The 10 Most Valuable Pre-Schools in Thailand 2019 by The Knowledge Review

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N O W L E DEducation. G E RInnovation. E V I ESuccess W MM 2018 Vol. 03 March 2019 Issue 5

THE

10 MOST

VALUABLE

PRE-SCHOOLS IN THAILAND

2019

Blending High Academic Standards, Traditions and Service to the Community with Innovative Educational Methods

From the

EDITOR

Pre-Schools in Thailand: Setting up a Paradise for Tots

f someone was to describe Thailand, he/she will confer about its long sandy beaches, Buddhist temples, and exotic food, etc. However, Thailand is also noted for its kind and loving citizens. This warmth and affection are directly reflected onto the children. So how does Thailand instill this sympathy and kindness? The answer is straightforward, by imparting quality education from the early childhood years. Thailand’s education encourages children’s physical, intellectual, social as well as emotional development to equip them for primary education. The objectives of the education system are clearly defined and circulated systematically. They are focused on childcare, serving nutritious food, and taking care of children’s physical and mental health. The education system reinforces a child’s holistic development and emphasizes love and care. Eliminating the hurdles such as the difference between urban and rural areas, are the concerned authorities, which are enhancing the quality of education in these areas. Teachers in remote areas are mainly new teachers, with moderate experience and lower education qualifications than teachers in urban areas. The authorities are bringing the opportunity to remotely located teachers to upgrade their qualifications by instructing them. Thailand is focusing on this problem by providing online training to teachers in rural areas. To implement the aforementioned quality education, the pre-schools are raising enough space, activities, games, and events to foster physical movement. It understands that toddlers acquire these skills by exploring their surrounding environment. The tutors are also serving an array of different learning experience, which supports children to carry out their own decisions based on their relevant interests. By accepting the opportunity to discover, express, and working out problems, the children develop social skills and understand self-discipline. T R

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March, 2019

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CONTENTS COVER STORY

Harrow International School Bangkok: Blending High Academic Standards, Traditions and Service to the Community with Innovative Educational Methods

ARTICLE

Culture Tour Thailand: An Amalgam of Rich Culture, Varied Traditions and Proliﬁc Modernization

Expert’s Viewpoint

CXO Standpoint

Expert’s Talk

Taking Play Seriously

SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAMS, AN UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITY

The Explosion of International Schools

CXO

American PaciďŹ c International School (PRIMARY) Leading the Educational Reformation, Sculpting Global Leaders

California Prep International School: Fostering Education with a Blend of Tradition and Innovation

La Petite Ecole Bangkok: Shaping the Future through Education

Outdoor School Bangkok: Helping Children to Grow Physically, Mentally and Emotionally

Rugby School Thailand: Nurturing Young Minds to be Leaders of Tomorrow

Storytime Preschool Bangkok:

Developing Life-long Love of Learning

Udon Thani International School: Nurturing Bright and Young Minds with Virtues of Knowledge, Responsibility and Care

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Education: A Wise and Fruitful Investment for Lifelong

hailand is often known as a “land of smiles” – a welcoming tourism paradise known for its, hospitality, historical sites, tropical beaches, and world-famous cuisine. Over the past decades, the Southeast Asian country has become one of the world’s top tourism destinations. Thailand is also one of the desired study destinations in Southeast Asia after Malaysia and Singapore and attracts a far larger number of international degree students than Indonesia or Vietnam. The place is amazing and it is one of the desired study destinations because of “the friendliness of the people, fundamental infrastructure, affordability, beauty of the environment, and safety”. These factors likely also play a role in making Thailand a popular study destination among U.S. students, who favor Thailand above all other countries in Southeast Asia. Hence, the expatriates and immigrants are definitely vital cogs in Thailand development, and so is their education and educational needs per se. International Schools have established themselves as one-stop-solution for meeting global standards of education across the world. In this issue of “The 10 Most Valuable Pre-Schools in Thailand 2019”, we have highlighted the institutions of the region having impeccable educational standards, and their relentless contributions towards nurturing next generations of Thailand. We have featured Harrow International School Bangkok on the cover of the issue. The school focuses on fostering the emotional, physical, social, intellectual and creative development of the students. Outdoor School Bangkok, Udon Thani International School, California Prep International School, La Petite Ecole Bangkok, Storytime Preschool Bangkok, Rugby School Thailand, American Pacific International School (PRIMARY), Kidz Village International Kindergarten, and Modern Montessori International PreSchool are the pre- schools cherry-picked by us. While flipping the pages, make it a note to read the articles written by educators and by our in-house editors. These articles vaguely give insights into the educational system in Thailand. T R

Blending High Academic Standards, Traditions and Service to the Community with Innovative Educational Methods

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any parents consider kindergarten as a critical period for laying the foundations for learning. It is the official start of a child’s education but the years preceding this milestone are an extremely important time for learning. Preschool is in fact the time when most learning takes place and is considered by many schools not just a good idea but crucial for a child’s overall success. Harrow International School Bangkok is one of them and they concentrate on fostering the emotional, physical, social, intellectual and creative development of the students. The school is located on a spacious and green 35 acre campus beside Harrow Lake in North Bangkok, close to Don Muaeng Airport. Harrow Bangkok is a British curriculum day and boarding school for students between 18 months and 18 years. Students study IGCSEs and A Levels and these exam results place the school in the top 5% of British schools anywhere. Graduates transfer to many of the world’s top ranking universities. There are over 42 nationalities in the 1,600 student body and most students join in the Lower School and remain right through the Sixth Form. The school’s mission for Leadership for a better world is defined by six leadership attributes that students demonstrate during their time at Harrow Bangkok: Contributing positively to the community, applying knowledge with compassion, solving problems collaboratively, solving problems creatively, making fair and just choices, facing challenges with determination. The leadership attributes are embedded into all aspects of school life, including the kinds of learning experiences teachers prepare for students in lessons, extracurricular opportunities, the House system and the students’ experiences in boarding. History of the School Harrow International School Bangkok opened in 1998 as the first Harrow School in Asia. Thailand was chosen for the first Harrow International School because of close links between Harrow School in London and Thailand’s royal family; 23 Thai princes were educated at Harrow London. The school operates under a license granted by Harrow School in London and close ties exist between them, with

teacher and student exchanges, new teacher interviews held at Harrow School, and day-to-day co-operation between staff and management. Two governors from Harrow School London are on the board of governors of Harrow Bangkok and they regularly visit the school. Harrow Bangkok is split into Lower School and Upper School. The school has recently completed a large redevelopment and expansion program and has a host of new facilities, notably the flagship Creative and Performing Arts Centre for art, design, music and drama. Sporting facilities include a multi-purpose athletics centre, a large air-conditioned sports hall, a gymnastics centre, floodlit rugby and football pitches, two swimming pools, a fitness suite, a climbing wall and tennis courts. Harrow Bangkok has its own lake, used for sailing, kayaking, dragonboat racing, adventure races and raft challenges.

School Leadership Nicholas Prockter (pictured bottom left) is the Head of Lower School. He is responsible for the running of the Lower School (Early Years and Pre Prep). He was educated at Roehampton in London. After a brief spell as a broker at Lloyds of London he began his teaching career in the late 1990s. Nicholas became a primary head in the UK in 2004 and went on to successfully lead three schools in South East London and become accredited as a National Leader of Education (NLE), a role where he provided leadership support for many other schools. Through this work, Nicholas became one of the ﬁrst heads to form and lead a National Teaching School in the South East of England and led one of the few schools with the Investors in People Gold kitemark. Harrow Bangkok was founded by Head Master Stuart Morris who was then succeeded by Mark Hensman who was responsible for relocating the school to its current 35 acre campus allowing the school to grow in infrastructure and enrolment. In 2012 a new Head Master started, Mick Farley. In his six year leadership, Harrow Bangkok ﬂourished and grew even more. The student body expanded to over 1600 and last year results improved further across the schools. It is ranked in the top 2% of British schools globally and last year’s graduates notably went to Oxford, Cambridge, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, Kings College, Imperial, London School of Economics (LSE) and University College London (UCL).

