REGENTS` NEWSLETTER

EDITION 6 Term 1 2014/2015
REGENTS’ NEWSLETTER
SECONDARY
THis Week in the secondary newsletter
CALENDAR DATES
Saturday 29th Nov
Primary Christmas Fair
History Competition experts win
Saturday 29th Nov
‘A Christmas Carol’ matinee
performance
Monday 1st Dec
Mock Examinations Begin
Year 11 & 13
Friday 5th Dec
School Closed – HM King’s
Birthday
Sunday 7th Dec
Boarders’ Christmas Dinner
HISTORY DRESS UP DAY
Monday 8th Dec
Mock Examinations continue
Year 11 & 13
Tuesday 9th Dec
Primary Christmas Music
Concert
Wednesday 10th Dec
Secondary Christmas Music
Concert
AWARD FOR GARRY RUSSELL
Wednesday 10th Dec
Grade Reports Issued – Year 7,
8, 9, 10, 12
Thursday 11th Dec
Secondary Sports Day
Thursday 11th Dec
Staff Triathlon
Friday 12th Dec
School Closes at 12.30
U15 FOBISIA GAMES
The Power of 31…
2001 was a great year. It was a year in which three key events
happened in my life. Firstly, My wife and I got married
in the pretty little village of Great Wakering. Secondly, I
took up running (mainly to fit into my wedding suit) and
developed a passion that has led to 25 half-marathons and
3 full marathons. Thirdly, my family took the decision to
teach overseas and started down a pathway that had led us
to the fortunate position of living and working at Regents.
All of this happened whilst I was 31.
ideas and, ultimately, become better leaders. Last month
our secondary students scored over 7000 hits on Global
Classroom, our innovative online learning platform that
is unique to Nord Anglia Education schools. This month
we shared training in Dubai with 9 of our sister schools.
Next term we shall be sending a team of students to
Tanzania to take part in the Nord Anglia Education annual
expedition. There are many more exciting opportunites
planned between our schools. All of these opportunities
exist because we are a team of 31.
Nord Anglia Education is now a family of 31 schools spread
across the globe. Each school is different and, like every As schools we are all very strong. However, together we are
organisation, each school has its own strengths. One of even stronger. We are more powerful in supporting our
the reasons I enjoy working at
students and teachers by giving them
Regents so much is that I feel
access to the best possible learning
part of that family that supports
opportunities. As a family of schools
and challenges each other to be
there is nothing we cannot achieve.
the best they can possibly be.
There are no limits. Just as the
This year we have been fortunate
Russell family is stronger together, so
to have been joined by Miss
is the Nord Anglia Education family.
Batty and Miss Holmes, both
The power of 31!
from Nord Anglia Education
schools and both of whom
Garry Russell
bring a wealth of experience
and expertise. Just recently Mr
Press and I completed the Nord
Anglia University Leadership
Programme which allowed
us to meet colleagues, share
GARRY RUSSELL,
Head of Secondary
Champions return to defeat the teachers
BY Jed, Sung Eun, Kevin and Brandon, Year 8 students, Masters of the History Bee and
Bowl
For the Living History Week,
Miss Jones approached
us four Year 8 students,
to take part in a History
Competition,
Students
Vs Teachers. She asked us
because we had previously
travelled to Bangkok to
compete in a History
competition against the top
brains in Thailand, and we
had won! So, on Thursday
13th November, the Thailand
national champions of the
History Bee and Bowl came
out of retirement to face off
against a formidable foe; the
Senior Management Team
of Regents International
School Pattaya. I must give them credit; they put a lot of
strain on a team that had not been in a competition for
some time but was it good enough to win?
The battle began and both sides fired their makeshift
buzzers (musical instruments) and inflicted heavy
damage upon each other, gaining points for each question
answered correctly. After the first round the scores were
added up; we were in the lead but only just!
Then came the second round…. with added bonus points.
Questions got harder and points were awarded for every
bonus question answered. The bonus round got the
teachers sweating and jittery, but still we held our nerve.
Every second counted as we began to get scared that the
teachers seemed to
be catching up with
us. The second round
came and went, still
we were leading.
The final round came,
a quick fire round, the
chosen topic of the
teachers was leaders
in History, and our
chosen topic was
Russian battles. At
one point, it seemed
to the crowd that the
teachers may catch us
up when…..
History Competition experts win again
… the lunch bell rang for the end of lunch ending the
competition. The scores were counted up, both sides
anxious to see who had won. After careful counting by
Miss Jones, to the teachers’ horror, and to our delight, we
were announced as champions; the Round House erupted
with applause. Winning the History bowl was fun but
beating the teachers was an even better experience! We
would like to thank the teachers for the very amazing
match-up and Miss. Jones and Mr. Kilgallon, who were in
the bowl with us and managed to pull off such an amazing
Living History Week!
