Newsletter
2015 - 2016
Secondary Edition 2 Term 2
This week in the Secondary School
Debating Human Rights in Growing Minds In Growing Minds we have been learning about Human Rights and the rights of children ...
Diary Dates Friday 12th February
International Day and House Dance Competition
Friday 12th February Half-Term holiday begins
Saturday 13th February 2016 Regents Invitational Senior Games ‘Regents’ Lions fought bravely, with real grit and determination, but both teams narrowly missed out on the medals …
Ski Trip to Korea begins
Sunday 21st February Ski Trip to Korea ends
Monday 22nd February
Makha Bucha Day – School open
Tuesday 23rd February Kathryn Anderson visit from Juilliard School
Year 9’s go on a Geography Field Trip… Year 9 recently went on a Geography field trip to… you guessed it, Cartoon Network Amazone! The purpose of our field trip was to assess ...
House Theatre Sports Competition 2016 The Roundhouse at lunchtimes recently reverberated once again to the laughter and knockabout thrills of the annual ....
Margins for Success – Providing Opportunities to Fail
Success and failure – this is an aspect of life that we all need to come to terms with and accept as something that is normal and to be expected – but is it something that should be taught?
the margins are between success and failure but the teams that eventually prevailed were the ones who did not give up, worked as a team, learned and then adapted their performance for the next game.
There is a strong voice emerging in education that is saying we should be actively planning opportunities for our students to fail. Dr. Carol Dweck, from Stanford University, has conducted a significant and well regarded study into Growth Mindset and how to build resilience and ‘grit’ into our daily life. She claims that telling your child they are ‘smart’ and over praising is building a false confidence that will easily shatter when that child does come up against real challenge. They will not have the tools to cope with failure and therefore stop attempting tasks where failure is a possibility.
I am sure I will witness more examples of Growth Mindset next week as I take a group of 21 students, staff and parents away to Korea for the annual ski trip. Will they fall over, will they crash, get bumps and bruises? Yes. But will they give up?? Perseverance, grit and determination can all be displayed in different ways and at different times but I am more than confident that all who ski next week will make improvements, learn from failure, build upon success and learn to ski well – and we will, I am sure, also enjoy ourselves at the same time!!
Within the Growth Mindset philosophy it is suggested that you should look to praise the effort/commitment to the task despite the outcome. It is ok to say ‘you worked really hard on that but how would you improve next time?’ Children and adults who display a Growth Mindset accept failure as a natural and almost welcomed learning experience, because if the task is always completed well, was it really that challenging in the first place? Last weekend, Regents hosted the annual Senior Games with ten visiting schools from across Asia attending. There were countless examples of how slim
Paul McConnell Deputy Head of Secondary
Providing opportunities to fail. I would welcome your thoughts on this and the Growth Mindset philosophy as parents and students. Meanwhile, I trust that you will enjoy this newsletter which is packed with examples of student success. What lies behind these ‘success’ articles and the photographic evidence which supports them were learning journeys full of perseverance, grit and determination.
‘Raise your flag’ - International Day 2016 preparations… By Sarah Travis-Mulford, Assistant Head of Secondary International Day will have happened by the time that you read this article. However, an immense amount of background preparation goes into making this whole school event happen. International Day is the biggest event on the school calendar each year, orchestrated by the Round Square Coordinator for Regents in collaboration with a dedicated student committee. All students and staff in Secondary are involved in Country preparations, ranging from decorating a stall, contributing to the Fashion Show, Country Performances and the World Cup Football Teams for each country. In addition, International Day would not be possible without the massive input of energy, organization and passion from members of the Parents Representative Group for Regents.
