Newsletter
2015 - 2016
Secondary Edition 7 Term 1
This week in the Secondary School
HEARTT 2000 To mark World AIDS Day this December, Year 7 held a number of events in support of their community partner, HEARTT 2000. ...
Diary Dates Friday 18th December Last day of term 1
Monday 11th January
In Service Training Day for all Staff
Tuesday 12th January First day of Term 2 begins
Star Wars and Space Science Week 窶連 trip to the International Space Station, craters on the moon and meanwhile, in a Galaxy far, far away窶ｦ
Tuesday 12th January IB Mock Examinations begin
Wednesday 20th January
House Basketball competition begins
Thursday 21th January
IB Information Evening for Years 10 and 11
Year 8 Lino Printing and International Stamps Students then developed ideas for a stamp design, based on an animal from their own country. ...
A Merry Christmas to One and All! What an event full of energy, smiles and enthusiasm from a record-breaking 200 participants drawn from Year 3 through to ...
PRIDE
I recently travelled to visit a well-known school in Asia and was asked to describe Regents. I said we are a very proud school where people are passionate about being part of our community. ‘How do you develop that sense of pride?’ was the response. This question has had me thinking ever since. I am sure I know what pride looks and sounds like. I see it in the way students treat each other, with care and consideration. I hear it in the way our students talk with teachers, with respect and engagement. I sense it in the way everyone treats our beautiful environment that Khun Kirsty and our brilliant Facilities Team work so hard to look after. I watch it on the stage in The Globe where Primary and Secondary students and staff sing together. Everywhere I look, there is a constant sense that we all care for and have pride in our wonderful school. However, how this has developed is not an easy concept to understand. I think much of it has to do with our history. Twenty years of communityfocused education. Fifteen years of being a Round Square School where strong moral values prevail. Compassionate leadership where people are at the heart of everything we do. I suspect it is all of these things and more. Perhaps it is best not to dwell too long on the why and how and just enjoy the fact that we are all very privileged to be part of Regents.
One thing I can say for sure is that Regents has a particular atmosphere; a culture that you do not find in many schools. Alumni constantly tell us how much they miss the school. Teachers who move on say the same. Having spent a few days away, I was quickly reminded of our distinctiveness upon my return. If there is one drawback to being part of Regents it is that it cannot last forever. However, just being here makes us all better people. Wherever we travel to next, we take a little piece of Regents with us. To those students who are moving on to new horizons, I wish you all the best. To Khun Anyanist, Khun Atcheree and Khun Meena I can only offer a deep and sincere gratitude for all that you have done to help shape our school through 48 years of combined service. You, like many others past and present, have created that sense of pride that makes this such a special place to be.
Merry Christmas.
Garry Russell Head of Secondary
Year 8 Lino Printing and International Stamps By Clare Garnett-Spear, Head of Art
Students have learnt to use a range of printing techniques including lino cutting. Since the beginning of Term 1, Year 8 students have been working on a print making project. Their work began with learning how to draw animals by simplifying their forms into basic shapes. They looked at the drawings of Victor Ambrus to inspire them. They then developed ideas for a stamp design, based on an animal from their own country. Students have learnt to use a range of printing techniques including lino cutting. Using their prints, students have created colourful stamps from all around the world.
Star Wars and Space Science Week By Carolyn Neylon, Head of Science Department
‘A trip to the International Space Station, craters on the moon and meanwhile, in a Galaxy far, far away…’ Spending a week celebrating a man’s trip to work does not sound interesting. When the man is European Space Agency Astronaut, Tim Peakes and his vehicle is the Soyuz Spacecraft though, suddenly it is much more exciting… Tim took off with two other Astronauts on Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked with the International Space Station early Tuesday morning. He is only the second ever British Astronaut, and the first to visit the ISS. He will be living and working on Orbit for the next 6 months! To celebrate this fantastic achievement the Science Department and a large group of students stayed late at the Secondary School to watch the Launch live. The crystal clear skies of Kazakhstan gave amazing views as the 300 ton rocket blasted off on its 6 hour journey to the ISS, and everyone was happy and relieved to see Tim on his way. Students then got the chance to go outside and
spend some time spotting craters and seas on the moon using telescopes. Sadly the weather did not want us to see the ISS though. On a related note, and in a Galaxy far far away, we were also celebrating the upcoming release of the new Star Wars film – ‘The Force Awakens’. Students throughout school got excited and took part in Star Wars themed lessons in Science, as well as speaking with Star Wars artist, Mal Tween. Mal has spent many years working as a digital artist and was recently responsible for the official Royal Mail Star Wars stamps! Students asked Mal a number of questions on a range of subjects: from his inspirations, to his favourite characters from the franchise. ‘What is easy to forget in the laboratory is that Science is as much about imagination as it is about technical ability, so it was extremely exciting to be able to celebrate two huge and inspirational events that happened this week.’
