Newsletter Primary - Nord Anglia Education

Newsletter
2015 - 2016
Primary
Edition 7
Term 1
Reading for pleasure over the Christmas holidays
This week in the Primary School
Mathematical
challenges ahead!
It is my pleasure to introduce
you to our four female,
mathematic fanatics who will
be venturing to the annual
maths FOBISIA competition ...
“An enjoyable way for our pupils to continue learning over the forthcoming break”
Diary Dates
Saturday December 12th
Primary Community Christmas Fair,
9am - 12pm
Tuesday December 15th
Primary Christmas Concert,
6pm start
Juilliard Alumnus visit
After spending a morning in the
Secondary school, Liam burst
into Year 3 and Year 5 classrooms
to demonstrate a fantastic ...
Wednesday December 16th
Secondary Christmas Concert,
6.30pm start
Thursday December 17th
Early Primary ‘Christmas Voices’
Friday December 18th
End of term class parties. School
finishes at 12.30pm for all students
Tuesday January 12th
Year 6’s adventure
in Chiang Mai
One of the special aspects of our
school is that the children have
many learning opportunities
outside of the classroom ....
Free Flow in Early
Primary
If you have ever wondered about
our Free Flow area in Early
Primary and what the children
do there - just ask them ...
Day 1 of Term 2 for all returning and
new students
Monday January 18th
Extended Learning Programme and
Clubs resume
My mother was an avid reader, and had been so all her
life. It’s the one thing that stands out above all else when
I recall the many memories I have of her. As a young boy,
and for most of the year, I did not particularly share her
enthusiasm for reading but I always knew that at Christmas,
at least one of my presents would be a book. I have to
say that mum always picked titles wisely for me as I still
have most, if not all the books that found their way under
our Christmas tree each year. The Wizard of Oz, Comet in
Moominland, Just William, All creatures great and small,
Animal farm; these are all titles I can remember spending
long periods of time reading, during those grey, snowy,
cold Christmas holidays back in
England. Obviously the weather
in Thailand is somewhat more
conducive to outdoor activities
and adventures for our students,
and I am sure that they will get
plenty of both. However it is still
worth remembering the value of
a good book when it comes to
choosing Christmas presents.
Commenting on reading for
pleasure, Oscar Wilde made this
very profound statement:
and simultaneous absorption into the various texts which
were being studied. Both myself and the class teacher
smiled at the same time as we both recognised the value,
and rarity, in such a communal moment of collectiveattentiveness, albeit that the students were wrapped up
in their individual books and thoughts. The practice of
reading for pleasure is ‘caught’ more than it is ‘taught’.
It is impossible to force a child to read for pleasure, it is
something they chose to do by themselves. This puts the
onus on us as parents to choose books for our children,
which they want to read, which they want to disappear
into their bedrooms with, and in which they are able to
lose themselves.
“It is what you read when you
don’t have to, that determines
what you will be, when you can’t
help it”.
I recently walked into one of our
Y6 classes at a time when all the
pupils were reading at the same
time. You really could cut the
air with a knife, such was the
atmosphere of concentration
James Baker
Deputy Head of Primary
I wish you all a very happy
Christmas and New year, and
remember, amongst all the
travel, parties, and family
gatherings that happen at
this time of year please find
the time, and encourage your
children to find the time, to
read at least one good book.
James Baker
Juilliard Alumnus visit
By Kristen Callaway, Head of Primary Music
Liam Day – world-class trumpeter
Tuesday 1 December, 2015 was no ordinary day in the
Primary School. We were treated to a visit from Liam Day,
Sub-Principal Trumpet of the Malaysian Philharmonic
Orchestra, Juilliard graduate and accomplished solo
musician.
After spending a morning in the Secondary school, Liam
burst into Year 3 and Year 5 classrooms to demonstrate a
fantastic variety of trumpets that he had brought with him,
from a piccolo trumpet to a gold one! All children from
Pre-Nursery to Year 1 enjoyed joining in with his rendition
of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the lunch hall and
playground were unexpectedly enlivened by the sounds of
the trumpet.
His astonishing playing impressed all who heard it, and he
performed a range of music from staples of the Baroque
repertoire, to famous film theme tunes. Liam spoke of his
admiration for John Williams, film-score composer, who
writes particularly brilliantly for brass instruments. He
also performed a piece by a living composer – a premiere
performance in Thailand.
