Spotlight on Secondary
St. Andrews International School Green Valley
June 2018
21st Birthday & Double Gold Celebration On Friday June 8, our community got together for a double celebration: the School's 21st Birthday and our recent GOLD accreditation award. The Silverlake Restaurant was the perfect back drop for this special occasion and important milestone in the School's history.
21st Birthday Celebrations The 21st Birthday celebration continued at school with a number of different activities. On Thursday June 21, three trees that were donated by the PTG were planned to represent students, staff and parents. These trees are located in front of the Black Box Theatre and will grow together in the future, just as the school has grown and flourished over its first 21 years. The PTG is also donating a new sala which will arrive in August. Later in the afternoon after the matinee performance of “Grimm Tales”, we were all treated to a traditional Thai Lotus Flower dance, our Head Boy and Head Girl, Andy and Jade, cut the Secondary School 21st Birthday cake, then we all sang Happy Birthday followed by the new school song (Green Valley, you’re my family) together. Students and staff have also donated items for a time capsule that will be buried and then opened again in the future. Finally, a video has been produced which focuses on campus developments over the years. Please click on the link if you would like to enjoy this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=8EKyr3Xawtk&feature=youtu.be Congratulations St Andrews Green Valley, may your success stretch long into the future!
New teachers for August 2018 One of the most exciting parts about a new school year is getting to meet the new teachers. Here is a sneak preview of the teachers who will be joining us as Secondary or Whole School teachers, in August 2018.
Paul Gilbert: SMT member with a responsibility for Whole School projects I have been Head of PE at three different schools including two British International Schools in Ethiopia and Brunei. I have been at my current school in Inner London for the last 15 years with roles including Business and Enterprise coordinator and for the last six years I’ve been on the senior leadership team in charge of behaviour. I love travelling and enjoy both watching and playing sport, particularly tennis and golf. I also really enjoy snow boarding, scuba diving and polo. I enjoy organising overseas trips and in particular, within my current role, take groups of Year 12 students to Ethiopia each year. These students have the opportunity to both raise money for and work with some rural schools in Tigray and various charities in Addis Ababa. My wife will be joining the Geography and Careers departments and my two daughters will be in years 8 and 5. We are all really excited to be joining St Andrews Green Valley and look forward to meeting you. Enjoy your summer.
Claire Gilbert: Secondary Geography & Careers My name is Claire Gilbert. I am an experienced teacher of Geography, Careers and Wellbeing. For the past 9 years I have taught at Haberdashers Askes School in North West London where I oversee international university applications and teach Geography to Years 7-13. I am fortunate to have worked in a range of schools in the state and independent sector and have held the role of Head of Geography at international schools in Istanbul and Brunei and at Channing School in Highgate, London. I am married to Paul Gilbert and we have two daughters, Florence (12) and Maisie (9). As a family we enjoy travelling and spending time outdoors. I enjoy yoga, cycling, horse riding and skiing. I love creative arts, ecology and geology. I am really excited to be joining you all at St Andrews Green Valley.
Thomas Amos: Secondary English I am very much looking forward to joining you all at St Andrews Green Valley. After graduating from university in the UK, I then taught there for the next 5 years. After that, I taught IGCSE and IB English in Italy for 4 years before returning to teach in the UK again. Whilst English is my main subject area, I have also taught some key stage 3 Music and Drama. I always fully embrace the extra curricular elements of school life. I have run MUN extra curricular clubs; managed boys’ football teams; used my refereeing qualifications to referee matches; used my guitar playing skills to take part in musical performances and organised several external visits to theatres. I am very much looking forward to joining you all soon in Green Valley.
Diane Leishman: Secondary Science I am a Biology teacher from Scotland and have worked in Scotland since graduating in 2013. I have a passion for wildlife, nature and travel. My soon to be husband William and myself are looking forward to a new adventure living and working in Thailand and meeting the pupils and staff at St Andrews.
New teachers for August 2018 Louise Sligar: Secondary History Born and raised on the East coast of Australia, I started my teaching career working in a very remote Aboriginal school in the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia. I have spent the last three years teaching history in a north London school where I am the Head of History and Head of Key Stage Four. In my time off I love to surf, hike, ski and snowboard and travel as much as possible.