Thanks to everyone for all the effort that you put into International Day. A full article and more photos of the event will follow in the next newsletter…
Aina, Round Square Coordinator with Rhiannon, Round Square Office Gappie and Ethan and Chaewan, members of the International Day Student Committee – caught in the act of preparing the flags
Who’s your Daddy? By John, Year 12 IB Visual Arts student This large dual canvas surreal portrait Homage was my personal response to the events that occurred all around the world on that day. It was a part of my manifesto: ‘Art is a lie to tell the truth, art isn’t about money, power, image. It’s about the Truth’. This Homage was inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’, Shepard Fairey’s ‘Obey Giant’ and Thailand’s own Thawan Duchanee. The purpose of this piece is to solely convey disgust, through the use of colour, imagery and icons. The painting was executed in the style of Thawan Duchanee. The composition was directly inspired by ‘Obey Giant’ and the iconic ‘Fountain’ sits in the centre as a symbol of disgust, that links back to Dadaism during WW2.
The colours are very important in this composition. Red symbolizes hate. White symbolizes an analogue. Black symbolizes darkness. The eyes were partially painted white to represent the analogue mind of Vladimir Putin, like his response to the Paris attack: ‘It is God’s job to send them to hell, it is mine to send them to God’. I put the white around his eyes to portray that his mind has already decided the outcome of the conflict. The blue and yellow eyes of a predator hint his sinister intentions. The red skull is masked around his face to form a skull emerging from the darkness, foreshadowing bloodshed for the terrorist organization Isis. I used the ‘Fountain’ to represent Isis, because I think that the urinal reflects the uncivilized, un-sanitary nature of their operations. It is also a response to the conspiracy of Isis’s origin, about them being a product of Western influences on the Middle East. It is also a metaphor for their impact on the world currently, like the impact of the authentic Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’ on Art History, but unlike Duchamp, Isis made sure everyone knew that they were responsible for the actions, therefore I signed the urinal with the symbol that is on the Isis flag. There are also some religious and WW2 references hidden within the painting, but that is up to the audience to find and interpret it however they wish.
Who’s your Daddy? Acrylic on canvas Inspired by events of 13th November, 2015
Year 9’s go on a Geography Field Trip… By Alex and Alisa , Year 9 Students
Cartoon Network Amazone – the only Cartoon Network waterpark in the world
Year 9 recently went on a Geography field trip to… you guessed it, Cartoon Network Amazone! The purpose of our field trip was to assess the nature of tourism at the park. It is currently the only Cartoon Network waterpark in the world and hosts about 500 employees. The company is western owned and broadcasts popular TV shows for children. The waterpark officially opened back in October 2014 and is still a very popular tourist site.
particular theme, such as “Omniverse Zone” is where the Ben 10 related rides are. Some of the rides may differ in length or time it takes to reach the ride (lots of stairs), but they are all equal in fun and fear nonetheless. A personal favourite amongst the majority of Year 9 has been the
There are around 1,000 people on average visiting the site each day. During the high season, numbers skyrocket and the amount of tourists sometimes goes up to 5,000! Tourism at the park is all year round, and though numbers lessened a little bit during the military coup, the park is still bustling with excited tourists ready to have fun.
Cartoon Network Amazone is located on Sukhumvit road in Pattaya. This is convenient as Sukhumvit is linked to Bangkok, therefore people can easily travel from Bangkok to Pattaya without much struggle. Another useful factor is that the waterpark can be easily accessed from that road. Land is also cheaper in Pattaya than it is in Bangkok, and with all the land that was required to build the waterpark, it’s safe to say that there was a huge ‘discount’ in choosing Pattaya.
Speaking of fun, Cartoon Network Amazone has a lot of interesting rides at your disposal! The park is separated into several zones where rides in their zones stick to a
“Omnitrix” ride. It is currently the biggest ride at the waterpark and is basically one giant sphere of metal and pure, undiluted fear.
The water at Cartoon Network Amazone is very clean as they use a very advanced filtration system called Neptune Benson Defender System. They also use specially designed rocks that lower the amount of chlorine and effectively clean the water. They waste as little water as possible as saving it is very important to the park.
Lastly, you should definitely check the waterpark out as there is currently no other one like it, and fun is guaranteed. Everyone in Year 9 had a great time and really enjoyed themselves. Who doesn’t like having fun?
Sign up for the Cartoon Network Amazone VIP discount membership Cartoon Network is now offering special VIP discounts to the Regents’ students and their families. Your VIP privilege card will give you over 30% discount on single or family entry. If you’d like to sign up for the Cartoon Network VIP card, please do so in the reception desk in the admissions building.