Is war ever just ?
Maths Workout – can you meet the challenge?
By Roma, Year 12 student
By Andrew Perrins, Head of Mathematics
On the 12th of November, History
students held a most intense debate
regarding a very serious question;
‘Is there such thing as a just war?’
Led by myself, with the help of IB
students SungWoo and Karl, four
students on both sides of the debate
gathered strong pieces of evidence to
help them answer the question, and
bravely argued in front of a packed
room of teachers and students.
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
The proposing team, consisting
of Year 11 students Sophie, Ellis,
ChaeWan and Year 10 student Luke,
had a lot of work to do as they had to
argue that in certain circumstances
Living History Week Debate
war can be deemed ‘just’. Despite the
fact that their side of the argument
seemed difficult to support, they
Both teams had been given the same time to arrange their
managed well and were able to make strong points using points, and had worked closely with Mrs Mulford and
powerful evidence, giving the audience and the judges Miss Jones to ensure their arguments were strong and
something to think about.
concise. Having said that, the research put into the debate
The opposing team, consisting of Year 10 students Oleksiy,
Osman, Fareeda and Bryan argued that there was no such
thing as a ‘just’ war. This team was particularly strong and
really grasped the attention of the audience with very
powerful presenters and carefully argued points.
was student led, showing great initiative from all students
involved.
The teams’ arguments and points were judged by the three
judges; Mr. Bolland and two student representatives, Hayk
and Louis. These three judges had a hard time deciding
which team was the winner, but
they eventually concluded that the
winning team were the opposition,
arguing against a ‘just’ war. The judges
specifically commented on how the
opposing team did a really good
job of presenting their argument
and addressing the audience.
Despite the loss of the other team,
everyone agreed they did a great job
considering the difficult nature of
the topic.
Well done and thank you to all who
participated in this year’s Living
History Week debate.
After playing 500 games,
my success rate at Spider
Solitaire is 49%.
Assuming I win every game
from now on, how many
extra games do I need to play
in order that my success
rate increases to 50%?
Congratulations again to Mr Mulford in Primary, also
to Renee Sullivan, and to the mystery e mailer who
sadly didn’t include their name, all of whom correctly
worked out that you would need to play an extra 10
games in order to increase your success rate to 50%.
After 500 games, I have won
500 × 49/100 = 245 games.
So I have lost 255 games.
Therefore I need to win the
next 10 games to have a 50%
success rate.
This next puzzle involves some more probability, as well as an understanding of symmetry. As ever, please email in your
solutions to [email protected], and don’t forget your name!
A square is divided into eight congruent triangles, as shown.
Two of these triangles are selected at random and shaded black.What is the
probability that the resulting figure has at least one axis of symmetry?
Thanks to www.nrich.maths.org for their weekly puzzles
Historical Fancy Dress
World War One Poetry
By Samantha Jones, Head of History
By Samantha Jones, Head of History
2014 marked the 100 year anniversary of the start of the
First World War. Such an important event deserved
respect, commemoration and whole school involvement in
remembering those who have fought in past and present
wars. However, the event also gave Regents an opportunity
to celebrate History and get involved in remembering all
different periods, events and historical figures that are
important to us. Therefore, for the first time ever, Regents
History Department challenged students to come to
school wearing historical costume for one whole day. After
much deliberation, the History Department staff decided
to dress up as Rosie the Riveter (go look her up!) but this
costume paled in comparison to the costumes that many of
the students had pieced together. We had Romans, Tudors,
cowboys, hippies, Egyptians, gangsters, soldiers, Victorians
and even our very own Audrey Hepburn! The costumes
were amazing! So much thought had gone into them and all
students looked fabulous! Thank you to all that took part;
next year we hope to see even more History being brought
to life.
Each year the History Department are overwhelmed with
the hard work students in Year 9 put into studying World
War One and life in the trenches. This year we have once
again been inundated with excellent pieces of work that
deserve recognition.
Students in Year 9 have been studying life within the
trenches, learning about the terrible conditions soldiers
had to face on a daily basis whilst fighting for their country.
They looked at pictures of trench foot, investigated the
food that was on offer, heard about the rats and lice that
infested the trenches and read primary evidence to try and
develop a sense of empathy for the men involved.
Students also looked at different examples of war poetry,
written first hand by soldiers such as Wilfred Owen. After
studying his famous poem, Dulce et Decorum Est, they
put pen to paper to produce their own piece of poetry
connected to war. There were so many excellent pieces of
work it was hard to choose which ones to publish in the
newsletter; however, we finally decided to select the three
here.
