songkran Celebrations - Pink Elephant Water Park
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
Senior School Design & Technology projects in new D&T Room Our brand new D&T room has been a great success. The students in KS3 have worked on individual projects including: learning to sew using a sewing machine. The projects were as follows: Year 7 -Transferred a simple design into a stencil, used spray paint and decorated the stencil with hand stitches. Then they machine -stitched their bags. Year 8- Inspired by Pop Art culture created their own design for a textile wall hanging using coloured fabrics and embroidery stitches Year 9 - Studied Natural forms and Thai motifs. They designed and carved a linoleum tile which was used for printing then stitched to create a little bag. The D&T room has over the course of this academic year proven to be popular with the students and will continue to offer a wide range of Design & Technology based projects over the course of this year.
Important School Transition: Reception and Year 6 Students & Parents As we are drawing closer to the end of the 2015/16 academic year, we are aware that our Reception and Year 6 students may be feeling a little apprehensive about their next year at school. Our Reception students will leaving Kindergarten and moving into Primary School and our Year 6 students will soon be leaving the Primary School to begin their academic lives in the Senior School. As parents of children in Reception and Year 6, you too may be experiencing some concerns for your child, or you may simply have questions you would like to ask. We are aware that the transition from Reception to Year 1 and from Year 6 to 7, may be an anxious time of change for both students and parents alike. With this in mind, we are a holding a ‘transition week’ from Monday 13th - Friday 17th June for Year 6 students to experience a snapshot of life in the Senior School with the hope that they will have a more realistic understanding of what to expect next year. Our Reception students will also be having a weekly story session with their new Year 1 teacher, Miss Spencer. In addition, there will be a ‘Year 6 to 7 Transition’ meeting, to which all parents of Year 6 students are invited, on Wednesday 25th May between 3pm and 4pm in our Year 6 classroom. There will also be a “Reception to Year 1 Transition’ meeting on Thursday 26th May at 9am in the Theatre, to which all parents of Reception students are invited. Both meetings will provide an opportunity for parents to ask any questions or raise any issues they may have. The aim is primarily to keep you fully abreast of all the changes in school life that your child will comes across in the next academic year. Secondly, to give you, as parents, some practical and constructive ways in which you can help your child with their future education.
IGCSE Examinations Our Year 11 Students will begin their study leave from Monday 16th May. We wish them all good luck in their upcoming IGCSE examinations. These examinations mark the end of their formal senior school education and are the culmination of two years of preparation, coursework and study. We wish all our Year 11 students every success!
Year 6 - SAT’s Assessment Tests Our Year 6 students will sit their end of primary school SATs Tests in the week beginning Monday 9th May. We wish all our students good luck in these tests, which will mark the end of their primary school education. The assessment week for Year 1-5 will take place on the week beginning Monday 16th May.
www.iss.ac.th
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
Upcoming Movie Nights planned for Term 3 So far we have hosted two successful Senior School film nights and on Thursday 17th March, we also hosted the first Primary School film night showing ‘How to Train Your Dragon’. Our school teachers supervise the events and we hope the new ‘movie night’ program proves over time to be an enjoyable and enhanced aspect of primary and senior school life for our students at ISS. The next film nights are Thursday 5th May (Years 7,8), Thursday 12th May (Primary School), Thursday 19th May (Family Film Night), Thursday 26th May (Years 7,8), Thursday 9th June (Primary School), Thursday 16th June (Family Film Night).
Senior School House Events and Competitions Our Inter-House (Oxford v Cambridge) sports competitions of Term 3 will take place on Friday afternoons as advertised in the calendar. There are five cups up for grabs, Under-13 Boys, Under-13 Girls, Under-15 Girls, Under-15 Boys and overall House Champions. ISS will hosts its first inter-house Girls Football & Netball and Boys Football & Basketball over the coming weeks. In total there will be over 13 sports cups to be won this term not to mention cups for Athletics during our Senior School Sports day at the end of term proving to be an active and competitive term for our Senior pupils. Parents are warmly invited to come and watch their child(ren) take part in these events.
Primary School Talent Show- Friday 27th May at 1pm We are thrilled to announce that during Term 3 ISS will be hosting its very own Primary Talent Show! It is a fantastic opportunity for the children to showcase any talent that they might have including acts such as drama, writing poetry, stand-up comedy, ventriloquism, magic, dance and singing. Every pupil will be given the opportunity to showcase their talent thus developing their confidence to speak in front of an audience and working in a team. The aim of this project led by Mr Hawkey and Mr Hawkes is to tap into the children’s creativity and unearth their hidden talents. The final ISS Primary Talent Show will take place on Friday 27th May at 1pm n the Drama Theatre. Parents are most welcome to come along to watch and support our primary school students.
Thai Culture Food Days throughout Term 3 Throughout Term 3, our Thai department will be organising an array of Thai Food workshops in each year group to deepen the students’ knowledge of Thai food and its key role in Thai day to day life. On Friday 3rd June, our KG pupils will be participating in a Thai Food Day. From Monday 6th June- Friday 10th, the Primary school students will be involved in a Thai Cooking workshop and project in the schools D&T cooking room. Between Monday 13th -- 17th June the Senior School students will take part in a similar project, with each class dedicating their own day in the D&T cooking room. We will be sending more details about these events over the coming weeks. If any parent has an interest in Thai cooking and wishes to support these special days please do not hesitate to join us.
www.iss.ac.th
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony—Wednesday 22nd June The Reception Class of 2015/2016 will be celebrating their end of Kindergarten education by taking part in a special Graduation Ceremony. The Reception Class Graduation will take place on Wednesday 22nd June at 2pm in the Drama Theatre. We are very pleased to welcome all our Kindergarten parents and families to join us in celebrating this special day.