Students of all ages asked intelligent and probing
questions about the process of becoming a professional
musician, to the mechanics of trumpet playing. The
afternoon culminated in an outstanding concert in the
Globe Theatre. Accompanied by Mr. Bob, Liam delighted
a sizeable audience of students, staff and parents with his
cool manner, skill and musicianship and (excuse the pun)
created a real ‘buzz’ about music!
Regents’ students – You’ve Been Brassed! With the
Juilliard-NAE Performing Arts Programme well and truly
underway, expect more exciting visits in addition to the
enriched curriculum you experience from week to week.
Free Flow in Early Primary
By Juliet Perrin, Head of Pre Nursery and Nursery
If you have ever wondered about our Free Flow area in
Early Primary and what the children do there - just ask
them. They would be more than happy to tell you about
it and in most cases, show you.
Visitors to our wellequipped and exciting free-flow space will often see the
children bouncing out from their classrooms when they
have time allocated in Free Flow. Always delighted to have
the chance to play and interact with children from other
classes and find their favourite places to be in Free Flow.
There is play dough to mould, a listening post to sing along
to favourite songs to, blocks to build with, books to cosy
up with and read, trampolines and a ball pit to jump in to
and at the moment a beauty salon to have a ‘manicure,
massage or hair treatment’ done. There are so many other
opportunities to engage, explore and be challenged in it
can be exhausting sometimes just watching the children
being so busy. The Free Flow area allows the children to be
independent and to make their own choices about where
they play and who they play with. Quite often a Free Flow
session will have many classes together enjoy the space
and enjoy the children certainly do!
Mathematical challenges ahead!
Christmas Discos
By Amy Collins, Year 6 Teacher
By Dale Farrington, Primary Round Square Events Coordinator
Maths FOBISIA Team prepare for some interesting challenges in March.
Thursday 3rd December was “Christmas Disco Day” in the
Primary School. During the day our younger students –
from Y1 to Y4 – enjoyed a boogie and a few party games in
the Dance Studio. Then, in the evening, it was time for our
Y5 & Y6 children to “throw some shapes” at the Secondary
Student Guild organised event in the Roundhouse. The
whole day was voted a huge success by our young, and not
so young, groovers. You can read their comments below.
It is my pleasure to introduce you to our four female,
mathematic fanatics who will be venturing to the annual
maths FOBISIA competition in March next year. The
competition will be held in the Chinese city of Guangzhou
and will take our young, courageous mathletes mercilessly
out of their comfort zone.
very excited about meeting new people from all around
the world! And last but not least is Young-Seo in 6S. YoungSeo is very much looking forward to improving her maths
skills and techniques. She thinks team work will be very
important and that confidence will also play a big part in
her performance.
First up is Maria in 6I. Maria is very much looking forward to
the challenging competition and also the new and exciting
experience of travelling to China as she has never been
there before. Secondly we have Doy in 6P. Although Doy
is a little bit nervous, she is excited about this amazing
experience that will provide her with life- long memories.
She has never been to China so is really looking forward
to this new adventure! Next we have Eun Jeong in 6S. EJ
is a bit nervous about the challenging competition but is
Over the next few months our girls be will practicing their
mathematical knowledge and skills in preparation for the
testing competition which will be held in The British School
of Guangzhou. Questions will certainly be challenging and
come in lots of different styles. There will be approximately
30 schools taking part and children will compete against
others in their age category from all over the world.
Let’s wish them luck as they begin their preparations!
I had lots of fun. I loved to dance. It was so great for
everyone. We loved it at the disco. We got some balloons
and played the “Freeze Frame” dance. I had a great time
with my friends.
Patricia 2R
It was lots of fun. My best friend and me played volleyball
with a balloon! Sometimes the balloon went on the floor.
Mr Ben played a game of Musical Bumps with everyone and
Mr Nat was playing the music. Finally, Mr Dale came to the
room and asked us to tidy up!
Pan Pan 3S
II liked having the girls v boys dancing competition
because most of the dancers were crazy. It was also good
because the girls won! I liked the balloons. They were lots
of different shapes. I would like to have another disco
because it was really fun and I saw my friends there.
Jasmehar 4I
At the disco there was a lot of food and drinks. It was great
fun but it was really noisy and dark inside. We also had a
limbo game that was super fun. Me and all my friends loved
the awesome disco, and I’d like to thank all the teachers
and the secondary kids who helped a lot and the people
who looked after us. I hope everyone had a lovely day at
the disco.
Jiwho shin 5T
The disco was a blast. It was so fun and I had a very good
time. I really liked the pizza and the other food was really
nice. I loved how there were glowsticks.I liked the game
limbo. I want to give a special thanks to the secondary and
primary student guilds, the teachers that looked after us,
and that took up their time to do that and thank you to
everyone who came.