In 2014, Mick Farley instigated the ambitious and far-reaching ‘HBuild’ school redevelopment and expansion project. Every section of the school was upgraded and expanded with new facilities for academics, sport, music, arts, and boarding. The ﬁnal project, a private entrance road to the school, will reduce commuting time and complete the HBuild project. In January 2019 a new Head Master took over at Harrow Bangkok – Jonathan Standen. He has had successful headships and leadership posts at a number of schools in the UK and was most recently headmaster of Plymouth College. Creating Well-Rounded Students The Early Years teachers at Harrow Bangkok provide a play-based approach to learning, as this is the key way young children make sense of their world. As they move through the school from Pre School through to Sixth Form, the curriculum focuses on developing skills and attributes their students will need to become ‘Leaders for a better world.’ The Early Years curriculum at Harrow Bangkok closely follows the UK Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum delivering seven areas of learning and development of: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Communication and Language, Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, Expressive Arts and Design. The teachers focus on how children learn and create opportunities for young children to play, explore, take risks and think critically about what they are doing. The school also places a strong emphasis on teaching care and concern for others. They pride themselves on the stimulating atmosphere in their thriving Early Years Centre with a large and beautiful environment for the young Harrovians to explore and learn. The school realises the importance of students acquiring essential learner skills of Literacy and Numeracy and ensure that these skills are embedded in their curriculum. Art, Music and sport are also fundamental components of their Early Years curriculum. Teaching and learning is supported by exceptional facilities including large classrooms, ICT suites, libraries, soft play facilities, music rooms, performance spaces, adventure playground equipment and outdoor learning spaces. Leadership and Service The school mission is to make their students Leaders who contribute to a better world, realise their academic potential and succeed at the university of their choice. The school also focuses on developing in their young people the attributes and desires that will make a positive diﬀerence to the communities that they encounter, now and in the future.

Harrow Bangkok is a co-educational boarding and day school that embraces its vibrant host city. The school is responsive to the needs of the community, ensuring that as students get older, charitable service is central to the experiences of their students. Harrow Bangkok benefits from outstanding purpose-built and spacious facilities, staffed by a talented and dedicated faculty, trained and experienced in the best of educational practice. These factors, combined with the desire of their students to get the best from their school life, create a learning environment that is unique in South East Asia. Harrow Bangkok provides innovative opportunities for the students to learn about the world. The young Harrovians fully embrace their school. The school believes that a healthy lifestyle in young people is vital. Through a focus on physical activity, their Personal, Social and Health Curriculum, promotion of healthy eating and emotional well-being activities, they endeavour to teach and promote healthy choices to their students. Their Global Leaders committee made up of students in their Pre Prep phase is passionate about sustainability and is working towards becoming an accredited Green Flag Eco-School. The school grows plants and food in its nature garden and the dining hall has first-class nutritional standards. Promoting Good Behaviour Teaching staff at Harrow Bangkok seek to create an environment that encourages and reinforces good behaviour. The school seeks to educate the whole child and create Leaders for a better world. The behaviour of the young students at Harrow Bangkok was recently described by a visitor as “exemplary and exuberant”. The key factors in their success are the positive relationships and good communication with parents alongside teachers who encourage, reinforce and celebrate good behaviour and achievement at every opportunity and promote self-esteem. The promotion of good behaviour is underpinned by the Lower School’s iRules, which are a child-friendly articulation of the leadership attributes unique to Harrow Bangkok: iCare, iRespect, iCreate, iTeam up and iGo for it. Wherever possible the school celebrates and acknowledges achievement in all aspects of the school curriculum and praise students for following the iRules. To be effective, the iRules are supported by consequences and sanctions for any wayward behaviour. The school’s curriculum also explicitly teaches key values as well as how to develop and maintain positive relationships with others. T R

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AMERICAN PACIFIC

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (PRIMARY)

ducation in its essence is like a fountain of knowledge for a traveller lost in the quest for enlightenment. So if we were to derive a similar metaphorical definition of ‘school’, it can essentially be called the oasis which shelters that fountain. In our own quest to look for an epitome to justify this definition, we at The Knowledge Review have come across one such institution that aptly exhibits its prominence, the American Pacific International School (APIS). Founded by Kritsanant Palarit, APIS opened doors for its first academic year in August 1997 to serve students in Grades 4th-12th. In the year 2000, APIS opened a Kindergarten Campus (KG) in Hangdong, Chiang Mai, and in 2015 a newly constructed campus was opened and renamed to American

Paciﬁc International School - Primary (APISP). It is on this campus that the school serves its youngest students in a purpose built facility for the Early Years. APIS’s mission is to provide an optimum quality educational program based on international educational standards delivered in English language in a safe and secure environment. At the Primary Campus, the Early Years program serves students aged 18 months to 5 years old. Each of APIS’s Early Years classrooms shares a common space for indoor play as well as toilet and washroom according to the age level. The school also possesses a purpose built outdoor play space designed for its youngest learners as well as a swimming pool

Leading the Educational Reformation, Sculpting Global Leaders

that is speciﬁcally designed for the Early Years swimmers. APIS, as a community, passionately educates, inspires, nurtures and maximizes each student’s potential to become a global citizen and a happy, life-long learner. APIS graduates are evidently empathetic, self-reliant, and citizens with an internationally diverse mindset. APIS embodies values of community, responsibility, diversity and balance: • Community – Working together to create an environment that supports one and all • Responsibility – Accountability for our actions towards others; committed to treating all with respect

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and integrity • Diversity – Acceptance and appreciation of people and their beliefs • Balance – In mind, body and character Unparalleled Teaching Methods The APIS primary campus is host to specialized facilities that provide a positive and safe learning environment for children aged 18 months-5 years, to discover and learn through play. Caring and qualiﬁed, international teachers facilitate learning experiences through English as the common language. There is also a Teaching Assistant that provides support in each of its Early Years classrooms. The play-based program emphasizes early language development, motor skills and socialemotional skills that create the building blocks needed for future academic and personal success. APIS’s earliest learners also received instruction from single subject teachers in the areas of Music and Movement and Thai language. From the age of 3 years old, the Primary Campus oﬀers the Primary Years Programme (PYP), under the International Baccalaureate (IB) as a framework for instruction. The PYP encompasses learning not just in the classroom, but also through other means of learning within the whole community. The PYP is an international, transdisciplinary programme designed to nurture the holistic development of a child, touching hearts as well as minds and encompassing social, physical, emotional and cultural needs in addition to academic welfare. The PYP combines the best research and practice from a range of national systems with a wealth of knowledge and experience from international schools to create a relevant and

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THE GUIDING LIGHT American Paciﬁc International School is ceaselessly ascending the stairway towards excellence under the proﬁcient leadership of Aj. Ladda Ahmed-Mahidi, the School Director and the school leadership team. They have been contributing to the school’s success since the beginning. Ladda, as the long standing member of the team, is affectionate towards the youngest students on APIS’s campus and has been instrumental in the school’s growth over the past 20 years, growing from a small house that held less than 10 Children to a purpose built campus that currently houses over 200 students in Pre-Nursery through Grade 6. Ladda can regularly be found visiting the Early Years classrooms during the day, she loves to be on their level and share in their experiences. She serves as the school’s representative with the local Thai authorities as well as represents APISP with the local international schools network in Chiangmai. It is because of her prolonged reputation with parents, teachers and students that APISP has regularly received outstanding scores in internal and external evaluations.