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did.
How creative are Regents’ students?!
Life in the trenches
Creative lessons in ICT to encourage challenge and taking
risks
By Teresa Loader, Head of ICT
Iuliia 8Y
“When we took the computers apart we were able to see what was inside it, such
as the motherboard and the RAM. It was great fun!”
Bagas 8Y
“Dismantling the PC was fun and interesting because we saw all of the
components inside the PC that we have never seen before”
Hari 8Y
“It was a real challenge to take the PC’s apart because of all of the wires and
different components. We didn’t know if we would be able to get them back in,
in the same place. We all managed to despite making mistakes along the way. It
was so much fun and really interesting!”
The lesson is literally falling apart!!
Students in 8B and 8Y were given the
challenge in their ICT lessons this week to
deconstruct a PC whilst cataloguing the
key components within. Students had to
map and record the dismantling process,
identifying the different parts and their roles.
To reinforce their learning students drew
parallels with the human body, for example,
the processer being like the human brain and
the motherboard like the central nervous
system.
Once the computers had been dismantled,
students had to coach each other through
the rebuild, ensuring all components were
in the correct place and correctly assembled.
Students were exploring and reinforcing
their ICT and computing language at every
step of the process. It was great to see
students understanding that Computers are
much more than machines to play games on
or use for work.
Let’s talk about Knowledge…
By Liam Steele, TOK Coordinator
Buddy Reading with Early Years
By Jessica, Year 7G student
On Tuesday 25th November,
Year 7 and Reception children
got together and read some of
our favourite books. During the
reading, everyone made new
friends and learnt a little about
each other, and even themselves.
Reading with the buddies
really brought back the past
experiences of Year 7. Even
though
many
reception
children were shy towards the
‘big children, eventually it all
turned out that everyone found
a buddy with whom they felt
comfortable.
At the very core of the International Baccalaureate Diploma
course, alongside the Extended Essay and Creativity,
Action and Service (CAS) is Theory of Knowledge. Theory
of Knowledge, known to students as, “T.O.K”, is an intensive
course into understanding the nature of what is knowledge.
How is knowledge formed? These essential questions
underpin the Theory of Knowledge course, which teaches
the students to question the way they know things. It
covers many areas from memory, to reason, emotion, sense
perception and language. The course, combined with the
Extended Essay, can award students up to three points of
their diploma score. It really can make a difference when
aspiring to gain entry into one’s university of choice.
Over the last two weekends, based at school, Year 13 students
have been undertaking the first part of their assessment in
this subject. The task was a 10-15 minute presentation on a
‘T.O.K’ area of their choice. Students had to find what the
Theory of Knowledge course calls a ‘Real Life Situation’.
Across Year 13 there were many exciting examples,
ranging from the pitfalls of DNA in prosecution through
to students being inspired by films such as ‘My Sister’s
Keeper’. Although this was the easy process, after having
found a topic of interest, the students had to formulate
a knowledge question. Many of the students found this
extremely difficult, as the question is the foundation of
their overall success in the presentation. Some interesting
questions of note:
• What role does language play in shaping an identity?
• How far does faith influence the acquisition/ acceptance
of knowledge in history and the natural sciences?
• To what extent does the methodology of different areas
of knowledge provide us with definitive answers?
For many of the students they found this a grueling
experience, and were extremely nervous standing up in
front of their peers to present a complicated presentation.
Ksenia in Year 13 commented: “At first I didn’t want to do it
as I was so nervous. But now I have completed it, I found I
really enjoyed it. I could do it all over again.”
The presentations are now over, and we are pleased to
announce that the Year 13 students this year excelled in
their presentations, with some scoring top marks.
So what is the future? The students now have to complete
a 1600 word essay on a preset question from the IB
examination board. As TOK coordinator, I am positive the
students will feel the same diverse emotions again in these
coming weeks. I would like to wish them the very best of
luck for their forthcoming essay.
My experience was with two
separate children: the first
one was a young boy who was
uncomfortable
around
us
therefore he paired up with
someone else and I (as
you may guess) had to
find another partner
who to my luck she
was enthusiastic and
energetic about the
reading.
As I was reading the
book,
Winnie
the
Witch, it brought back
many memories of
when I was read to. It
also reminded me of
when ‘big children’
came to read with me
they laughed at how
small the chairs were;
I now understand how
ridiculously small they
seemed.