Year 8’s ‘Million Baht Challenge’ By Simone O’Connor, Head of Year 8
Research, persuasive pitches and personal values of compassion and citizenship In Growing Minds lessons this term, Year 8 students have been learning more about the role of charities in the world. Students have been looking at why people give to charity, and why charities exist, as well as considering their own personal values when thinking about which type of charitable giving is important to them. The ‘Million Baht Challenge’, which took place in the last Growing Minds session of this term, was an opportunity for students to argue why one million baht should be given to support a charity of their choice. In preparation for this challenge, students had to work in groups to research a charity and to prepare a persuasive pitch to argue why their charity was the most deserving cause. There were two rounds to the competition: one was the class final and then the winning groups from each tutor group had to present in front of the rest of Year 8 and a panel of very strict judges! The presentations which got through to the final were of an excellent standard and featured a range of charities including those of an environmental nature, health charities and international aid charities. The pitches were all really well informed and each group taught the audience a great deal about the important work of these different charities.
‘Students spoke passionately and gave confident performances, making it a very difficult competition to judge.’ All of the students who stood up in front of the front of their year group should be congratulated for their hard work and strong performances, with particular praise going to the following winning groups:
Third place:
Siddid, Champ and Jesper
Second place:
Alize, Jessica and Sonya
First place:
Anja and Debbie Well done everyone!
Year 7 has a Heart for HEARTT 2000 By Anna Weller, Head of Year 7
Year 7 cements its Community Partner link
To mark World AIDS Day this December, Year 7 held a number of events in support of their community partner, HEARTT 2000. HEARTT 2000 is a charity providing support and treatment for people suffering with HIV/AIDS. Year 7 students collected donations for strips of red fabric which they then used to make a giant AIDS awareness ribbon on the school oval. The giant ribbon was made up of 124 smaller ribbons, with each ribbon representing 20 people that HEARTT 2000 has helped – an impressive total of 2485 people so far! Also to raise awareness for AIDS, Mr Puckey and his team organised a Bed Pull in which energetic Year 7 students pulled brave members of staff along on a makeshift “bed”, collecting donations as they went. We were privileged to be joined for the events by the founder of HEARTT 2000, Dr Philippe Seur, who said he was “very, very impressed” with the work the Year 7 students had put into the events, as well as their enthusiasm and generosity. Following the events, Dr Philippe stayed on at
school to be part of a video Question and Answer session with Pitt (7.2), Jorden (7.3) and Nadesdha (7.2) to provide Year 7 with more information about his valuable work in the community. But Year 7’s efforts for HEARTT 2000 did not stop at World AIDS Day. Last Friday afternoon saw a number of keen junior chefs decorating cookies they had baked to sell at the Primary Christmas Fair. And to finish the term, students from all four Year 7 forms took part in a football tournament organized by Mr Rory Hall. Congratulations to 7.3 who were the winners of the inaugural HEARTT 2000 Christmas Cup! A special mention should be made of the HEARTT 2000 Class Representatives, Eduard (7.1), Jorden (7.2), Ricky (7.3) and Nick (7.4) for taking the lead in planning and organising these fantastic events. A fabulous team effort from all of Year 7!
Parent-Teacher Conferences in Secondary - ‘What a great success’ By Sarah Travis-Mulford, Assistant Head of Secondary ‘What a great success’. This was the comment by a parent who attended the recent Term 1 Parent-Teacher conferences in Secondary. This sentiment was echoed by other Parents and by Staff, upon conclusion of the two-day Parent-Teacher conferences which took place in the newly refurbished gymnasium. The majesty and space of the gym added to the very positive atmosphere of both evenings, for which the main focus was reflection on current progress of all students from Years 7 to 13 and target setting for the future. Thank you to all Parents who attended the event and we look forward to seeing you at future Parent-Teacher consultation events.
Disabled Ladies Home By Year 8 students Sarah, Angie, Elizabeth, Jessie and Ellie
Working collaboratively to improve the lives of others When we were Year 8, we began working together to raise some funds to support our good friends and community partner, The Disabled Ladies Home.