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engaging educational framework for all children. A Proliﬁc Approach At APISP, children naturally develop a love of learning and build a lifetime of inquiry strategies. Class sizes are small so that each child’s individual learning needs are well catered for, by attentive teachers and classroom assistants. Students are free to explore subject areas through themes, often in ways that transcend conventional subject boundaries. In the process, they develop an understanding of important concepts, acquire essential skills and knowledge, develop particular attitudes and learn to take socially responsible action. Within this framework, APIS has developed individual subject standards and benchmarks to be incorporated, both, within the classroom lesson planning and the plethora of opportunities provided to the children. One aspect that makes APISP truly unique is its focus on ‘family’. Through its mission, vision, values and goals, the school believes that student success at school is fostered through concrete home-school partnerships, and parental involvement in support of their child’s education. The school encourages all parents to attend school events throughout the year and be part of the wider APIS community. Parents are invited to be a part of their child’s learning and are kept up to date with weekly newsletters and student posts in their portfolios.

tools for photography, videography and learning. Students are able to record their learning and post it in their online portfolios. It is through this amazing technology and by linking to a specific app, that parents are able to see what their children are working on in class and how they are growing both socially as well as academically. Surpassing Benchmarks The American Pacific International School is fully accredited by The Western Associate of Schools and Colleges, the International Baccalaureate Organization as well as Local Thai Ministry of Education, ONESQA. “It is important for us as a school to be accredited; as it means that the programs of academic rigor and social development that we offer, meet with a high standard, which is important for acceptance into colleges, world-wide,” The leadership team expresses. The accreditation process also ensures that APIS is regularly scrutinizing its infrastructure and programs with a critical eye. “It enables us to keep up with public expectations and new ideas,”. T R

Delivering Modern Exposure As part of its strategic plan, APIS has spent the past two years with a focus on contemporary technology. This focus has allowed its Early Years students to gain access to a traveling set of I-pads and purposeful instruction that is focused on digital citizenship. Teachers facilitate the use of these

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Expertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Viewpoint

About the

Author Robert Kappelle is Head Teacher at both Prep International and Prep Montessori International Kindergartens in northern Bangkok, Thailand. He holds a Master of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from Lincoln University in New Zealand. He spent 15 years as a Kindergarten Teacher at Prep, teaching in all learning areas, developing content and curriculum, and building an entire early years learning program based on foundations of hands-on experiences, constructive play and learning environments rich with opportunity for self-directed learning. As head teacher, Robert now mentors those who come to teach at the kindergartens, promoting the philosophies of the school and encouraging them to bring their own passions and ideas into the program.

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Taking Play

SERIOUSLY lay is undervalued these days. A child sitting with a pile of blocks on the ﬂoor is often described as “just playing” as if their actions are of no merit. But playing is not a trivial matter - in fact it is the key to a child reaching anything close to their learning potential.

and motor skills are in harmony. Setting their own goals and challenging themselves through play, children achieve their own ‘ﬂow state’, where boredom and anxieties are put aside and the child becomes free to self-regulate their emotions and actions.

Modern neural research shows clearly that the young brain is ready for rapid development for the first half dozen years at least. It’s no accident that a youngster’s instinct to play is so strong, for play is one of the keys to early brain development – it’s a biological necessity. In particular, hands-on dexterity-intensive play brings high developmental benefits. The young thumb which comforts infants so much when placed in the mouth, is soon put to its ultimate purpose – facilitating fine-motor skill and thus building neural connections in the young brain.

Play is diﬃcult to deﬁne conceptually, but when examined closely by early-years professionals, various distinct types have been described. These include large and small-motor play, risk-taking play, construction play, sensory play, language play and imaginative & creative play. Socializing is also a big part of a wholesome play experience. Playing with others gives children valuable experiences in dealing with their peers and puts them on a pathway to developing cooperation, patience and responsibility.

Humans have evolved to play and for young children with limited communication skills it is the only way to express themselves. In a sense, play is the language of kids – infants and toddlers without the capacity to communicate verbally must rely on their actions. If you inhibit play in children then you are robbing them of their only real mode of selfexpression. Through play a young child begins to make sense of how their world works. Push a ball and it will roll some distance - do the same with a block and it will only slide with your hand. When stacking though, the blocks work much better than the balls, but there are limits to how high they can go. From real experiences like this, children become sensitive to the rules of the world and gain inspiration to explore and experiment in the realm of possibility. Play grows a child’s cognition but also their spirit. A playful mind is most often a joyous mind, for play brings a child to that place where their growing curiosity, intellect

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Developmental stages in a youngster’s play are also well understood and verified by decades of observations by researchers. The growing social component of play is widely described according to a sequence beginning with solitary play and observation of others before moving on to more associative forms of play and finally achieving cooperative play. Stages in blocks play are also evident – a beginner will explore single blocks first before moving to stacks and rows, then creating enclosures and bridges. Advanced blocks play involves creation of complex and multi-faceted structures and incorporates dramatic and imaginative elements. These types of observations give us a window onto the developmental pathway and provide insight into the maturing intellect. While understanding play in these ways is useful, it’s important not to over-analyze a playful child’s activities or, worse, interrupt or direct their play towards what we think might be a better or more beneficial activity. Adults can join in, but should play by the child’s rules. Let the child follow their own path and they will develop the true love of learning. It’s time to start taking play seriously! T R

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California Prep International School: Fostering Education with a Blend of Tradition and Innovation “We are committed to the harmonious development of the whole person for student excellence in Academics, personality, useful service, and global citizenship”

ocated in Thailand, California Prep International School (California Prep or CA Prep or CPIS) was co-founded on November 14, 2010. The school is committed to the harmonious development of its students in academics, personality and global citizenship. School 17-rai campus and its renovated buildings just perfectly match the vision and dreams

of the founders. In 2011, the school received its government license to operate as an international school. The school is based with an American curriculum and is owned and operated by the Mangmiwatthana Company Limited with teachers as shareholders. California Prep International School has beautiful infrastructure with K-G12 facilities. With concrete and glassed classrooms, CPIS has the following facilities: basketball and volleyball gym, futsal and tennis court, ping-pong tables, and swimming pools for older kids and kinder. As regards to the future prospects, CPIS will continue to grow. Its building expansion includes; 34 classrooms, 17 classrooms of which are now ongoing. In the near future, the school expects to have the full building implementation of the campus master plan. After this, CPIS will continue to branch out in various places as partners will invite. Currently, CPIS has a sister school known as American Prep International School (APIS) in Hat Yai, Thailand.

The school aims to educate the whole child (head, heart, hands, health, and happiness) as well as encourage them to strive for excellence. To awaken and nurture a love for learning in each child so that he/she becomes a life-long learner is viewed as a top priority concern. Experiential and mastery learning, critical thinking skills, creative problem solving and inquiry approach offer value-added flavor to their curricular delivery. The school tries to develop its student full potential with winning attitude, thoughtful choices and well-informed decisions. A Door to Student Success Children usually start their school careers with great imaginations, fertile minds, and a willingness to take risks with what they think. CPIS meets these requirements by providing no less than the best education to their students. Besides offering holistic education with studentcentered and inquiry-based emphasis, the school has given students in the higher grades the following opportunities and exposures:

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Dr. Adelino Libato

Dr. Phakdee Mangmiwatthana

Theory Z & Theory Y Leaders TOEFL, SAT, IELTS, AP exams preps; Business subjects such as Entrepreneurship, HRM, Business Statistics, and Accounting; the link with a nearby university to enroll a bachelor program with 2 years study in Thailand and 2 years study in the US; Exchange students; Online tutorial; STEM; community service for the orphans and homeless; Concerts, choir and band; Off-campus competitions; and a variety of programs to develop the leadership and speaking skills as well as cognitive and affective skills. The school also allocates scholarship for academic high achievers, financially marginalized and those with talents/ sports excellence. Education is a foundation for a better future. Teachers at CPIS exert their level best in helping their students to “Grow Selfdisciplined and Smarter Citizens”. They nurture and enable them to ignite their own flame for learning. Teachers here tend to model

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The director of the school is Dr. Phakdee Mangmiwatthana and Dr. Adelino Libato is the academic director. Both teach courses as adjunct professors in a few universities. With the right qualications and successful track records as specialists and consultants, the two represent as leaders for success of the highly committed and caring AdCom and faculty members who settle for no less than the best service to the kids and best curriculum (written, delivered, and learned) . They all have collaboratively produced the contextualized course outlines, lesson plans, and exams which are dubbed as COLPEX. In addition, they have produced the longitudinal records of the students’ core subjects GPAs and external assessment results in graphs. Each student from the time he/she rst joined the school until the present has the performance records with graphs.

winning attitude, caring commitment, and par excellence. They settle for no mediocrity. Upper in their minds is to exemplify good hearts, virtues, and nobility. This is done with all humility and the recognition that humans can’t have true inner authentic transformation except through the Power above. The school has been granted 6-year accreditation by WASC until 2023. ONESQA of Thailand has also granted the local accreditation. Last November in 2018, Knowledge Review magazine chose CPIS as one of the 10 Best International Schools in Thailand. Furthermore, some of the CPIS alumni have also been granted scholarship in the Philippines, China, and USA. One who passed the AP Language test was oﬀered a seat in one of the most prestigious pre-med schools in Germany. Many other students passed the SAT and university entrance tests and some are now in Thailand’s top universities such as Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University, Thammasat University, and others. The CPIS golfers are excelling in local and international tournaments.

were pioneered by the California Prep Team. California Prep stresses the Core-subjects (Math, Science & English plus Business) with eLearning plus Talent Development and Self-discipline. The ultimate target is character development with positive attitude and love to mankind. Furthermore, the commonsense integration of the spiritual dimension reminds children of the Most Powerful Spirit (the Creator God), who loves and cares for them and all people regardless. The distinctive style of CPIS may be summed up as a “Unique Hybrid of the East and the West”. Embedded herewith is the concept that “The banana trees will never become coconut trees. However, CPIS will produce the best banana trees and the

best coconut trees.” This concept touches that each child has its own unique individuality, creativity, and innovativeness. Hence, CPIS must develop and fan the good sides of each child. With the American CDE curriculum as the basis, CPIS is prudent in learning from the best educational practices and insights of the following systems: Singapore, Finland, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Japan, Seventh-day Adventist model, Montessori, and ASCD. However, it must be underscored and done with high sensitivity for the students’ wellbeing, CPIS always implements the strategies adapted with serious contextual consideration and application.