Kris Van der Mynsbrugge: Dutch Hello everyone, my name is Kris Van der Mynsbrugge. I’m from Belgium and for the last 5 years I have been teaching Dutch and Geography at the British International School of Shanghai, China. I am married to Cindy De Borger (primary teacher) and together with our two children Djef (12) and Zita (9) we are very much looking forward to being part of the Green Valley community. We all share a passion for the outdoors and my favourite sports are skateboarding (although I am getting a bit rusty), swimming and running. Furthermore, I play the guitar and am always up for a new challenge. See you very soon!
Andrew O’Hagan: Secondary Business and Economics After graduating in Business in 2005, I did not initially pursue a career in teaching, instead starting work at Lancashire County Council, in the north-west of England. I was a Transport Officer, planning and managing transport across the county. Also during that time I worked with School Governor Services, leading a small team to provide advice and guidance to school governing bodies and head teachers throughout the county. After taking the decision to follow a career in teaching, I have spent time teaching in South Korea and Thailand. In my last role I spent 4 years teaching in Bangkok. I am currently at Green Valley acting as a cover teacher for years 6, 7, 8 and 9 for the final term of 2017/18 and have met a number of students already. However, I am very much looking forward to starting the 2018/19 academic year, and meeting all the students I will be teaching.
Ellie Bird: Whole School PE I currently live and work at Knightsbridge School in central London. I am a sports enthusiast and have competed competitively in athletics, netball and triathlon. At the moment my main sport is rowing. I have competed at Henley two years in a row, with 2018 being my third. I hope that I come away with a win, and to exit my existing rowing club on a high! One of my greatest achievements, is taking part and completing L'Etape du Tour in 2014 (stage 16 of Le Tour Du France). In my down time, I enjoy yoga. I am very excited to embrace the Thai culture (especially the food!) and look forward to meeting you all soon.
Thank You, Good Bye and Good Luck At this time of year it is always sad saying good bye to the teachers who are leaving us as they have contributed so much to our school community. For everyone however there comes a time when they decide to take on a new challenge and start the next chapter in their lives. To Ms Sarah, Ms Hemelik, Mr and Mrs McHugh, Mr Wilson and Ms Cambridge, thank you very much for your contributions over the years. We trust that you will be happy and successful in your new adventure and will keep in touch in the future!
Mr. Wilson
Ms. Sarah
Ms. Hemelik Mr. and Mrs. McHugh
Ms . Cambridge
Secondary Production of Grimm Tales Ta-dah! Our super black box theatre opened for its premiere night on Tuesday June 19 with some magnificent performances by the students in a series of 'Grimm Tales'. Here's a snapshot of photos to give you a glimpse of the dramatic tales which were performed to huge crowds on June 19, 20 and 21. Below are also a couple of links to You Tube videos just in case you missed the show or want to relive some of the magical moments! These videos feature the Year 12 students performing Hansel and Gretel. Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB3jaC0pnoM Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvM8d6ScgQo
Year 10 Work Experience This year from June 4th – 8th our students experienced a wide range of careers from advertising to wake boarding, caring for stray dogs to chemical engineering. On behalf of St Andrews International School, and our Year 10 students in particular, I would like to say a huge thank you to all the organisations who agreed to provide our students with placements. Thanks also to the many parents who I know play an important role in finding suitable work places. It was a fantastic learning opportunity for our students that would not be possible without the support of our community. Many thanks to the following companies for their support: Ocean Marina Yacht Club Freddies Fishing Park Pattaya Thai Wake Park Pattaya Holiday Inn & Suites Rayong The Immigration Bureau Rayong Mountain Coffee at Zoo Avani Pattaya Resort & Spa Foodland Supermarket Co KY Tech Co Ltd
Amber Restaurant Pattaya Na Jomtien Animal Hospital Dusit Group Pattaya Hope for Strays Foundation World Gems Collection Hastin School U-Cup Coffee Ban Chang RCP Chemical Plant Classic Kameo Hotel & Serviced -Apts, Rayong CMP Realty Co Ltd. King Kong Computers Lazgam Laser Games Pattaya Hilton Hotel Pattaya Far East DDB Advertising Hole 9 Golf Koh Chang Prime Food Service Pattaya
Year 12 Trip to Koh Chang The IB Diploma Year 12 trip to Koh Chang took place from June 3—8 and started off with Mr Thorp and Mr Emery demonstrating how to do river gradient, flow rate, rock roundness and kick tests in the pool ready for the field work tasks during the week. Despite a wet and stormy start to Yr 12s river study they managed to survey 12 stations, where they measured gradients, flow rate, pH, oxygen levels and temperature as well as doing a transect and biodiversity survey at each site. The students also carried out continuous and interrupted transects on the rocky shoreline and swept the beach for plastic. A survey of locals and tourists was carried out to ascertain their views on plastic usage and pollution. Lastly a trip on a paddleboard along the estuary allowed them to observe the mangroves and the impact of tourism. A fantastic week of hands on learning!