Behind the Scenes of Science Lessons
By Christine Press, Science Technician
Secondary Staff are treated to another outstanding session
of ‘Sharing Good Practice’
By Sarah Travis-Mulford, Assistant Head of Secondary
JAWS for Science Technicians
The much anticipated Secondary School’s ‘Sharing Good
Practice’ session for Term 1 took place on Tuesday 25th
November during a staff meeting session. A carefully
selected group of willing volunteers shared teaching and
learning practice covering the following topics: ‘Changing
Mindset in a Psychology classroom’, An Introduction to
the English Department’s Green Pen Policy, How Review
Books have been put to successful use in the Mathematics
Department, a Review of the uses of ‘Blendspace’ and
‘Powtoon’ and to end, Top Tips for Effective Display
presented by our Art Intern, Mona.
Of particular note, ‘An Introduction of the Green Pen
Policy’ was a resounding success, with no pens or policy
cards left in the room at the end of the session. The Top
Tips for Effective Display caused a stir, with the Head of
the Art Department and the Head of the Mathematics
Department being encouraged to seek out cross-curricular
collaboration for future displays around the school! On
the newly created ‘Learning to do’ laminated cards on
teachers’ classrooms, Mr Lyford has declared in the spirit
of growth mindset that he is, ‘Learning to… make displays!’
Thanks to Sara Calverley, Laura Butler, Andrew Perrins,
Helen Russell, Jenny Ball and Mona Yapova for giving
up their time and enthusiasm and for sharing their good
practice with the whole of the Secondary staff.
‘Changing Mindset in a Psychology classroom’
Over the weekend of the 15th of November, Science
Technicians from nine FOBISIA schools in five different
countries met at Regents School to take part in the first
ever Job Alike Workshop (JAWS) for technicians. This was
a pioneering event and was a great opportunity for all the
technicians to get together, share ideas and learn from
each other with the goal to make our jobs easier and help
both students and teachers in our schools.
On the first day, the visiting technicians were able to see
our science department and learn about how it’s developed
over the last few years. There was then a long round table
discussion that covered topics from health and safety to
the best suppliers for different types of equipment. In
the afternoon, some of our Science Teachers: Mr Press,
Ms Ball, Mrs Neylon and Mr Taylor, gave their time to
spend a session with the technicians on subject specific
topics so we could learn more about setting up particular
experiments.
On Sunday there was more opportunity for discussion
and lots of plans for the future were made including
developing a blog for us all to share hints and tips for
science experiments and trying to organise training for
us all from the British health and safety organisation
CLEAPSS. Overall, it was a very useful workshop and
everyone felt that they got something out of it and, here at
Regents, we are hoping that it will start building safer and
more interesting science experiments for our students.
Garry Russell to be awarded an MA (Ed) in Education from
Leeds Trinity University
Head Student Elections and Results
BY Mark Loader, Professional Development Co-ordinator
By Megan, Year 13 Democracy Pillar Leader
Our Head of Secondary, Garry Russell has had a
particularly busy time since arriving at the school in
August 2013. Alongside the common challenges of being
a father and a husband with his family settling into a new
home, culture, climate and school he has been working on
his own personal development to complete a Masters in
Education.
of head teachers operating in different circumstances:
Primary, Secondary and all through schools; Independent
and Government–Funded schools; schools in the UK
and in Asia; schools offering British and International
curricula. The aim of the research was to discover the
common attributes of these individuals and how this
contributed to the success of the research schools.
As a champion for professional development and to
demonstrate world class practise, his dissertation is titled
“Dealers in hope: the behaviours of outstanding leaders”. It
involved working with head teachers of schools that have
been consistently ranked as outstanding by inspectors for
a sustained period. His work aimed to capture the wisdom
We are very fortunate he is bringing this knowledge and
experience to our school to complement the strengths
of the leadership team and it is a delight that his efforts
are being appropriately recognised with this outstanding
qualification.
All our student leaders are outcomes of democratic
elections since student voice is strongly valued in
our school. This year, to encourage more students
to vote for the Head Students, the election process
was altered to be more interactive. Since they could
only show us so much during their speeches, we
gave the Head Boy and Head Girl candidates the
opportunity to get out their comfort zone and
face their public. Campaign week was held over
a period of two weeks instead of one and focused
on giving candidates an opportunity to showcase
their creativity and awareness of global issues,
using their improvisation skills.
AWARD FOR GARRY RUSSELL
Starting off the week with a scenario based
question and answer session; the student body was
able to assess how well their future leaders would
be able to handle sudden, unforeseen situations.