Distinctive Style The school intends to continue its tradition of being among the ﬁrst two complete e-learning or i-learning international schools in Thailand which

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Diversied Career Opportunities For CPIS “SAFE EDUCATION= SAFETY+ATTITUDE+FUN+EXCELLENCE” California Prep provides one of the best balanced and child-centered educations that enhance self-condence, interpersonal relationship, creative thinking, problem solving skills and math skills. It underscores values for life that boost the ART of multiculturalism: Acceptance, Respect, and Tolerance for others. The school has the following objectives: To instill in the minds of the pupils that they are highly valued and respected Ÿ To incorporate the values of acceptance, respect, and tolerance regardless of colors, status, & nationality Ÿ To develop the social skills, love of learning and reading habit Ÿ To improve the language prociency through whole language and phonics with emphasis on the foundation skills in speaking, listening and handwriting Ÿ To build relationship with parents through dialogues and progress reports Ÿ To highly involve parents in various activities Ÿ To introduce activities that lead to drawing connections, understanding of numbers, interactive communication, and love for school Ÿ

The program of the school is tailored to satisfy the needs of the children from 3 to 5 years old. More fun activities, indoor and outdoor, will be enjoyed by the students. Teachers are highly encouraged to inspire the children with frequent outdoor activities close to the miracles of Nature. Teachers realize that these small ones need a lot of oxygen for their growth especially in developing their brains and muscles. With the great curriculum delivery, safety is their top most priority. CA Prep’s one of the biggest challenges is to stir up love in children-- love for school, learning, books, teachers, and classmates to the point that students will excitedly express that they can’t wait to be in school the following day. They don’t want to be absent from classes because they will badly miss their teachers. Needless to say, this emphasis is an antidote to students crying when they think of going to school or when they get to school. It’s alarming to see pre-school children, emotionally and physically drained when they are in the car (perhaps falling asleep) after school and much worse if the children will cry because of their school experiences. T R

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Thailand

An Amalgam of Rich Culture, Varied Traditions and Proliď&#x20AC; c Modernization

Thailand is one of the top tourist destinations in Asia for holidays. The city attracts hundreds of thousands of people from all over the globe every year. Only Dubai can come parallel to Thailand as Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tourism capital. The capital city Bangkok, manages to maintain its historical architecture and traditions dating back hundreds of years. The city is packed with everything from chaos and excitement, to beauty, freedom and adventure. Through the hustle and bustle, grand palaces and temples and a worldrenowned ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;oating market, Bangkok still continues to attract millions of tourist from around the world. The most visited places by the tourist are:

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Culture Tour

Floating Markets Floatig Markets There are many oating markets in Bangkok like Bang Khu Wiang Floating Market, Bang Nam Pheung Floating Market, Tha Kha Floating Market, Taling Chan Floating Market. Among them Khlong Lat Mayom, Damnoen, and Amphawa Floating Market being the most popular oating market in the country. The opening hours of markets are different. This is one sight which is not seen anywhere else other than in Southeast Asia. The best way to explore Bangkok’s oating market is to hop aboard one of the many guided boat tours on offer.

Wat Arun- The Temple of Dawn It is one of the marvelous and stunning temples in Bangkok. The temple is locally known as Wat Chaeng and is situated on the west (Thonburi) bank of the Chao Phraya River. The temple is famous not only because of its location but because of the design which is different to the other temple of the city. Wat Arun is partly made up of colorfully decorated spires and stand majestically over the water. The temple is directly opposite to Wat Pho, so it is very easy to get to. From Sapphan Taksin boat pier tourist take a river boat that stops at pier 8. From here a small shuttle boat takes them from one side of the river to the other for only 3 baht. Entry to the temple is 100 baht. The temple is open daily from 08:30 to 17:30.

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Bang Krachao Gardens If someone got a day to spare in Bangkok and are eager to escape the bustle of the city, they can DIY their own Bang Krachao day trip and explore Bangkokâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so-called green lungs. The environment cannot be compare to any other share of parks in the city. It honestly does feel like a world away from Bangkok and tourist are able to see how the local community differs from the neighborhoods in the city. The natural beauty of Bang Krachao Gardens includes walking trails and beds packed to the brim with lush tropical lakes, trees, and raised embankments which pass unique houses on stilts built along the Chao Phraya Riverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge.

Chatuchak Weekend Market Thailand is famous for its market culture and Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of them. The market covers an area of 35 acre with over 8000 market stalls and 200 000 visitors each weekend. It is the largest market in Bangkok. It is popular among wholesalers and traders. The market has reached a landmark status as a must-visit place for tourist. On a typical weekend, more than 200,000 visitors come here to sift through the goods on offer. Veteran shoppers would agree that just about everything is on sale here, although not all at the best bargain rates. But if anyone has weekend in Bangkok, squeeze in a day trip to Chatuchak Weekend Market and you will not be disappointed.

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The Grand Palace The palace was built in 1782 and once it was the home of the Thai King, the royal court and the administrative seat of government, Bangkok's Grand Palace is the magnifying and world-renowned landmark in the capital. The palace has a beautiful architect and ancient designs of the diverse array of Buddhist sculptures and temples that ow through the vicinity. Most popular amongst tourists has to be Wat Phra Kaew, in English the “Temple of the Emerald Buddha”. The 14th century Emerald Buddha, revered by all Thais, is a highlight too.

Bangkok is probably the largest and most developed city in Southeast Asia and years ahead of the majority of other cities and towns that scatter the Kingdom of Thailand. One must go and see why the excitement about Bangkok exists! T R

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e believe that language, an d the ability to communicate eﬀectively, is great assets in life” and on top of teaching in French and English, we also oﬀer an initiation to the Thai language”

Established in Singapore in 2012, La Petite Ecole is a Bilingual French/English preschool. The school has been accredited by French Ministry since 2013. The school was founded because of the genuine desire to nurture the positive development of third-culture kids. In Bangkok, La Petite Ecole opened its doors in 2017 in the Sathorn area, in a green and serene environment. The school is nestled in a cozy and bright villa, which overcomes the restrains of traditional classrooms, preferring open spaces with an organic and circular spatial progression. La Petite Ecole also boasts a big, shaded garden with a pool, invaluable assets for the little students; not only do they spend recess outside, but the garden and its terraces are hosting plenty of engaging activities, such as sport, gardening, waterplay, music, carpentry, mudplay, storytelling, circle time, and many, many more! The school welcomes children of all nationalities, from 3 to 6 years old. The school vision is that of a child-centric school, where the learning process, the pedagogy, the teaching practices, the choice of materials all revolve around the well-being of the child. The teachers here are native speakers in French or English language, to help develop strong language skills, as a base for bilingualism. They work together to teach the French curriculum in a continuous and consistent manner. Communication is not only essential for the children, but it extends to the entire school community, which is why the school strives to create strong bonds between their pedagogical team and their students’ families: parents beneﬁt from a virtual open window on their child’s life in school through the private platform & app and they are regularly invited to themed events organized in the school

or offered to volunteer on onetime projects. The school has four core values: Mixing of different ages; Developing autonomy; Nurturing benevolence throughout the whole school community; Creating engaging indoor and outdoor environments to keep the child motivated. Global Academic Offerings To ensure the quality of the education received at La Petite Ecole, they teach the official curriculum from the French Ministry of Education, which has 5 major areas of focus: mastering language skills in a holistic way, acting, expressing oneself and understanding through physical activities, acting, expressing, and understanding through artistic activities, getting the foundations to organize one’s thoughts, and exploring the world. At La Petite Ecole, each child is encouraged to think in a logical, critical and independent way, thus building the foundations to later become a responsible member of society. Each child is continuously encouraged and praised, as they believe learning in a positive atmosphere will help get a better understanding of the world they live in. The school teaching methods are innovative and their pedagogical system promotes the independence, curiosity, and motivation of the child, while integrating the use of new technologies in a responsible way. The children use the class ipad to take pictures of their work, reflect on it and share it with their families.