Through our efforts and commitment, from our involvement with this community partner in Year 8 until now in Year 9, we managed to raise 7,500 Baht.’
‘To do this we had to organize several events including a bake sale, car wash as well as other fundraising activities. It was really fun and we managed not to either poison any students or scratch any of the teachers’ cars – which was amazing for us!!’
We would like to thank all the students and staff who supported us and we are sure the Disabled Ladies Home will do something very special with the money.
We chose this community partner as at the time, many Year 8 students already supported the Disabled Ladies Home through our ASA and we really enjoyed interacting with the ladies and sharing stories and time together. We painted their nails, helped them with their makeup and beautiful hair styles. The Disabled Ladies Home management are currently raising funds to try and extend the residential area within the home so they can better care for the lovely ladies that live there. ‘We felt we could work together and make a difference.
Farewell to Kru Anyanist By Eunji and Elle, Year 10 English Student important to Thai culture. All nationalities are incredibly respectful of the Thai culture and staff, and I see this as a valuable part of Regents.”
What is the most memorable aspect of your time at Regents? “Every day! Every day has had something which has created a memory for me.”
What made you first come to work at Regents?
“My son came to study here so I decided to take a part-time job so that I could be close to him but then I ended up becoming full time, and then Head of Thai. I feel like a
Thank you for all that you have done for Regents The end of term means we say farewell to one of the longest standing members of the Regents International Staff, Kru Anyanist Gossett. Eunji and Elle from Year 10 sat down to ask her some questions in her penultimate week of term… We would like to introduce you to the most important member of staff from the Thai Department. She has been at Regents International School, Pattaya for an amazing sixteen years and four months! We had a chance to interview her.
How has the school changed in the time you have been here? “The school has changed in many ways. It has doubled in size, both students and staff, and has become much stronger in many ways.”
What is your favourite thing about Regents?
“Students! They are the most important thing. They can make us improve and learn from them - as the world is always changing, we have to know more than them! All the students are lovely and respectful, and this is very
part of the school.”
Have you enjoyed being Head of Thai?
“I don’t feel like I am the Head of the Thai Department, I feel like I am part of team where we all rely on each other. I have had lots of trust and responsibility. The only time I feel like the Head is when I have to go to meetings!”
What are your plans for the future?
“I am moving to Houston, Texas, USA. My family is already there. I will have a year off and then think about going back to work; I am thinking of working in a different Nord Anglia Education school, or something else that is linked to education.”
Will you miss Regents?
“Of course I will! I feel like I spent half my life at Regents. It will feel strange knowing that life here will go on without me. I am really sad but I am looking forward to being with my family.” We are all sad to see Kru Anyanist go but we wish her luck and success. Bye, Kru Anyanist and thank you for all that you have done for Regents. We will miss you a lot!
Secondary Chess Tournament - A true test of mental agility By Luke, Year 11 Student
As quoted by Arthur Wellesley, “The whole art of war consists of guessing at what is on the other side of the hill.” And in chess, knowing what your opponent’s next move is can, lead you to victory. From what I have seen from the matches this week, this ability has been mastered by many people throughout the year groups. Some people do not class Chess as a sport as it does not involve physical effort. However, the mental exertion used by chess players is similar to a physical workout. I have found myself physically worn out after an intense match and I am sure that most players would agree. Unlike most sports, some people don’t think chess is ‘cool’, this statement is extremely wrong.
‘Chess is cool, and I would recommend it to anyone as anyone can play. It may seem complicated or boring, but I can assure you, once you start, you will be hooked within the first move.’ From personal experience I have noticed the lack of girls in the activity. Chess may not be appealing to most people but
what we have seen from tournaments and competitions is the lack of females playing. There is no reason why females should not play and from my experience, females can become great players. Anyways, I have found great pleasure in playing chess and the community I have access to, in my experience of playing chess in tournaments and schools I have met a range of people and abilities. Chess can give you a great access to knowledge and culture. Everyone has their own tactics and strategy. During the competition I have seen blood, sweat and tears. But more so I have seen the fierce fire of competition in the eyes of the players. I cannot wait to see the outcome of the competition and I wish the best of luck to the players. I hope that while the matches are being played people do come to watch, and I wish that more people get involved because chess is a challenging activity to get involved with.