This was followed by a world issues question
session the next day. The first week of campaign
week was concluded by a heated debate held by the
tuck shop. The debate topic this year was: School hoodies
should be allowed to be worn in class. This has been a
prominent debate between the teachers and students ever
since it was introduced into the school uniform shop, thus
the head students gathered up the courage to battle the
issue out. The outcome of the debate paid dividends – all
Secondary students are now allowed to wear their hoodies
in lessons!
The following week included a ‘Hot Seat’ session, which
allowed the student body to shoot questions at the Head
Student candidates during Tuesday lunch time. This is an
activity introduced this year which allows
the student body to become more familiar
with the candidates. To encourage more
student votes this year, the ballot system
was reintroduced. It was voted on last
academic year by the student body in a
Round Square Council meeting for the
ballot system to be brought back. It is
a more interactive way for students to
vote and has proven to be effective as the
number of students who voted this year
increased significantly, with the total votes
cast being over 500.
Last of all, congratulations to Game
Hasthanasombat and Tusnim Jantaradaval,
the newly elected Head Students and to all
the outstanding candidates who survived
the hard fought campaigns!
Staff Profile
Staff Profile
Introducing Clara the Gappie
Introduciing Ntokozo Yende (Tots), Gappie
By Ntokozo Yende, Gap Staff
By Clara Beermann, Gap Staff
CLARA Beermann, THE GAPPIE
Meet Clara, our sophisticated German Gappie who often
goes by the catchphrase, “Beermann with a double e and
double n”, when clarifying the spelling of her last name to
fellow Germans. Born in Bad-Honnef and raised in Berlin
from the tender age of 3, Clara is the youngest of 3 sisters.
Having been placed in an accelerated learning program
from the beginning of high school, Clara graduated from
the German Abitur with remarkable grades in June this year.
Clara’s uncertainty about university paths lead her to apply
through an organization called Gudrun-Frey-Stiftung, for a
Gap year placement relating to music of which to our luck,
she was placed in the Regents community.
Many of you might have come across Clara in both the
Primary and Secondary
music rooms, Primary
classes and the corridors
and have been stunned by
her posture. No, she isn’t
a ballerina; she is, in fact,
a tennis player, violinist,
Pilate’s champion and waltz
star.
Your first impression of Tots, whose actual name is
Ntokozo, might be that she is a crazy, funny person, who
jumps around the whole time and is always in a good
mood. But Tots is more than that. She is a smart, educated
and very honest person. Most of the time, she knows what
she wants in life and how to get it.
Living up to the German
stereotype of punctuality
and reliability, Clara is one
of the few people you can
count on to be there at the
right time and do what is
required at the best of her
ability and often, to go the
extra mile.
towards completing her IB, which she gained from the
United World College Red Cross Nordic in Norway with
excellent results in May this year.
In between music lessons,
studying and playing tennis,
Clara is a certified mentor
for youth support systems
in Germany and often
spends her time at a local
church in Berlin facilitating
activities for the youth.
What makes Clara stand
out from the crowd is her respectfulness towards her peers
and those around her, her meticulous talent to retell stories
with great humour and her creativity when it comes to
inventing and/ imitating dance moves.
When taking the time to get to know Clara, you will soon
realise that she is friendly and undoubtedly humorous
as a few minute conversation with her is sure to result in
laughter.
A word to the wise, take the time to interact briefly with
the German Beermann and get enchanted with her super
powers that will make you smile.
This is evident in the various projects she has taken part
in while attending the all-girls Round Square School, St.
Cyprians in Cape Town, South Africa and whilst working
to raise 150, 000 Norwegian Kroner through various
fundraising activities such as bake sales and concerts.
With this money, DROP began to and is still in the process
of rebuilding a school in Ghana which hadn’t undergone
any structural developments in the last 67 years.
Tots’ plans for the future are as big as those in her past.
Although she has places in two prestigious universities,
her time here as a Gappie at Regents has resulted in her
change in University choices as she is now looking at
reapply to universities which offer cooperative education.
The reason for this shift is that she has realized that in
order to pursue a career in international business, it is
necessary to gain work experience as part of her degree.
Her big dream is to work for “Daimler AG” or similar
large companies.
Tots has attended six international conferences in the past
4 years of which three were Round Square conferences,
one a Global Leadership Adventure , another a Conflict
Resolution Camp in New York
in the USA and the most recent
Ntokozo
one a service project at a school
for the blind in Poland.
At the age of 14, she was an
activist at Equal Education, an
organization which stood for
the equality amongst schools in
South Africa and later moved on
to head an organization called
Youth for AIDS Awareness
where her colleagues and her
sponsored three children lead
households in South African
and Swaziland who were
affected by HIV/AIDS.