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Guidance Worth in Gold Marie Nicou is the Director of the school. She has imagined and developed the school of her dreams, based on years of experience in d i ve r s e e d u c a t i o n a l s t r u c t u re s , including Bangkok’s international preschool ELC. There, she particularly enjoyed the pedagogy, inspired by Reggio’s philosophy, which enables hands-on experience based on creativity, imagination and the arts. She then joined a small English-speaking nursery, Annabel’s Nursery, where she immersed herself into early-years education. In 2004, she moved on to the French International School in Bangkok, where she experienced working in a bilingual class for the ﬁrst time. Building on these experiences, she had the exciting opportunity to open a little corporate school for a renowned French company in Malaysia in 2014. Opening La Petite Ecole was the natural progression in Marie’s career.

The diﬀerent areas, such as Language, Mathematics, Shadow Screen, Observation & Science, Practical, Arts, etc. are organized around permanent pedagogical workshops, with a focus on creativity. This spatial arrangement helps promote cooperation and social interaction between the children. The school prefers natural materials and equipment that promote the development of all the senses. Our workshops are very hands-on, thus encouraging the child to take an active part in the learning process. Proliferation of Education Beside the academic accomplishments of the students, which are closely monitored by the teachers and discussed with the parents on a regular basis to ensure that the curriculum achievements are met, the school also focuses on the self-development of each individual. Their child-centric philosophy is designed to help foster respect, tolerance, ﬂexibility and adaptability.

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The school believes in the positive evaluation of the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, and they constantly praise their eďŹ&#x20AC;orts to help them building up conďŹ dence. The pedagogical Director chose to create mixed-level groups to teach the children that they should help and care for each other. The children have their own letterbox where they can leave each other messages or drawings. The school also strives to propose stimulating and innovative activities and projects (i.e. gardening, modeling with clay, building a teepee, painting with a straw, observing shells and rocks, taking care of baby) that will develop a creative, logical and open mind, while instilling a lifelong love for learning. The positive and encouraging environment that they are creating in La Petite Ecole will allow their students to build self-esteem, generosity and integrity, and become responsible citizens in the future. The school also acknowledge that the world extends beyond the walls of the school, which is why they organize pedagogical and cultural outings on a regular basis, in direct link with what the children are learning in school. For example, the children have visited a sustainable farm, after learning about the environment and how to grow plants. T R

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SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAMS, AN

UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITY

hile many consider “summer school” to be an oxymoron, it can actually provide wonderful opportunities for students, staff and schools given the right mindset and support. In this article I will share my experience with summer learning and the opportunities to prevent the “summer slide,” pilot new programs and support transitions. Positive Pilot Programs The 2017-18 school years was my first year as the elementary school principal at the Thai Chinese International School (TCIS) located in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition to working with elementary school, I was also the summer school administrator. In the U.S. I had been a founding teacher for a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) middle school program. The program had been successful with students. In my view, one measure of success is students are both challenged and having fun. Based on the success of this program, and my reflections on my first year with elementary school, I thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce STEM in our summer program. As an American curriculum school located in Bangkok we, along with U.S. schools, would be making the transition to NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) and thus we would be required to rethink not only what we were teaching, but how we would teach it. Rather than a complete NGSS rollout in the fall, we decided to pilot different resources, activities and lessons in our summer school program. The teachers who taught summer school could then be resources to other teachers who would implement NGSS in the fall. As it turned out, parents also had concerns about STEM, as it was quite new to them. Piloting the STEM summer program on a small scale allowed us to make mistakes, learn from them and adapt quickly. This meant a more effective rollout in the fall thanks to the effort that went into our pilot program and our teachers who led the way. Preventing Summer Slide It’s often cited that during summer, students regress in their learning. By going to summer school this academic slide can be prevented and allow students to start the fall at the same level or even above the level they were working at in

the spring. That said, it is summer after all, so the learning needs to be engaging and hands-on for students. The STEM program was perfect for this. While we included plenty of reading and writing during the summer program, we also offered many hands-on science projects, demonstrations and experiments. Students built rockets, websites, water wheels and more. They worked in groups to create, build and investigate. Given most of the students in our summer program were learning English as a second or third language, these activities helped them connect to the books they were reading and the papers they were writing. In addition to these lessons, we had spirit days, flexible recess and half-day options. For students who wanted to stay in the afternoon we offered language classes, robotics and sports. The students continued to be immersed in language, learning and community. And this community aspect leads to my final point. Getting ready for fall In our STEM summer program, students and parents had the option to “reach ahead.” This meant that students would enroll in their fall grade for the summer program. For students who struggled with school, this was a perfect opportunity to have some early exposure to the next year’s curriculum and get a bit of a head start. Or, they could stay in their current grade and strengthen specific skills. Either way, it eased the transition into the next grade for many of our students. In addition to supporting current students, we found that new students especially benefited from summer school. These students, and their families, had an opportunity to meet new friends, meet the teachers, and learn their way around campus. For our youngest students (2-3 year olds) these transitions away from mom and dad can be quite challenging emotionally. Naturally it took these young students, who were experiencing school for the first time, time to adapt during the summer but they were all happy to see their new friends and teachers once they returned in August. Starting the year on such a welcoming and positive note was a special, albeit unexpected benefit, of our summer learning program.

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CXO Standpoint Final thoughts As I reflected on my own experience with summer school, I felt as though it was what school was meant to be. Our summer program was a place to make mistakes as we tried new things, reflected and moved forward together. The lessons were hands-on and engaging and we didn’t even have grades. We did not use school bells; teachers moved throughout the day taking breaks and transitioning activities based on the needs of the students. We had a full hour for lunch and started a bit later than in the normal school year. Students could stay half the day or all day depending on their needs and the goals and schedules of the parents. We were a small community working together to best serve our students and support our community. I learned, or was reminded, of these best practices and was inspired to continue many of these practices for the fall term. For my fellow educators, I encourage you to embrace summer school as an incubator for innovation. An opportunity to start small, fail fast and move forward with practices that most positively impact learning in your community. For parents, I would encourage you to find summer programs which allow students to find the joy in school so learning can become a lifelong habit and not something done simply for a grade or a job. Summer can be a time to learn, as well as a time to inspire creativity and spark imagination so students are energized for the fall term. Summer school - it’s really not an oxymoron. Given the right mindset and support it can be a model for best practices, an innovation opportunity and a source of pride for your community. T R

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Betsy Fitch Summer School Principal

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Betsy Fitch is the Elementary School and Summer School Principal for the Thai-Chinese International School (TCIS) in Bangkok, Thailand. Before joining TCIS Dr. Fitch was an educator in San Jose, California in the Oak Grove School District for sixteen years. In California, Dr. Fitch taught kindergarten-grade 8, was a founding teacher for the Indigo Parent Participation Program, a founding teacher for the AdVENTURE STEM Middle School Program, and a principal for Taylor Elementary School. She earned her master’s degree and her doctorate degree at San Jose State University and her MBA at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She can be reached at betsy@tcis.ac.th.

Outdoor School Bangkok Helping Children to Grow Physically, Mentally and Emotionally

“We envision children being children – happy, healthy and satisﬁed but at the same time smart enough to think and act creatively and critically”

earning is a gradual process in shaping ones personality and to deal with the situation of life. Kinder school has its own importance as it prepare children to become adult citizens of tomorrow. The growth is parallel to the future and is reﬂected through the quality of present education system. Outdoor School Bangkok (OSB) is one such school which is stimulating curiosity in the young impressionable minds and equipping them with tools to become a better human being.