A Merry Christmas to One and All! By Emily Andrews, Head of Secondary Music
The Secondary Christmas concert. Wow! I just do not know where to start! What an event full of energy, smiles and enthusiasm from a record-breaking 200 participants drawn from Year 3 through to Year 12. As Mr. McConnell, Deputy Head of Secondary put it at the end, “We need a bigger stage!” There can be no denying that everyone left the Globe feeling in a Christmassy mood and unbelievably proud of every students’ contributions and performances. The evening was expertly compered by Hyundo and Cati, our Head Boy and Girl, who kept the audience enthralled with fun Christmas facts and jokes, as well as introducing all the acts. The performers were a real credit to themselves, performing a real variety pieces from Classical to Jazz, Folk to Rap, Traditional to Contemporary. Whatever they were doing, each student was working hard and they were all 100% engaged in the performance to keep the audience fully involved. The evening was a presentation of the Secondary Music Department’s regular groups, such as Choir, Orchestra, Big Band, Brass Group and Rock Group, but it also featured some curriculum performances from around 150 KS3 students and some newly formed groups such as the Chamber Choir, Boys vocal group ‘Dixieland’. The music chosen was challenging, but the students took the risk and met those challenges head on.
And of course, no Christmas concert is complete without an appearance from Santa and his little helper in the middle of the Year 8 song.
‘It is impossible to pick out the highlights as every item was a highlight. Thus, it only remains to say thank you to the students for their hard work, dedication and commitment: the Secondary Music Teachers are so very proud of you for your achievements and we cannot thank you enough for taking part!’ Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Theatre in the Regents’ Community By Claire Hullock, Head of Drama Department Year 9s have been exploring the process of making and performing a piece of theatre from a stimulus. After exploring physical theatre and various theatre companies from ‘Frantic’ to ‘Splendid’, 9.2 decided it was time to have an outside audience and put their theatre making process to the test! The class devised a short Christmas piece using the ‘Theatre in Education’ as a style. With the target of Early Year’s students at Regents, the class quickly organised and divided into performers, technicians, front of house team and special visiting reindeers - demonstrating how a real theatre company would operate. One of the most impressive ideas was that of the special reindeers, who spent two weeks visiting some classes to help them understand their target audience and feedback to the rest of the class. Having a live audience to perform to ensured that the students found this experience invaluable and we hope that this is the start of a sharing of work for all.
“It was fun because the kids were really nice, they reacted and had fun too. I’ve gained lots of experience of organisation.” Camille 9.2
“It was really fun because the students played a part and were really happy. I think we should do more of this so we can act in front of an audience and learn what to do next.” Kim 9.2 “It was a really good experience, not only because of the little children but also because we were able to make and write a play in two weeks! And I learnt not to get distracted and stay in role when interacting with an audience.” Thomas 9.2 From the tale told by the performers, Early Years children learned that:
1. If you eat your vegetables 2. Listen to your teachers
3. Share and be kind to your peers… You too could end up on Santa’s Nice list.
Hope it’s not too late for this advice! Good luck everyone and Merry Christmas.
Regents Exchange trip to Vidya Devi Jindal School in India By Kate , Year 9 student
Global citizenship and expressing the artist in ourselves Namaste everyone! As most of you would know, 4 lucky students, Nae Nhae, Aaditi, Nehmat and I had the chance to go on the VDJS Indian exchange trip. This experience took place from the 30th November to the 7th December. The school and all students there welcomed us into hostels that they all called “home”. They provided us with food, shelter and comfort. The VDJS girls, who took had a separate schedule, worked on a rotated shift to escort us to different classes that we had to attend. This had been previously thought out before we arrived. Our classes were very different from Regents as we had subjects such as Home Sciences i.e. cooking, textiles, sewing classes, different forms of art i.e. tie & dye, arts & craft, sculpture, fine arts and yoga. As you could probably tell, this school heavily focused on
creativity and gave everyone the opportunity to express themselves in different types of art. This reminded me of our Global Citizen identity: EXPRESSING THE ARTIST IN YOU. The students were very good and explained then demonstrated the various activities we had to do. During this experience, both our delegation and the VDJS girls experienced each other’s different cultures. They took the time to explain theirs and listened as we tried to explain ours. Since our delegation had Thai, Australian, American and Indian (plus British and French/Madagascan for the Teachers!), we brought a melting pot of cultures to the school and I think they really enjoyed our company. During the short week, we had to give a 15 minutes long presentation with a bit of Thai culture in it and information about Regents. We arranged a Thai dance and explained how our school worked. Later on in the week, we received many compliments on it.
