Regent’S bOARDINg NEWSLETTER
Term 2 February 2015
In this Issue...
Welcome
MR KIRK WADSWORTH HEAD OF BOARDING kirk.wadsworth@regents.ac.th Dear Boarding Community,
Boarding Life
Meet the new members of our boarding family
Unity and opportunity, not just within the confines of our own boarding community, but beyond that to other boarding schools reminds me of what living and learning away from home is all about. A recent interboarding community tournament coupled with the fact that we are currently hosting two boarders from opposite ends of the world stands as testament that our community revels in being united and embraces challenge and opportunity, in whatever form it may take. The tournament that I mention took place this past weekend when three Bangkok based boarding schools spent the day at our campus and took part in our inaugural Boarding Trophy Tournament. School teams battled it out in a range of sports and problem solving challenges. Friendships were made, new skills learned and as the photos in this issue show, the overriding theme was fun, laughter and a sense of boarding spirit.
Enrichment
Sport
Our two exchange students, Morgan from Markham College in Peru and Anthony from Ballarat Grammar in Australia also serve as evidence that our links to our Round Square ethos are strong and are developing with each new half-term. This half-term has flown by, more quickly that any other that I can remember. Our boarders are progressing well in their academics, seizing opportunities that present themselves and are united in a common goal to embrace challenge and diversity. I hope you enjoy this issue of our Boarding Newsletter and I wish you all a safe and enjoyable half term break. Best wishes,
Kirk Wadsworth Head of Boarding
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REGENT’S
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Girls’ Boarding
My ‘dream team’ of boarding girls continue to impress me with their easygoing approach, team spirit and happy nature. The wonderful weather in Thailand at this time of year means that the blue skies and reduced humidity have allowed us to enjoy some of the fabulous outdoor activities that are available, such as visiting parks and the Ancient City. Our super new Gap Staff, Jess and Lauren, from Australia are a great addition to the house and have impressed us all with their willingness to help and bubbly personalities – their dodge ball sessions are already infamous! The period of adjustment to boarding life is over now for the girls who joined us in September and I am really starting to see their personalities shine through, now they have adapted to the routine and academic demands. It is not unusual for boarders to experience some homesickness at the beginning of the term and we had a few girls who found this to be the case. Once the excitement of reuniting with friends is over, you then really appreciate what a wonderful time you had at home! We have one courageous boarder who bid farewell to her family in December and she will not see them for a year and a half as she heads off on her Gap year to Australia after graduation; a brave young woman. Fortunately homesickness does not last long, as the adjustment to a busy environment kicks in very quickly and before you know it you are feeling much better and counting the days until the next holiday. Our Chinese and Bhutanese students are excited about going home for their respective New Years and those that are unable to return are heading off to one of Thailand’s beautiful islands, Koh Chang. We have also been fortunate to have Morgan, our exchange student from Peru visit us for six weeks, and we have enjoyed tasting a local Peruvian dessert and showing her some of the cultural sights. I hope that everyone enjoys a relaxing, rejuvenating holiday and we wish Morgan all the best on her return to Peru, and I look forward to see you all again in just over a week!
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Boys’ Boarding
As we approach the midpoint of the academic year, we begin to reflect on our achievements. It is certainly encouraging to take our achievements even higher as we work toward the end of the year. During this period we have welcomed three new boys who have injected energy into the team as well as reinforced the strength our team. Jeongwoo from South Korea, Nathun from Thailand and Anthony from Australia, who will be with us for a short period of time due his exchange program. The three new members have added a dynamic and cutting edge to our football team as well as enthusiasm and energy. They have also contributed and developed good relationships amongst the boarding community. I would like to thank the openness and the way that the existing boarders have embraced our new arrivals. It is worth reminding ourselves once more about the importance of academic focus we have given as a community so far this year, we certainly have polished out the grey areas and have achieved much more academically and have contributed wholeheartedly in our Round Square projects. A big thanks to all the boys who have had a great and impressive commitment towards our service weekends. As a community we wish those returning to their families, a great half term break and to those joining us on the half term trip, a great time in Koh Chang. We wish you a pleasant, well rested break and hope you come back ready to face the challenges that the next half term will bring with high spirits and motivation.
REGENT’S newsletter
Boarding Life
Boarding Life
Boarding Life Welcoming our new GAPs Name: Lauren Rolfe Where are you from?: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia Interests: Sports, reading and travelling. Favourite thing about Thailand so far: The culture and the people An interesting fact about yourself: I was a professional highdiver
Name: Jess Walker Where are you from?: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Interests: Reading, hanging out with friends and travelling! Favourite thing about Thailand so far: The lovely people I’ve met An interesting fact about yourself: I’m a twin
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New Faces in Boarding At the beginning of this half term two new characters joined our boarding-house community. Morgan from Peru and Antony from Australia are two exchange students who help to bring even more diversity to our mixed and multicultural boarding family. We talked to them about their first impressions and feelings about their stay here at the Regent’s Bangkok.
Name: Antony
Name: Morgan
Age: 16
Age: 16
Nationality: Australian
Nationality: Peruvian
Is it your first time being abroad alone for so long? Yes it is, only once I spent a month without my family in Melbourne.
Is it your first time being abroad alone for so long? I spent 3 weeks abroad in Britain during a school trip but is the first time for me to be away from home for so long and on my own.
What do you like most about your stay in Thailand? That everybody is so friendly and open minded here. I felt really well received from the very beginning and had no problems at all to find new friends in the boarding-house quickly. What do you miss most, being away from home? Probably my friends and family. What is your first association, thinking of Australia? What I like most about Australia is the huge diversity of nature and people. There is just so much stuff you can do and experience, especially in the federal state in which I live.