The school is inspired by the famous forest kindergarten concept (from Scandinavia), offering a stimulating green space within 1,600 sq. area in the heart of Bangkok (Sukumvit 46). The school has ample space for children to learn and develop in a fascinating and fun environment, catering children aged 18 months to 6 years. The Kindergarten is the first to offer young children a lifelong learning experience through regular play outdoors in a natural setting. Uniqueness in Approach Guided by the Core Values (Happier, Healthier & Smarter) and OSB makes learning more meaningful and lasting. Through authentic play, OSB integrates indoor classroom learning with outdoor experiences. Some of their outdoor facilities include: Outdoor classroom with colorful glasses (Emily - the elephant), Sensory garden, Sensory pathway, Spider walk, Mud pond, Pebble pits, Tortoise tunnel, Rock climbing wall, Frog pond and Kitchen garden. As early years learn and gain experience through all their senses, getting outdoors to play is a brilliant sensory

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experience. The changing nature of the outdoors makes it an incredibly stimulating and multisensory place to play and learn. Also, life itself is dangerous. Life is full of risks. Without taking risks, no child would ever learn to walk or ride a bike. They believe that children need risk. It is a powerful catalyst for growth that helps them develop good judgment, persistence, courage, resiliency, and self-conﬁdence. Experiencing outdoor play also helps children take risks and develop self-awareness. So OSB follows the EYFS curriculum, integrating it with outdoor activities. The school knows that hands-on

experience in nature helps build healthier, smarter, and happier children. They learn skills outdoors that they cannot learn inside a classroom. Growing research has been showing the importance of play outside the classroom. There are numerous health beneﬁts to playing outside. Also, giving children the freedom of playing outdoor helps them to feel happier and calmer. Not only that, being outdoors encourages imaginative play, creativity, handeye coordination, balance, physical strength, and mental clarity, as well as increased problem- solving and critical thinking. Additionally, it leads to more cooperation and teamwork and raises children’s environmental awareness skills.

Impeccable Leadership Parityada Punthapong (Kiki) is the Director and Founder of the Outdoor School Bangkok. Having spent years in Sweden, Kiki was always fascinated by the Scandinavian educating system which allows children to reconnect and learn in nature no matter rain or shine. After she became a mother, she realized there was a shortage (or absence) of kindergarten in Bangkok that children can experience, discover and learn in nature. So she started the kindergarten that o er young children a lifelong learning experience through regular play outdoors in a natural setting. I often envision helping children to grow not only physically or mentally but also emotionally. I envision children being children – happy, healthy and satisﬁed but at the same time smart enough to think critically for this may be one of the most important skills that today’s children will need for the future-says Parityada Punthapong.

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Importance of OutDoor

Nature Play

Outdoor School of Bangkok (Early Years) believes in great beginnings. Hands-on experience in nature helps build healthier, smarter, and happier children. They learn skills outdoors that they cannot learn inside a classroom. The students are: HEALTHIER â&#x20AC;&#x201C; students here are physically healthy and have stronger immune systems, among others. HAPPIER â&#x20AC;&#x201C; students here have better emotional resilience and management of emotional states, among others. SMARTER - students here are mentally smarter they have improved cognitive functioning, more relaxed/less stress, among others Although growing research has shown the importance of play outside the classroom in a purposeful and challenging environment provides essential learning opportunities for children. In Thailand, there is still a wide spread mindset of avoidance when forming opinions on outdoor play. Parents or caregivers can deny children the opportunity for learning and development in outdoor play, replacing it with the fear of what might go wrong. So, the biggest achievements Outdoor School Bangkok has made is to educate and acknowledge parents and educators about the importance of outdoor play towards early childhood development. The school now sees a lot of other schools and kindergartens integrating outdoor classrooms in their regular curriculum. T R

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Rugby School Thailand Nurturing Young Minds to be Leaders of Tomorrow

“We create an educational environment dedicated to nurturing the whole child”

ought to provide inclusive education to students and standing tall in its approach of offering world-class education, Rugby School Thailand is creating podiums for the young minds to chase their dreams and soar high. The school is the flagship international division of Rugby UK, a 450-year-old leading British independent school, where the world-famous sport, rugby, was invented. The school is known as a world-class international school that gives each pupil an outstanding education that fosters their whole being in a caring and dynamic environment. It is a co-educational day and boarding school that follows the British curriculum and models itself on the British private school system, with smaller classes, longer days, and sport and co-curricular activities integrated into the daily timetable. The advantage of boarding is that, while saving time on the school commute, students develop a unique family of friends. Rugby School Thailand offers its boarders a ‘home from home’ environment for its students where children feel at ease and relaxed. The House Parents and House Dean members of the RST ensure that every child gets expert guidance. Developing core values, supporting any personal issues, strict rules regarding usage of mobiles, and helping children build interpersonal skills and discover new hobbies are some of the measures taken by the school to ensure the holistic development of students. The school started with 150 pupils from Pre-Nursery to Year 8 (Pre-Prep and Prep) and is now in its second year with 450 pupils across Pre-Prep, Prep, Senior and Sixth Form. Rugby School Thailand promotes excellence in all facets of school life, encouraging a restless desire for knowledge; resilience in the face of challenge; and a rigorous determination to achieve one’s best. The School honors individuals for who they are, and seeks to reward them for what they do. The school aims to create confident young men and women who value loyalty and

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Passionate and Persistent Educator Taya Teepsuwan is the CEO & Co-owner of the institute. Along with her husband and brothers-in-law, Taya Teepsuwan is part of the driving force behind Rugby School Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inception. The family have always admired the traditions and ethos of Rugby UK, as it simultaneously encourages children to fulfil academic potential while exploring wider interests through activities. After educating her own children at Brambletye in England, Taya engaged the headmaster, Nigel Westlake (Founding Headmaster of Rugby School Thailand) in the project in 2015. With a background in education, Taya is passionate about changing the way children learn, believing that every day at school is an opportunity to grow and develop, mentally, emotionally, physically and culturally.

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commitment, and who make a positive contribution to their school and their world. Opportunities and Exposures The school is truly international, with a 45:55 at split of Thai to Expat pupils and it recruits top teachers from around the globe to oﬀer the best education. The location allows children exposure to nature and time outside playing sports and co-curricular activities, all of which are integral to the holistic development of ‘mind, body, spirit’. Rugby School’s ethos is ‘the whole person, the whole point’. This serves a much fuller education than most international schools in Thailand, with a combination of academic excellence with co-curricular activities and sport. The school has world-class facilities, such as: a large sports hall, extensive playing ﬁelds, boating lakes, swimming pools (and a dedicated aquatics centre in development), playgrounds, soft play, large auditorium, cookery suite, design technology lab, science labs, art block. Children at Rugby School Thailand can lead active lives in cleaner, lesspolluted air than many others. Education beyond Classrooms Rugby School Thailands continuous

endeavor to empower its students with all future-needed skills epitomizes how ambitious and forward-thinking it is. A very good example of its efforts is its partnership with BANPU INFINERGY to create renewable energy sources. At present around ¼ of the school’s energy is powered by solar panels around the school. Rugby School Thailand has recently been granted ‘smart school’ status after a visit by Thailand’s Minister of Education in February. In a student-led collaboration, the school has partnered with Wat Koh School in Rayong to help them develop as a school. An initiative of the Thailand government, Rugby School donates budget for their breakfast throughout the academic year as well as finding new sports equipment. Playing its role in community service, Rugby School Thailand sets an example to its students to be community driven and to be responsible towards society. The school runs an extremely popular weekly ‘Rugby Rascals’ playgroup for babies and toddlers from birth. This allows local parents and children to come together in an inspiring environment and benefit from the excellent facilities and expert teachers.