Yani 5T
Year 3 Community Partner Visit
By Nathaniel Mulford, Year 3 teacher, Global Citizenship Leader Primary
Challenge Based Learning project to benefit Hand to Hand
It may seem like a long time ago now when, back at the
start of the year, Regents took part in the World’s Largest
Lesson. Year 3 focussed on ‘Clean Water for all’, one of the
new global goals, discovering how water can be polluted
and becomes a problem for so many people and animals,
how water is cleaned and learned all about the importance
of clean water to live healthy lives.
Following that day, Year 3 went on to find out how they
could help their Community Partner. There were several
different ideas but one important aspect about Service
Learning and helping a community partner is finding out
what they actually need. Year 3 discovered that Hand to
Hand have a water filter system at their small school but it
was not working. So they decided to raise money to pay for
someone to repair or even replace it. Ideas for fund raising
came thick and fast until the idea of a Multiplication-athon
was born. Similar to the Spellathon but for times tables
facts.
Year 3 spent days learning their multiplication facts,
collecting sponsors and finally sat the test and brought
all the money into school. Finally they had collected a
huge B30,711. Margaret Granger, the founder of the Hand
to Hand Foundation was delighted when we told her how
much we had raised. Well done to all children in Year 3 and
a huge Thank You! to all those who sponsored them.
Year 6’s adventure in Chiang Mai
By Jo Brown, Head of Year 6
New cultures, pushing comfort zones and creating lasting life experiences.
One of the special aspects of our school is that the children
have many learning opportunities outside of the classroom
and the Year 6 residential trip to Chiang Mai last week not
only enabled the children to learn about key areas of their
integrated topic, but also about themselves.
On Sunday 22nd November, our excited children and
five teachers left the familiar surroundings of Regents
International School Pattaya and made their way to the
train station in Bangkok to catch the overnight train
to Chiang Mai for our residential trip as part of their
integrated topic on Mountains and Hill Tribes. Jostling
with anticipation to get on the train, the children patiently
waited, chatting with their friends. “Who can we sit with?”
“What do you think the train will be like?” were just some
of the curious questions overheard.
Once settled on the train, the children enjoyed chatting,
reading a book, playing cards, and especially watching
the train attendants make the beds, two hours into the
journey. Fast-forward 14 hours and we arrived in Chiang
Mai before being immediately transported to our base
for the week - Prem Tinsulanonda International School; a
scenic green campus on the outskirts of the city.
Throughout the week, the children experienced various
activities including cycling, buffalo farming, a hill tribe
visit, science investigative work, a visit to the night market
and so much more. A highlight of the trip was our Karen
hill tribe stay – it was an eye-opening experience for the
students, many of whom have rarely had an opportunity
to mix with smiley, enthusiastic people who are living a
simple life in a far-off secluded little village. Some of the
children even wanted to go back and visit them. The array
of phenomenal activities gave the children the opportunity
to experience cultures and traditions particular to the
North of Thailand and the mountains.
When Thursday arrived, it was time to go home, which the
children were certainly not overjoyed about – they wanted
to stay! The train journey home was restful and reflective,
as the children talked about their week, how much fun
they had and what they had learnt from their experiences.
They all settled down for a good night’s sleep, arriving
safely back in Pattaya with plenty to talk about to their
family and friends.
Global Mentor Award
Piano success in Bangkok
By Doy, Student in 6T
By Kristen Callaway, Head of Primary Music
Gohang earns Silver prize
In November, the Yamaha Thailand Music Festival took
place in Bangkok on 7 November, 2015. For Gohang, in
Year 6, it was a very special occasion indeed.
He has played the piano for 6 years, and prepared for
this competition for approximately 6 months. With 22
participants in his category, all his hard work paid off
because Gohang was awarded the Silver Prize!
Congratulations on this fantastic achievement. I am
sure that Gohang’s success is a reminder to all Regents’
students to aspire to excellence and work hard to achieve
their own goals.
Do not live to survive; live to succeed.
Global Citizenship AWARD is not always about
time. These are some of the things he has done to
writing in a diary about all the things you reflect
achieve this award:
on. It is all about building a key to lead your future
life. Personally, I think a Global Citizen is a person,
who is not a person who keeps ideas and stories for
themselves, it is someone who shares their thoughts
with others.
A Global Citizen is someone who doesn’t give up
and keeps on trying. Even if they have finished what
they have done they look for more things to do. They
especially find more adventures and challenging
things to do.