Year 6 & Senior School Adventure Training Trip to Chiang Mai Twenty ISS students will be taking part in our annual senior school and Year 6 Adventure Week to be held in Chiang Mai. We hope all those students who are involved have a wonderful week full of adventure and new experiences. There will be normal school lessons for all other students within the senior school. The remaining Year 6 students will join together with Mr Hawkes and his Year 5 class to undertake a class project.
Primary School Speech Day—Friday 24th June at 9am Our 2015/16 school year is coming to a close and what a fantastic year it has been. The weeks and the terms have been crammed full of curriculum based activities. At ISS this year our students have had so many opportunities to learn and grow. As well as important classroom lessons, our pupils have enjoyed school trips, World Religion International Awareness Days, drama and musical showcases and sporting fixtures. They have raised funds for Miss Wakelin’s Sunny Smiles Foundation, put on live shows, learned an array of musical instruments, and benefited from some excellent extra curricular clubs. We are very proud of all the students achievements and are honoured to celebrate the many academic and personal achievements on our last day of Term 3. The Primary School Speech Day will take place at 9am on Friday 24th June and we invite all our Primary School parents to join us on this day and celebrate together.
Senior School Speech Day—Friday 3rd June at 1:30pm Our Senior School will celebrate their end of year academic achievements during ‘Speech Day’ on Friday 3rd June at 1.30pm, please mark this date in your diary. We will be celebrating the academic and extra-curricular achievements of the students . The day will also be the platform for our first House Singing Competition. Our senior school bands will be performing, there will be individual student music recitals and a student dance performance. It should be a very enjoyable event and we would be delighted to see a good parent turnout for this special day. More news to follow…!!
Senior Adventure Snorkeling Trip- Koh Tao & Koh Nang Yuan The International School of Samui has begun a new initiative in the Senior School to develop the students' sense of adventure and team spirit. Our first Saturday Adventure Club took place on Saturday 26th March 2016 when the pupils went on a trip to the Angthong Marine Park by speedboat. The students and teachers enjoyed exploring the nature reserve in canoes as well as snorkeling and discovering the natural beauty of the area. The next Adventure Club will take place on Saturday 14th May - a snorkeling trip to Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan. The cost of the trip will be 2500THB. Please see Mr Edmonds for more information. You can sign up until Wednesday 11th May 2016 with Nancy in the school office.
www.iss.ac.th
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
After-School & Weekend Clubs NEWS
If you like to register for any of these clubs please call or email the providers directly. If you would like to offer a new club at ISS contact Victoria @ ISS : activities@iss.ac.th or call: 086204 2220
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
www.iss.ac.th
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The International School of Samui Newsletter
Personal Achievements of ISS Students Our new newsletter section called “Personal Achievements” celebrates ISS pupils’ sporting, musical and academic achievements outside of school. If you would like to share anything about your child please send all details to secretary@iss.ac.th. Include photos where possible and details of competition/ challenge/event.
INTERNATIONAL
Paul-Eric Drodz in Year 7 came 1st place at his first ever Midnight Run in the Junior Boys Category. Well done P.E., this is a fantastic result!!
SCHOOL OF SAMUI 141/21 Moo 6 Bophut Koh Samui Surat Thani 84320 Thailand School secretary Tel: +66(0) 77 48 45 48 secretary@iss.ac.th
Contact our admissions department: Eng/French: Victoria admissions@iss.ac.th
Congratulations to Mimp Songnui in Year 8 for her 1st place in the Annual Koh Samui Midnight Run where she took 1st place in the 5kms Junior female category.
Thai: Khun Aom
admissionsoffice@iss.ac.th
Russian: Marina russianpr@iss.ac.th
NEW STUDENTS
TERM 3 Louis Year 8 Pim Year 7 Alex Year 5 Tung Tung Year 1 Finnegan Year 1 Sofiya Reception Chompoo Reception Thomas Nursery Jules Nursery Levi EY Alessandro EY
Fantastic result for Tatiana Riviere in Year 3 for her 2nd place podium place at the Rocket Science Swimming competition representing the Sharks. Tatiana received her award in the overall U8s Girls Category. Congratulations Tati, we look forward to her representing the Sharks again from September onwards.
A Special Note of congratulations from Mrs Lopez (Art Teacher and Year 7 Tutor) and all the Senior School teachers to Yuhan Jia in Year 7 who has shown immense perseverance and hardwork thoughout this academic year. Her amazing improvement in English is a testament to her dedication and positive attitude. Well done Yuhan, you’re an example to all.
Cobis Science Competition KS3 - May 2016 Our much talked about Science Competition is now coming to a close. We are very excited that ISS is a finalist and we are now awaiting the judges final decision. To view the Balloon Launch and Science Project that was submitted go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLaF6aGF1h8&app=desktop
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