Every two weeks, we the House Committee come together to discuss the recent issues of our Boarding House. The Committee consists of Annaliis (Year 13), Claudia (Year 13), Meeri (Year 11), Karen (Year 11), Mitsu (Year 10) and Rohullah (Year 13). Most of the time we deal with certain topics like for example some field trips. Nevertheless, we also successfully organized the Halloween Party in October and our Christmas Party in December. I can say in the name of all our Boarders that this was great fun and we are very excited for our next big event!
REGENT’S
Is there a Tip you would give people who want to do the same as you and visit Thailand? Be as open minded as possible and try to experience as much as you can. Try new things and don’t be afraid, because you’ll always find people who help you.
What do you like most about your stay in Thailand? I like the mentality of the people around me. What do you miss most, being away from home? What I miss most is definitely the national food of Peru and especially my favourite dish. What is your first association, thinking of Peru? What comes to my mind first are my friends from home. Second would be the culture and the history of Peru. Is there a Tip you would give people who want to do the same as you and visit Thailand? Learn a bit of Thai before you come here! It really helps you a lot in day to day life when you are able to communicate with the natives on a basic level.
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enrichment
Boarding Life
Photo Workshop
The boarders were given a workshop on ‘composition’ by art teacher, Mrs Harris, so they could take photographs that were ‘Art’ rather than selfies. They learnt about the ‘rule of thirds’, how to create lines, shapes and patterns in their photos and experimented with how changing their viewpoint could alter their composition. The boys that participated learnt a lot and their photographs improved considerably during the day. It was educational and a lot of fun for the boys to get in touch with their creative side.
Every wednesday night the boarding students participate in a various range of dinner activities which help in brightening up the week, as well as allowing them to engage in fun and entertaining team games! Split up into teams of roughly eight, the quick games that are played range from building the tallest tower made purely out of paper and sticky tape to untangling each other from a ‘human knot.
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boarding earth day Rotfai Park
Meal activities
REGENT’S
Rotfai Park was a great way to begin the term and was a great opportunity for students to get some fresh air and socialise with one another. Rotfai Park is a beautiful and scenic escape from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok where students were able to hire bikes and cycle around the park. The students enjoyed the wildlife and scenery while also sharing laughs and stories from their holidays.
Cultural Trip
During one of my weekends here in Bangkok , I had the opportunity to go and visit the temple of Wat Pho. I’ve never been to a Buddhist temple before and what I saw was incredible. It was so colourful and well taken care of and in such a well preserved state and it was so surprising to see that people went not only to sight see but also to go and worship.
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enrichment
enrichment
Charity work
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The Boarding Trophy On Saturday the 7th of February our Boarding community welcomed many new visitors. Boarders from Bromsgrove, Ruamrudee, Regent’s Pattaya and Regent’s Bangkok compared their physical and mental skills in friendly contest to get hold of one of the 3 shining Boarding Trophies. During the day the eleven teams had to prove their fitness playing Ultimate Frisbee as well as their creativity and mechanical knowhow, building a flying contraption that was launched from the rooftop of Boys’ boarding. Later an exciting Badminton triples competition and a challenging international quiz followed. “Despite the exhausting activities, the day was definitely great fun for everybody and an opportunity to establish new friendships between the boarders of the different schools” says Patrick (GAP Staff ).
Regent’s Boarding community are very conscientious about making an impact and helping others. This is why once a month the students from Regent’s go out into the community and help others. This month the students either went to the Camillian Home for disabled and orphaned children as well as the friends for kids orphanage who this time came to the school. The community service is always a great success leaving the students feeling accomplished as they interact with these orphaned children bringing smiles to everyone’s faces.
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sports
enrichment
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Sports
Boarding on Ice
For me it was my first time iceskating, which was quite scary as I was very afraid to fall. But I had my friends helping me learn and by the end of the session I was able to ice-skate on my own which I’m very proud about. I really liked it and I’m planning to repeat it.
Earthday at Boarding
On Thursday, January 29th, there was something special going on in the Boarding House. After an interesting presentation on environmental issues on Wednesday night, we celebrated our own “Earth Day”. The students showed environmental awareness by walking to school, giving away their mobile phones for the day, showering for only a few seconds or designing cotton bags for 7/11 trips etc. Some prizes were given out for the ones who had the most environmental aware day. The winners were able to plant a tree on the sports field. Thank you all so much for your commitment on this day!
Wednesday Night Activities
The Wednesday night activities provide students at Regent’s the opportunity to take a healthy and well needed break from school work to get creative and active with others. These activities are scheduled after prep and students can choose between a creative or sporting activity that are run by the staff. This allows students the opportunity to get involved in team building activities creating good sportsmanship and confidence amongst the students where they always go do bed in higher spirits.
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sports
Regent’s face ascot
We had a football match with Ascot International school on Sunday morning. The boys from Ascot arrived in the Regent’s Boarding house at around 9 o’clock and our football match started at 10 o’clock. We were mentally prepared for the game also had practiced earlier in that week. The Ascot school seems to be one of the strongest football team among international schools in Thailand hence our team put a lot of effort into this football match against them. In the first half we both were equal but then of course Ascot’s advantage at this point was that we had only 8 players whereas they had 14. It was a nice sunny day with a friendly match and we all ended the day by a quick refreshing swim and by ––taking a group photo by the football pitch.
Photo recap
life in boarding
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the regent’s school bangkok 601/99 pracha-uthit road wangtonglang bangkok 10310 telephone: +66 (0) 2 957 5777   e-mail: enquiry@regents.ac.th