But her most treasured and
most recent project was
launched this summer. During
her term as the treasurer and
chairperson for an organization
called ‘Do Remember Other
People (DROP)’ from February
2013 until May 2014, she managed
Yende, THE GAPPIE
Art ASA exhibition as part of Remembrance Day
Here is one account of the project from one of our young
artists Jirawong in Year 8:
carefully. When I finished painting red on the flower, Mrs
Perrins taught me to add some pink on the petals; it was a
very great idea!
Jirawong, Year 8 Art student
In the second topic we learned to make poppies for the
brave soldiers who sacrificed themselves for their country
during war. People will wear poppies for Remembrance
Day – the 11th November. We had to cut the petals and a
circle out. The circle was for the base of poppy. We were
able to design the shape of petals by ourselves. We also
needed a bead for the flower core too. Then finally, we
threaded the petals together with the base and the bead.
It was a very amazing handycraft activity. I enjoyed the
activities very much!
By Katherine Perrins, Head of Art
Hello, I am Jirawong. I did many interesting activities in
the After School “ART & DESIGN” Activity. For the first
topic, we learned to draw a kind of flower drawing which
is painted with black colour. We only left one flower to be
red. It was different and it made the only red flower look
very unique and elegant. The Art Teacher told us to look at
the flowers when you are drawing them, so you won’t drain
the details. It was a good method for learning to draw more
Remembrance through Art
As part of Living History
Week, the Art department
teamed up with History to
create a mini exhibition
to remember the fallen
soldiers of World War 1
and 2. Based on looking at
the photographs of our Art
Intern Technician, Mona who
had visited the battlefields of
Ypres, the students created
a range of watercolour stilllife paintings entitled: ‘Red
in a field of Black and White’.
The only criteria was that
one part of the picture had
to be red whilst the rest was
monochrome, echoing the
symbolism of the lone poppy
growing amongst a field of
destruction.
‘Red in a field of Black and White’
Regents U15 team take FOBISIA by storm
By Tom Hart, Secondary PE Coordinator
This year’s U15 Regents FOBISIA team performed exceptionally during the games held at St Andrews, Bangkok. The
team left Regents on Friday 14th November, excited and confident heading into four days of intensive competition.
The team finished in 4th Place overall after some fantastic individual and team performances. Regent’s girls took gold
in the basketball and silver in the Football, with the boys finishing in bronze position for the basketball and just out
of the medals in 4th place in the football. Overall in the athletics, the team finished 4th and 5th in swimming. The
FOBISIA competition was a fantastic experience for all those involved and the PE Department would like to take this
opportunity to congratulate the students not only on their performances, but their conduct both in and outside of
competition – the students were a real credit to the school.
Eunji Noh 9Y
“On the day we went to Bangkok
for FOBISIA I was so excited and
nervous because it was the first
time that I have ever participated in
a sports competition.
It was a tiring day for me after the
competition. On the last night in
Bangkok, we danced together at
the gala dinner and it was fun.
I wish FOBISIA lasted longer!”
Grant Day 9Y
“I had lots of fun during FOBISIA
between the great results we got
and very amusing events in the hotel,
like Roma’s toga party! My favourite
moment during FOBISIA was the 4 x 50
meter swimming relay.
We were in fourth position for most of
the race but during the last stretch we
caught up and were tied for third, but
when the result came up on the board
we had won third. We had won by a
fifth of a second: Sebastian, Connor,
Owen and myself were absolutely lost
for words at the fact we had gotten
third against all odds.”
FOBISIA U15 GAMES 2014
Regents JUMP!ing into Global Citizenship with D’Arcy Lunn
By Aina Rakotonirina, Round Square Coordinator
D’Arcy Lunn, Global Educator visits
Regents
By Sung Eun, Year 8 student
“Leadership is overrated, … but passion and determination
are the key to a growth mindset’
“Leadership is overrated” says D’Arcy Lunn. This was
a challenging statement, and helped to make the short
period of time that we spent with our guest D’Arcy Lunn as
both memorable and enlightening. A group of Secondary
students leaders, including members of the Student Guild,
Pillar Leader candidates, our new Head Boy and Head Girl
with a few other enthusiasts , remained for one hour after
school on Monday, to talk about leadership and challenge
with D’Arcy.
We first started with a few strange handshakes, most
notably the wet fish handshake which required the slapping
of each other’s forearms, then proceeded into some
questions about Jump’s three principles; Inspire, Empower
and Engage. We talked about how we can get someone
inspired, empowered and engaged. An example of one of
our answers to D’Arcy Lunn’s questions about how to get
someone engaged into a particular project, we needed to
be passionate and determined about something and that
was the only way to successfully draw other people into
your project.