The playgroup offers access to things such as the splash pool, soft play, baby yoga, story time and sensory experiences. Diversified Programs and Individualized Learning Rugby School Thailand follows the British National Curriculum, and incorporates a mix of cultural and historical themes. The diverse international mix of the school is celebrated by holding cultural days. In a year, the school celebrates Lunar New Year, Songkran, Loy Krathong, Wai Kru, International Day etc, all of which teach the children to appreciate the world and the people in it. Pre-Prep: The Pre-Prep incorporates a mix of cultural and historical themes. They celebrate diversity, environment and history through their topics, celebration days and Project Weeks. The school also provides a wide range of experiences for the children through music, drama, art and sports that encourage and develop their critical thinking and problem solving. Important too is learning how to interact with others, be polite and deal with situations and events in the right way. By offering a range of after school activities they ensure that they allow pupils the chance to try

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something new and discover more about themselves and who they are. Prep: The school follows the British National Curriculum and the Independent Schools Examination Board, which are both followed by the Prep schools in the UK. In addition to the broad curriculum, they have so far completed two Project Weeks that focused on speciﬁc themes and incorporate worldwide issues, cooperative group work, crosscurricular learning, creativity, thinking skills, entrepreneurial skills and many more attributes. Through the activities programme each school day and the Saturday Enrichment, the school oﬀer opportunities to learn a range of new things that help to broaden the educational experience of pupils. In each area of learning they encourage healthy competition internally and externally. The school encourages children to debate, make decisions,

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problem solve, empathise, collaborate, be independent and develop many other key skills. Senior: Senior School continues to follow the British curriculum and drive academic success as student’s begin to reﬁne their key subject interests and prepare for exams. In F Block (Year 9) the key foundations are laid that enable students to excel once they move on to their IGCSE studies and beyond. During their time in F Block, the students will experience a broad, diverse academic curriculum, with the opportunity to specialize in particular areas of interest. This will be complemented by the enrichment programme that is so integral to the Rugby philosophy of developing the whole person. Together, the academic and enrichment programmes develop intellectual curiosity, creativity, independence and resilience, as well as providing ample opportunity for

students to take intellectual risks, make mistakes and learn through experience. In E and D Block (Years 10 and 11) the curriculum offers both breadth and depth of study, comprising of core and elective subjects, primarily based on the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). IGCSES are excellent preparation for A Level and other post-16 qualifications. Rugby uses three examination boards to administer their examinations: Cambridge, Oxford AQA and Edexcel. Rugby School Thailand offers the A Level curriculum in the LXX and XX (Sixth Form). Recognized by universities around the globe, A levels are the most popular post-16 qualifications in both the UK and the International Schools sector across the world. T R

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Preschool Bangkok:

Developing Life-long Love of Learning “We aim to instill in our children the basis for a life-long love of learning and the self-conﬁdence to explore new concepts, situations, and experiences.”

verall development of a child is important and pre-school plays an important role in developing a child physical, mental and social growth. Storytime Preschool is one of those pre-school which is providing a warm, happy, stimulating and challenging environment fostering child development through fun learning activities.

Located in Bangkok, Thailand the curriculum and programs of the school is designed to include motivating and challenging activities and learning situations which stimulate the development of early physical, social skills with a focus on creative play. Hence the motto of the school is “When We Play, We Learn”. Storytime Preschool focuses on creating a safe, loving, nurturing and happy

An Erudite Leader Ms. Lily is the principal of the school who has been overseeing the school’s quality and growth since 2013. Ms. Lily is a wonderful administrator with qualiﬁcation and experience of running international Preschool for the past 22 years. She is responsible for setting the educational standards and goals and helps establish policies and procedures. Her role as a Principal has greatly contributed to the success of Storytime Preschool.

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environment, which allows children to blossom to their full potential. The school boasts a large secure garden area, pretty rare for a school so centrally located. The outdoor area is the focal point of much of the children’s daily activities. Previously the school is known by Ploenchit International Kindergarten (PIK), which was founded in 2003. PIK operated for ten years at Soi Ruam Rudee. In 2012, PIK was rebranded into Storytime Preschool and moved locations to Sukhumvit Soi 4. For over a decade now, the name is synonymous with quality childcare and child development among local and expat communities in Bangkok. Storytime Preschool was founded by Simran Rajkitkul, a Malaysian expat who has lived in Bangkok for over thirty years. Exceptional Facilities Storytime Preschool accepts toddlers from the age of 18 months to 6 years old. Every class is fully furnished and equipped to meet the needs of each

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specific age group. Half Day and Full Day attendance is available and the school run on a three terms a year basis. The school has installed chilled purified water pipelines in the garden. A shuttle is also provided complimentary for all parents and students to and fro at Nana BTS. All teachers here are qualified with years’ experience at International Schools around the world. The school follows the American Curriculum & IB Approach and the teachers have the space to improvise for the specific group as they see fit. The school also serves two meals a day and the menus change daily. The school ensures they provide the children with a well-balanced diet including plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. The school carefully record the special needs of each individual child, whether they have food allergies or require special diets.

Life beyond the Classrooms A selection of extra activities is offered after naptime to further enrich each child’s school experience. This includes Piano Lessons, Soccer, Yoga and Thai Cultural Class. The school also provides After School Care for working parents with a carefully planned timetable and meals until 6 pm. The school love thematic lesson plans and always relate it to daily life. This method not only draws the students in, but also helps build their confidence. Students also love role-play and themes based on a range of exciting subjects, which they incorporate it into syllabus. For Science, experiments are a must! The study of Math usually takes place outside the class in the garden. Needless to say, reading is heavily encouraged and they host Book Weeks where parents and older students read to the kids. After a long week, Fridays are usually “Fun & Free” where kids interact through various activities with students of different classes. Here when children feel free to express themselves, they make learning fun, always! An Environment which Foster Learning Storytime celebrates different festivals with the community. Here each class works together to put on a performance and learn valuable skills such as teamwork, confidence, and patience. The school also celebrates the end of the academic year by holding a Graduation Ceremony for their outgoing students from KG 3 Class. Besides the regular schedule, the school also offers two camps every summer in July and August. This is opened to both their students and to outsiders. The activities are designed to keep students’ minds engaged and to make sure they stay productive during the holidays. Before their summer is over, each student receives an “Achievement Certificate” at their farewell party. Storytime also holds weekly playgroups with experienced teachers who prepare various themes and resources for activities both in and outdoors. Besides this, BAMBI (Bangkok Mothers & Babies International) join hands with Storytime on a monthly basis inviting experts from various companies to engage the children on Saturday mornings.

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Life after School The school truly believes the involvement of parents on every step of the way is extremely important. In fact, they feel that the more parents are involved, the better the child performs at school Because of this, they give out lots of information to parents regarding the children’s’ daily activities, development and progress. The teachers sent home a ’My Day Book’ for each child and the school sends out a bi-weekly newsletter of what their child has participated in and also for upcoming activities and menus. In addition to this, the school also holds Parent Teacher’s Days where cards are distributed and performances are discussed. Storytime Preschool has been featured in The Bangkok Post, various BAMBI Magazines, as well as Expat Ladies Magazines and they hold many good testimonials from happy and satisﬁed parents. The school fees are very reasonable when compared to most of the international kindergartens in town. This makes Storytime already very accessible. Upon graduation, the students easily enter top international schools around Thailand, Asia and the world. Since most of the parents are expats, Storytime consists of students from all nationalities. When these students return to their home countries, they easily get enrolled into other respective programs.T R

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Expert’s Talk

The of

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

he growth, or better said, the “explosion”, of the number of international schools in Thailand, Asia, and the world has been amazing over the last 25 years. In Thailand, this growth started in 1992, when the Thai government initiated the opportunity for international schools to accept Thai students. At that time, there were only a handful of international schools in Thailand, and it was extremely diﬃcult for Thai children to be admitted to these schools. The reasons for this increase are many, but the two primary factors were the need for Thai students to learn English and related to that was the need to utilize the internet much more, where 80% of the information is in English. These two factors have brought us to where we are today, with over 200 internationals schools in Thailand enrolling as many as 40,000 Thai students. This does not include the many bilingual schools that are operating and teaching in both Thai and English. Worldwide, there are currently over 5,000 international schools, with a projection that the number will double in the next 10 years, with most of that growth happening in Asia. These new international schools vary greatly in size, orientation, and quality, but the one thing that they all have in common is that the medium of instruction is in English. Whether they are American, British, IB based, or IGCSE, large or small, with a kindergarten through 12th grade program, a kindergarten or a primary school only program, students are taught in English as the medium of instruction. Each of these international schools is required to be accredited by institutions based in the West which assures that the programs these schools are oﬀering meet Western standards and are truly preparing the students to be English speakers, critical thinkers, globally aware, and have the technical skills necessary to be successful at the university level.