Today, I have been interviewing Mr. Motsi, one of very
well-respected Gap staff. He told me that to earn a
Global Mental AWARD it took him a lot of effort and
*Participated in the Temple to Temple cycling event
Teaching English on Sundays to the children at the
*Abundant
Life home
Organising a donation of shoes for our community
*partner
This is a quote Mr Motsi made in his Global Citizenship
Diary:
“When you are a leader, you
should teach people, to not live
to survive, but to live to succeed”
This quote has inspired me; those
words, those ordinary words, just
inspired me. It made me read the
quote again and again.
Those of you who are reading
this, I want to inspire you to fill
in your Global Citizenship Diary.
Remember, this is not a waste of
time. The time you spend writing
in your diary will be a life time
memory and it shall be worth a lot
of things.
This diary shall be the KEY to
lead your future; this KEY shall
gradually build your future into a
better one.
Another cracking term of sport draws to an end.
By David Collins, Head of Primary PE
FOBISIA Trials:
The Primary FOBISIA trial period concluded this week,
after much sweat and endeavour was expended by our
eager Primary athletes. We would like to congratulate all
of the pupils for their participation throughout the two
weeks. The level of determination and commitment on
show meant the task of choosing a squad was very difficult.
Congratulations to all the successful children and for those
who have missed out this year, I do hope you can harness
your initial disappointment and turn it to your advantage
in the future.
House T-Shirts:
Our new house t-shirts are now available for purchase from
finance at a cost of 350BHT. With the Primary Sports Days
taking place in early February it is imperative that parents
purchase their child’s house t-shirt before these events.
Regents Lions Swim Kit:
We are very pleased to announce the introduction of a new
Regents Lions swim kit. Boys and girls swim costumes are
now available to purchase. Please see attached picture for
more information and costings.
Christmas Fair:
Amidst all the sport we will still manage to squeeze in
some festive cheer, with the upcoming Primary Christmas
Fair, which will be held on Saturday 12th December. Please
come along and join in with some festive games hosted by
the PE department.
The PE department would like to take the opportunity
to congratulate all of our Primary pupils for their part in
what has been an action packed Term 1 of sport. We wish
all our pupils and parents a very safe, healthy and happy
Christmas and we very much look forward to seeing you all
in the New Year.
Adventures in Boarding
DATES
VENUE FOR SATURDAY TRIP
COST ( THB )
20 and 21 May 2016
KHAO KAEW ZOO
3000
27 and 28 May 2016
NONG NOOCH / BUDHA MOUNTAIN
3000
3 and 4 Jun 2016
FLOATING MARKET
3000
10 and 11 Jun 2016
CYCLING
3000
17 and 18 Jun 2016
CARTOON NETWORK
( Primary Exclusive )
4000
By Steve Rand, Head of Boarding
Grab some fun!
Here’s something we bet you didn’t know about Boarding.
We are very happy for day students to join our weekend
activities and have some great experiences in our Boarding
community.
We particularly welcome day students from Years 4 to
10 to join our programme from Friday immediately after
school to Saturday evening, though we can be flexible
about arrangements. Occasionally we will arrange special
weekends for our Primary students where they will
participate in a trip designed exclusively for them.
If you would like to benefit from our Boarding community
in this way, take a look at what we have planned for
weekends this year in the table below.
DATES
VENUE FOR SATURDAY TRIP
COST ( THB )
15 and 16 Jan 2016
GO KARTING
4000
22 and 23 Jan 2016
WAKEBOARDING
4000
SNORKELING ( Seniors)
3000
HORSESHOE POINT
( Primary Exclusive )
3000
26 and 27 Feb 2016
CYCLING
3000
4 and 5 Mar 2016
PAINTBALL
4000
MURDER MYSTERY ( Seniors )
3000
SNOW TOWN ( Primary Exclusive )
3000
25 and 26 Mar 2016
AYUTTHAYA BOAT TRIP
4000
22 and 23 Apr 2016
FLIGHT OF GIBBON
4000
6 and 7 May 2016
ATV Tour
4000
3000
13 and 14 May 2016
ICE SKATING - Mega Bang-Na
( Seniors )
KIDZANIA ( Primary Exclusive )
4000
29 and 30 Jan 2016
18 and 19 Mar 2016
Places are limited each weekend, so please contact me at [email protected] well in advance if you
would like to join us. We look forward to seeing you soon in Boarding!
Connect:
www.Regents-Pattaya.com
/RegentsInternationalSchoolPattaya
/RegentsSchool
/RegentsPattaya
/TheRegentsSchool