Another thing d’Arcy talked to us about was Growth vs
Fixed Mindset. Having a Growth mindset leads you to
more challenges, which in turn induces more growth,
while having a fixed mindset tends to make yourself avoid
challenges and walk a comfortable path which may lead
you into not achieve your full potential.
Having D’Arcy teaching us, we felt like we have learnt
about things that we never knew about. Sometimes it’s
about taking risks and getting out of your comfort zone.
Thank you D’Arcy for spending your time with us to teach
us about thing that we did not know before!
D’Arcy Lunn visits Regents
KS3 students had the privilege to listen and participate
in a presentation by D’Arcy Lunn, a truly inspirational
global educator. D’Arcy, who has been working for many
organizations such as JUMP! Foundation or ‘Live below the
line’ came back after a productive visit last February.
For the past month, he’s been travelling through Asia
with his ‘JUMP!ing into Global Citizenship’ Tour. Regents
jumped on the opportunity to hear his thoughts about
what makes a global citizen. He surprised us first by saying
that everyone could have their own definition. Many
students then realized they were on the way to being
global citizens or that they were already there. He made
them realize they have an impact on the world around
them even by the smallest things that they do. D’Arcy
emphasized on an initiative called ‘Teaspoons of change’
which revolves around making personal daily changes that
then, with time, have positive impacts on the people and
on the planet. It was a very interactive presentation as many
students contributed ideas of changing something small in
their daily lives in order to make a positive influence in the
world and be able to give in their own small contribution.
A number of student leaders, including our new Head
students, then participated in a smaller workshop afterschool. We took the time to break the ice by sharing
different international hand-shakes such as the lumberjack
or the wet fish and then shared our views on three key
words: inspire, empower and engage. D’Arcy had an
interesting opinion on leadership as he showed us a short
TED talk by Derek Sivers called “How to start a movement”
that proved that as a leader, it is crucial to have that first
follower and to nurture him/her as much as possible as
they will play a key role in your quest.
Overall, it’s always good to have different points of views
and looking at Global Citizenship through different
perspectives. It has always been a pleasure having D’Arcy
at our school, as each time he re-visits us, he always has
something new and something enriching for us to learn.
Remember! Making that first step of moving out of your
comfort zone and challenging yourself to something
different, something new, can be the step that makes a
world of a difference!
A Chair’s perspective of the St Andrews Model United Nations
Conference
By By Gigi, Year 11 Student
Every
experience
is
different,
and
those
experiences are made by
the people you surround
yourself with and the
situations you put yourself
in. This was one of those
experiences, which was
definitely not a waste of a
Saturday. The anticipation
for an event like this
never truly prepares you
for what happens, and
I take immense joy in
experiencing things that
are a surprise.
Walking into St Andrews,
I had no idea what to
expect. I’ve been to a
number of conferences
over my time involved with Model United Nations (MUN),
and have been to countries around the world to participate
in some, and I still have yet to prepare myself for what
happens behind those classroom doors.
Since it was the school’s first conference, I wasn’t expecting
much. I’ve been to conferences set up completely last
minute, and others that were prepared years in advanced,
and not one had been the same. A memory can be affected
by the emotions conveyed, so I kept my spirits high and
worried less on the anxiety that was settling in my stomach.
MUN is a way to meet new people. The people from my
school who participated in this conference aren’t from
my year, and thus don’t talk much to others (like myself)
and I found myself hoping that I would make at least one
friend so that I wouldn’t have to sit alone at lunch. Luckily,
I found myself those friends.
My committee was small and new; they were beginners
in all aspects. It allowed for more speaking, as well as a
valuable learning experience. Resolutions were written
“Children are our future leaders” is a quote used
by many, but isn’t respected in the way I thought
it would be. We are unable to understand
“adult situations” while we are still treated like
infants, but MUN takes that out of the equation.
Delegates are not required to ask if they “can/
may” use the bathroom out of necessity, but
we are obliged to ask for “a point of personal
privilege” as a way of letting the respective
others know that you won’t be present for a
while.
MUN is an activity that gives young adults the
respect that teachers/parents/authority figures
withhold because of social norms. It’s an activity
that gives great conversation starters (“Did you
hear about the diminishing oil source that
could be depleted in fifty years, causing the human race to
run havoc and chaos?”) and allows for new horizons to be
discovered. I had a good time, anyway!
A newcomer’s reflection on why you
should all do MUN for your ASA!
with as much enthusiasm as they could muster, the debate
had been uplifting and overall inclusive. Friendships
were created amidst the discussions of the financial
establishments of countries all over the globe.