The implications for this growth are huge for students, parents/families, and the country of Thailand. All are faced with new opportunities and challenges and hard decisions. The opportunities for these students are exciting. In the past, only very wealthy Thais could attend universities outside Thailand, especially in Western countries. Wealthy students were able to go abroad and study in private schools K-12 schools in the West, where they learned English alongside native English speakers and had the academic preparation enabling them to obtain admission to Western universities. Now this door is being opened to many more Thai High School graduates. Not only are they gaining English skills, but they are taking a college preparatory Academic program that provides them the knowledge and skills to be admitted to universities throughout the world. Many of these international schools also have academic counselors that work with students and their parents to apply to Western universities, and often with a scholarship attached. These opportunities are very exciting, but also scary for both the students and their parents. Parents worry about the ﬁnancial costs, and also worry if their children are prepared to function in a more open and faster paced lifestyle. It can be a huge change going from Thailand to the USA or UK. For many, the only knowledge they have about Western countries is what they see on TV or in the movies, which does not always ﬁt reality. Thankfully, most of these Western universities have excellent programs to orient foreign students into all aspects of life in their universities and communities, but there is still an adjustment for an 18 year old who is going into a whole new world. Fortunately the feedback from the graduates, who do make the move, is very positive. They tell us how powerful and rewarding this change is for them.

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These young 18 year olds who study in the West are being exposed to a world very different than what they see in Thailand or wherever they come from in Asia. The economic, political, and social approaches/systems they encounter at this time in their life, when they are very open and impressionable, can and often does have a powerful impact. They are taught to question and critically think about the world in whole new ways. As they return to Thailand, or wherever they are from, they can and likely will impact how they interact with parents, family, and the society as a whole. Technology, through media and the Internet has and will help to “cushion” some of this, but there will be adjustments. Another important aspect to this growth is the opportunity for Western educators to move to Thailand and work. As someone who has recruited teachers from all over the world, it is wonderful to see how powerful it is to teach and live in a culture that is very different from their own. This is a wonderful way for these young educators to expand their own thinking and learning. Some stay, but many return to their home countries, with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world. It is an exciting future we are facing, and the growth and expansion of international schools is accelerating the changes. Hopefully, the changes will be mainly positive and will lead to better understanding of different cultures and ways of thinking. It will help us to know and respect our differences and what makes us unique and special, and facilitate the world to a more global community. It is a winning formula! T R

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About the Author Dr. Roxy J. Pestello Ed D is Associate Director at KPIS International School. He served as Deputy Head of School for six years and as Interim Head for one year at the International School Bangkok (1996-2003). Roxy was responsible for every area of the school’s management at some time during his seven years as Head and Deputy Head. During the year (2004-05), he served as the Consulting Director, helping to set up a new residential school in an area outside of Bangalore, India. Currently he is the Associate Director of Keerapat International School in Bangkok, Thailand advising the school Owners and Administration on all aspects of school.

The

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Nurturing Bright and Young Minds with Virtues of Knowledge, Responsibility and Care

We develop students to be inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk-takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, balanced and reﬂective. These provide the foundation for the development of international mindedness at UDIS and the dynamic student body the school has.

ocated in Thailand, Udon Thani International School (UDIS) is a day school for students seeking an international education. Founded in 2013, the school uses the National Curriculum of England (NCE) as it oﬀers clear standards of education at each level. It is currently a Primary Years Programme (PYP) candidate school with the International Baccalaureate and a member of the Council of

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International Schools (CIS). UDIS offers nine classes in 2018/2019 from Preschool (2-3 year olds) to Year 7 (1112 year olds). The school has opened new year levels every year and is planned to extend to Year 11 (15-16 years of age) at least. The school began by taking over the campus of the RISOL School of languages in Udon Thani. The school inherited the ‘Disney Castle’ from RISOL which is an Udon Thani landmark. From these beginnings, the school has added purpose built Early Years and Primary Years buildings, a covered tennis court and is completing the development of a 25m swimming pool. These facilities have helped the school grow from humble beginnings to over 120 students today. Inception Story The school was started with a motive to provide education for parents wanting a quality education without the need to have to send their children to schools outside of Udon Thani. This has resonated firmly with many parents in the region who face the difficult choice of where to school their kindergarten and primary aged

children. UDIS has met this need by bringing quality international education to the people of Udon Thani. The school uses inquiry based learning to prepare students for the information rich world in which we now live. The school prepares its student to find, interpret and analyze information that has become so important nowadays. In the Early Years, the school uses the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) from the UK to run alongside their inquiry programme. They have developed a unique programme combining the rigour of the EYFS with the freedom of inquiry which has worked well to prepare their learners for the Primary Years at the school. The school also financially aid families at the school going through hardship or change in circumstances. The school is also developing a scholarship program. The school also financially aids families at the school going through hardship or change in circumstances. The school is also developing a scholarship program. In 2015, the school became the first member of the International Schools

March 2019

Charismatic Leadership The school was founded by Dr. Lindsay Stuart and Khun. Siriphat Pukpo in 2013. Siriphat has been involved in all levels of education for over 15 years in Thailand. She is currently the licensee of Kornprapaphat Bilingual School (KPBS) in Khon Kaen which opened one of the ﬁrst English programmes to be launched in Khon Kaen in 2004. She has also been involved in the administration of universities, polytechnics and has been a prominent member of the Khon Kaen Private School’s Committee for many years. Siriphat has education in her blood, and lives and breathes for the development of student learning in Isaan. Dr. Lindsay is an experienced school administrator with over 17 years’ experience working in education in Thailand. Lindsay hails from New Zealand, where he graduated from the University of Canterbury with Bachelor degrees in Arts and Science before completing a PhD in Information Systems. He also holds a Master’s degree from Mahidol University in Thailand and a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Administration from Massey University in New Zealand. Lindsay has an excellent understanding of educational administration, learning and technology and uses that knowledge to guide and shape exciting learning programmes for the students of UDIS.

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Association of Thailand (ISAT) in the greater Northeast region. In 2016, the school became a candidate school for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB) which was the first PYP school in the Northeast of Thailand. In late 2016, the school also became a Council of International Schools (CIS) member school which was another first for the region. The school now aims to complete authorization with PYP in 2019 and accreditation with CIS in the 2020/2021 academic year. Splendid Learning Methodologies At UDIS, learners inquire using a welldesigned curriculum within a safe and caring environment where they grow socially, emotionally, physically and academically. Learners actively learn about different cultures, respect, appreciate and celebrate diversity, while taking action to become global citizens. The learners here are also challenged to achieve their potential by empowering a diverse set of skills while celebrating success wherever it occurs. The school also tries to make a difference in the world through problem solving at every level by respecting and taking responsibility for themselves, others and the environment. Balanced learning and intercultural education is an important part of the vision of the school while they aim for learners to take responsible action in the world. At UDIS, high quality learning means learning which is goal focused, student initiated and led, where students are actively engaged, motivated and responsible for their learning and which involves critical thinking skills such as evaluation, synthesis and cognition within a teacher supported, active environment.

March 2019

Opportunities and Exposure The school provides the best facilities and resources to provide the best learning and development of the students like: Early Years Building The school has a purpose-built campus which was completed in 2014. The school building was built around an indoor/outdoor learning concept so that learning is supported across all areas of school in a safe manner. Buildings include innovative environmental features in line with the school’s goal of sustainability that include day-lighting, cavity walls and airflow design. Primary Campus Tthe school has a purpose built primary building to host the upper primary classes and supporting specialists. All the class-rooms are connected to wireless internet and are provided with a range of projectors and computers. Sporting Facilities UDIS offers a variety of sporting facilities to support learning and physical development in students: Ÿ 25m swimming pool - To support swimming from beginning to advanced levels. Ÿ Covered multi-purpose court – Soccer, tennis, basketball and mini cricket Ÿ Walking/running paths – Landscaped paths around the school for running, walking and cycling Ÿ Early years playground – Multi-use outdoor space for early years and lower primary Ÿ Primary playground and field – Primary playground and grassed outdoor space With all these facilities learners here have begun competing in local competitions where results have been strong. At the most recent competitions in Udon Thani, learners from UDIS won their respective competitions and attended regional finals in Buriram. The school has also begun inter-school competitions with Silver Fern International School at Roi-Et. As the school grows, it hopes to engage more with competitions locally but also with international school competitions in Thailand as well. T R

March 2019