Regarding learning about another culture, the school helped us to gain another view of India. We visited markets, a rice mill, the Indian Gate and an old folks’ home while having the best time ever. We felt as though we had conquered the hearts and friendships of the whole community. To be fair, it was reciprocal - we wanted to abduct at least 10 of our new friends and bring them back with us. After the majority of the week at school, we had the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal, in Agra (which has
outstanding architecture by the way). Random fun fact: Did you know that the four pillars surrounding the Taj Mahal are angled 5 degrees outwards so that if an earthquake hits, they would all away from the building and not ruin it? It was an invaluable experience that I will remember for the rest of my life and I think it’s safe to say that we would love to go back next year, given the chance! Luckily, they’re coming to visit us in February and we can’t wait to show them a taste of the Thai hospitality.
FOBISIA Here We Come By Tom Hart, Head of Secondary PE Since November 24th, 70 Year 7 and 8 students have been taking part in the FOBISIA trials here at Regents School, Pattaya. On Friday 11th December the team was announced and the PE Department would like to take this opportunity to thank all the students who took part in the trials and congratulate those who have been selected to represent Regents School in Penang this March.
Hannah, Greta, Felicitas, Manon, Maxim, Tyler, Andrew, Min Hyuk, Lucas, Aut, Erik, Chris, Pauly, Gorn, Ross, Yo, Richie and Seojin. After the Christmas break, these students will be training hard in preparations for their FOBISIA contest and we wish them every luck in their preparations.
Congratulations to Nehmat, Jamie, Sophia, Sophie, Stephanie, Hong, Kathleen, Four, Chantelle, Zainab, Jodie,
TERM 2 FIXTURES Day
Team
Sport
Against
Home or Away
Saturday 16th January Saturday 16th January Tuesday 19th January Tuesday 19th January Thursday 21st January Monday 25th January Tuesday 26th January Tuesday 26th January Tuesday 26th January Thursday 28th January Thursday 28th January Tuesday 2nd February Thursday 11th February
Primary / U13 Senior Boys + Girls Senior Boys + Girls Yr 6 Boys Senior Boys + Girls Primary / Secondary Senior Boys + Girls U13 Boys U13 Girls Yr 4-‐6 Boys + Girls Senior Boys + Girls U13 Boys + Girls Primary + Secondary
Football Basketball Football Football Basketball X-‐Country Football Basketball Basketball Football Basketball Football X-‐Country
St Andrews ISE ISE St Andrews ISE St Andrews REPS St Andrews St Andrews REPS St Andrews St Andrews ISE
Away Away Home Home Away Away Home Away Home Home Home Away Away
ISE ISE ISE ESAC GIS ISE GIS GIS GIS ISE St Andrews ESAC
Home Home Away Home Home Away Home Away Home Home Away Home
Half Term Thursday 23rd February Monday 29th February Monday 29th February Tuesday 1st March Thursday 3rd March Saturday 5th March Monday 7th March Tuesday 8th March Thursday 10th March Tuesday 15th March Monday 28th March Monday 28th March
U13 Boys + Girls Yr 4 -‐ 6 Boys + Girls U13 Boys + Girls U13 Boys + Girls U13 Boys + Girls U13 Boys + Girls Senior Boys + Girls U13 Boys + Girls Senior Boys + Girls Senior Boys + Girls Yr 4-‐6 Boys + Girls Secondary
Football Football Football Swim Gala Basketball Football Basketball Basketball Football Football Swim Gala Badminton
MONDAY
Track Oval
U13 Swimming (NPA)
Pool
TUESDAY
TUESDAY
3.20-‐4.30
U13 Girls Athletics (RMC) U13 Boys Football (DCO)
WEDNESDAY
U13 Swimming (NPA/MEE)
TUESDAY
6.50-‐7.45
U13 Swimming (NPA)
THURSDAY
3.20-‐4.30
U13 Girls Basketball (THA)
Sports Hall
U13 Boys Basketball (ACR)
Sports Hall
6.50-‐7.45
Pool
3.20-‐4.30
U13 Girls Football (SCO)
Oval
U13 Boys Athletics (RMC)
Track
YOU SHOULD BE AIMING TO ATTEND ALL SESSIONS
3.20-‐4.30
Pool
Late buses will be available, make sure you sign up for your bus.
Connect: www.Regents-Pattaya.com /RegentsInternationalSchoolPattaya /RegentsSchool /RegentsPattaya /TheRegentsSchool