Debating Human Rights in Growing Minds By Miss Elapata and the students in 7.4
Year 7s Raise their Voices in Speed Debating
In Growing Minds we have been learning about Human Rights and the rights of children; there are many children in the world who don’t have equal rights when they should! The Year 7 Speed Debate was a chance to have a way to say what we think is right and wrong and it gave us a way of being mature in speaking. We had a great experience and particularly enjoyed sharing our opinions. It was really nice to work in a team and develop our group work skills. We enjoyed listening to other people’s ideas and the highlights were some of the strong quotes from our friends! ‘This week, we learnt about the importance of expressing our voices as children and this will help us make wiser choices when we grow up. We now feel that maturity doesn’t come from age, it comes from our experiences and how we act towards each other.’ The debate was also a House Competition, with each house having two teams. Congratulations to Green House who came second and Red House who were voted by the Year 7 students to be the strongest debaters of the Year group.
Swimming FOBISIA, Phuket 2016 By Nicola Parkin, PE Teacher After an exhausting 4 days in Phuket, Regents Lions Swimming Squad showed exceptional determination and perseverance in every swimming event entered. It is the first time the school has entered such a large squad into the event and out of 112 races entered, 105 personal best times were achieved. This is outstanding considering we’ve only been training as a squad since September. ‘Every swimmer put 100% effort into every race and I am extremely proud of what they achieved in their very first swim meet.’ Two outstanding performances came from Minhyuk who reached both the 100m and 50m Breaststroke finals and Sophia who reached both the 100m and 50m Butterfly
finals. Congratulations to all swimmers; training for next year has already begun!!! The Regents Lions Swimming Squad: Joy, Alex, Minseo, Madison, Gabriella, Elyse, Rebecca, Jolie, Chloe, Luke, Zia, Young Seo, Paloma, Flora Jo, Nicole, McKenzie, Nathan, John, Jaimie, Sophia, Eric, Minhyuk, Sola and Sophia There are also some religious and WW2 references hidden within the painting, but that is up to the audience to find and interpret it however they wish.
2016 Regents Invitational Senior Games By Tom Hart, Head of Secondary PE
‘Grit, determination and team work’ On February 6th and 7th our Senior Girls and Boys Football and Basketball teams competed at the Senior Games hosted at Regents International School, Pattaya. The event saw two days of high level competitive sport played in a great atmosphere with 10 schools taking part, including the first travelling International School from Kathmandu, Nepal. The Saturday kicked off with the Boys’ Football and Girls’ Basketball competitions. ‘Regents’ Lions fought bravely, with real grit and determination, but both teams narrowly missed out on the medals on Day One, finishing in 4th position.’ On Day Two, the Senior Girls took to the Football field with the Senior Boys on the Basketball court. The girls worked hard and produced some fantastic performances,
conceding only 1 goal throughout the tournament and were unfortunate to miss out on a semi-final spot, playingoff to finish in 5th place overall. The Senior Boys fared better in the Basketball tournament, taking home the Bronze Medal after some superb team performances and dominating in a number of their pool games. The PE Department Staff would like to thank all of our young athletes for their continued commitment and outstanding efforts. We would also like to thank our fantastic Facilities Team, coaches, staff and supporting parents, without whose support and efforts such competitions simply could not run. Thank you.
The beat for Chinese New Year Day Celebrations By Emily Andrews, Head of Secondary Music Last week, nine students from Years 7 through to 9 volunteered themselves and their percussion skills to support the celebration of Chinese New Year in the Primary School. A fantastic traditional Chinese percussion rhythm accompanied the procession around the oval with thanks to the hard work and commitment of Alice, Alex, StellaMay, Alex, Jasmine, Stephanie Slater, Tyler, Yuseung and Fluky. Most of these students are taught by our wonderful drum tutor, Mr Ting, whose time and effort put into providing the music and preparing the students so well for the event were greatly appreciated. It was an exciting experience for all
the drummers involved who demonstrated confidence and stamina to play for at least 15 minutes non-stop without dropping a beat. So much noise was made that Secondary students came out of their Tutor rooms to support and cheer as the drummers went by. “I am really proud of myself and it was fun to take part. I was able to use the rhythm that I learnt at my own Chinese New Year celebrations at home”. Jasmine, 8.1 “It was the first time that I was part of a parade, it was a great new experience and a lot of fun”. Fluky, 9.2
Year 11 IGCSE Drama Scripted Performances By Mike Thomas, Teacher of Drama
‘Going into the Dark…’
‘Theatre is most of all about going into the dark: to be enthralled, frightened and moved; so there has to be a huge animal unconscious below and above the text, shifting and surprising us each time we venture in to read, rehearse or watch the play’.