It was exciting. No one can anticipate that immediate
reaction people have when faced with a difficult
question to answer, or presenting a fool proof point. It
was something that filled rooms with confidence, even
from the shyest of people. The conference built character,
changed perspectives, created confidence within walls of
a completely different environment amongst an audience
of new faces.
People find MUN taxing; those who are too lazy to come
up with change or responsibility, as well as those lazy few
who just do it for CAS. My passion for this activity doesn’t
stem from the need of CAS points, but rather the overall
satisfaction of being in a room with different people (who
may or may not have been forced into it), talking about
issues and topics that adults believe are “too mature” for
our age.
By Oleksiy, Year 10 student
The MUN conference which was held in Bangkok on
the 22nd of November was an amazing opportunity to
participate in a formal debate; just like the actual UN
councils. It was also an opportunity to meet new people
from many other international schools which are located in
Thailand. It was a very interesting day; we were welcomed
warmly and in a kind way by St. Andrews Bangkok.
There were many interesting and funny moments during
the conference; I got the opportunity to see many different
ways people debate. Some try to debate in a kind, friendly
way. Some try to debate by shouting, waving their hands
everywhere they look with angry faces, debating with
ultimate rage. Some try to make funny/weird resolutions
which don’t make any sense!
Even though we got there with no experience at all and
just theory, we learned a lot during the
MUN conference and already know
how it works, who says what and when.
I would definitely like to go back and
am looking forward to my next MUN
conference experience. It was a great
experience and I encourage everyone
to do MUN as their after-school
activity due to the simple fact that you
get to learn skills which you definitely
will use in the future. I mean, who
doesn’t like arguing with someone
in a formal way without getting into
trouble?!
Overall, it was an amazing experience
and an awesome day.
Global Classroom Hotting Up!
By Paddy McKenna, Global Classroom Coordinator
Tanzania WITH GLOBAL CLASSROOM
It has been an exciting time both online and in School
when it comes to the Global Classroom this term. There
were over 7000 hits on the GC website from Regents
students this month, and we are looking at even more in
the coming month! Well done to all those that got online
and got involved. In the coming days, students throughout
the Secondary School will be receiving the first ever
Global Classroom Information packs. These contain
some information about the GC, as well as instructions
on how to access it as well as a summary of some of the
opportunities open to students in the coming year, a few
of which are mentioned below.
this sounds like you, then you have the opportunity of a
lifetime to spend 8/9 days in NAE’s Shamba Kipara Lodge
near Arusha in Tanzania. NAE is meeting the cost of the
expedition which will run from February 28th until March
7th, students will only have to pay for flights, visas and
insurance.
Tanzania 2015 – 2 places left!
This is focussing on the Rights of the Child, and ways
in which our students can have a positive impact on
children’s access to rights. There are more details about
this elsewhere in the newsletter.
Want to come and help us redecorate the Maua School
in Arusha? Fancy a safari to the Ngoro-goro crater to see
the Lions and Rhinos? Would you like to meet fellow
students from other NAE Schools around the World? If
See Mr McKenna for more details – deadline to apply is
Friday 5th December. If you want to see lots of media from
last years expedition, take a look at the Global Classroom.
Elsewhere on the Global Classroom, Year 8 and 9 are
getting to grips with the new Challenge Based Learning
competition titled “Making it Right”.
.
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HISTORY AND FRENCH TRIP
October 2015
History and French trip to Normandy and Paris.
Excursions include: Bayeux Tapestry, Drakker Chocolate Factory,
D-Day Museum Arromanches, The American Cemetery, Pegasus Bridge
Memorial, Normandy Caramels factory, Chateau du Moloy Market, a
traditional French boulangerie, Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame,
Bateaux Mouche, Musee d’Orsay, Disneyland Paris and much more!
If you need any further information and are interested
in your child coming on this trip to further his/her
understanding of History and/or French please talk to
Miss Jones or Mr. Kilgallon.
[email protected]
[email protected]
.
DO NOT MISS ! - A CHRISTMAS CAROL
This year’s theatre performance – ‘A Christmas Carol’, by Charles Dickens – was unveiled last night, 27th November 2014,
on the evidence of the thunderous applause at the end, the students (under the direction of Head of Drama, Nick Lewis)
have clearly pulled off another astonishing whole-school production.
The actors, who were drawn from Year 13 down to Year 4, showed a confidence and stage presence that baffled even the
most experienced of theatre-goers. This is an event not to be missed: ‘A Christmas Carol’ is showing tonight at 6:30pm,
and tomorrow at 2:00 pm and 6:30 pm. Entry by ticket only
First pictures on our Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/RegentsInternationalSchoolPattaya