timeless themes of power and personal responsibility. The ensemble of Roma Leonie and Jilly, had to be adept in switching from one character to another and to maintain the delicate balance of comedy and tragedy: this they achieved very convincingly.
This quotation by the playwright Charlotte Keatley, provided the impetus for the recent examination performance of 15 minute excerpts of four challenging and intriguing plays by four very different playwrights.
The third presentation, ‘Teechers’ by John Godber, proved particularly entertaining to the teachers in the audience! Again, the ensemble, led by Stephan as Mr Nixon, demonstrated a bold confidence in the performance of their several contrasting roles. The text called for an energetic and stylised performance which convinced throughout as well as proving thoroughly entertaining!
Following 6 weeks of very hard rehearsal, the students were ready for their performance. Not to be put off by the delay to the start of the performance caused by the noise from the heavy rain, the students impressed from the very start with a powerful performance of ‘Missing Dan Nolan’ by Mark Wheeler. This powerful piece of documentary drama deals with the true story of teenager Dan Nolan who inexplicably disappeared whilst on a fishing trip. The performance played in fast-paced Brechtian-style elicited strong, emotionally charged performances from the whole ensemble, led by Bryan as Dan. This was followed by the riotous knockabout of Splendid Theatre’s adaptation of Sophocles’ ‘Antigone’, which uses the metaphors of street theatre clowning to unlock the
The final play of the evening, ‘The Maids’ by Jean Genet, presented an emotionally intense interaction of three characters in a drama which explored the themes of class and the painful contrast between reality and illusion set amidst the claustrophobic atmosphere of an apartment in 1930’s Paris. The play was beautifully designed and sensitively performed by Alina, Angelica and Anais. The audience was thoroughly appreciative of the Year 11 Students performances. The students are to be congratulated on giving such a successful performance which will contribute to their examination this year.
House Theatre Sports Competition 2016 By Mike Thomas, Teacher of Drama
‘Drama skills, energy, courage and knockabout thrills’ The Roundhouse at lunchtimes recently reverberated once again to the laughter and knockabout thrills of the annual House Theatre Sports competition. The event, based on the popular TV panel game, Whose Line is it Anyway? tests the contestants’ skills in improvisation and physical theatre: not easy in front of an expectant and excitable audience of over 100 students and teachers! Year 7 got the week off to an excellent start with some particularly confident displays of Drama skills to students for whom this was their first experience of Theatre Sports. The students’ House teams in all years were given a line and later an object to ignite a series of increasingly wild and absurd improvised scenarios. The action became progressively more exaggerated and
energized as the competition progressed, culminating in the Grand Finale on Friday, which included a teacher’s team (led by the intrepid Mr Russell) representing the Secondary Leadership Team, plus Drama students in Years 12 and 13. Red House performed consistently well across the week so it was no surprise that they emerged as overall Champions for 2016. Well done Red House! A huge thank you to all the students who had the courage and spirit to take to the stage and to the Year 12 IB Theatre students who helped lead the competition as well as the Teachers and Gap Students who gave expert help with the judging. The School looks forward to next year’s House Theatre sports Competition with eager anticipation.
Conference starts at 8:30 am Only 300 THB including lunch and refreshments Collect a letter from Mrs McKenna’s room (207) Come and be a part of something big!
For further questions contact: Chaewan1212@gmail.com
Connect: www.Regents-Pattaya.com /RegentsInternationalSchoolPattaya /RegentsSchool /RegentsPattaya /TheRegentsSchool