A Day in the Art Studio On Friday June 15th I decided to have a good look in the IB Art Studio. The current Year 12 IB students and our Year 10 IGCSE students are producing some truly outstanding work. I look forward to next year! Thanks to Giesela, Pooppup, Anitta and Similan for filling our studio with these wonderful creations. Mrs Castle (Art Teacher)
Year 9 3D Art This term Year 9 students are working on mobiles inspired by the artwork of Alexander Calder and Henri Matisse. Students made sketches outside which showed investigation of the leaves and other foliage around school. The leaf and foliage shapes were used in the making of mobiles using wire, aluminum and future board. The mobiles were designed and will be evaluated through a process of reflection with each student making a final mobile using the learning from this process. This work will displayed in the trees around school and on the art Facebook page https:// www.facebook.com/St-Andrews-International-School-Green-Valley-Artand-Design. Mrs Castle.
Art and Arts Week 2018 This year we packed a lot of activity into our Arts Day. Students from Years 7-9 enjoyed a range of activities in Music, Drama and here in the art room we were repainting chairs. Those worn out art room chairs were repainted in the style of famous paintings. If you would like to know about future art related events or you would just like to know what’s going on in the art department why not try the art departments Facebook page at St Andrews International School, Green Valley Art and Design.
Year 7 Trip to Sattahip On Wednesday June 13 and Thursday June 14 our year 7 students enjoyed a 2 day / one night residential trip to Sattahip. The main focus areas were geography, science and outdoor education. As well as learning a great deal about the marine environment, the students were challenged to work in groups and to think about the needs of others. All of the students had a fantastic time!
Kane Y12 Rookie Champion of the Year Congratulations to Kane in Year 12 for recently winning the Rookie Champion and overall Vice Champion in the Sea East Asia Formula 4 Championship. He gets 10 FIA Super license points and also has won an evaluation visit to the Maclaren F1 team in Woking UK for a few days, which will include time on their simulator, supposedly one of the most advanced in the world. This is in addition to the Overall Championship in Formula Gulf back in April. Kane has also been offered a seat in the all new FIA Asian F3 Championships this year, with what we think is the top team ~ Absolute Racing. Congratulations Kane, another fantastic achievement!
Year 7—9 French Lunch On Wednesday June 6, our Y7—9 French students enjoyed a lovely day out in the restaurant L’Auberge where they were served a delicious 3 course-meal of traditional French dishes including: Paté and French bread, Boeuf Bourguignon with Pommes de terre, and Crème Brulée. The restaurant received some great reviews from our students: “The place itself was really nice to eat in, and the chef and waitresses were very welcoming." (Year 6 student) and "The food was amazing, which also gave us the opportunity to learn about French culture, as well as being a big motivation to continue working hard in French class. Merci beaucoup for organizing this amazing trip." (Year 9 student). Thank you to L'Auberge for serving so many delicious treats.
ESAC Dance Competition @ GV It's a first! On Thursday June 7, St Andrews hosted the first inter-schools dance competition against other local schools. The students had fun and there were some great performances, with Chin from Year 8 impressing the judges and coming first in the individual event. Hopefully, this will be the start of many more dance competitions in the region.
Drama, Music and Sport Awards Night On the evening of Friday June 22, the St Andrews Green Valley Community gathered together in record numbers at The Holiday Inn in Pattaya to celebrate the achievements of primary and secondary students in extra curricular Drama, Music and Sport. It was a wonderful evening which highlighted the wide variety of activities that take place, the talents of our students and the dedication of teachers and parents.
“Time Attacks” Swimming Gala As the year comes to a close and students start to think about moving up a year, the Swim Squad had their eye on setting the benchmark for their understudies. Straight away after the first race it was apparent that this was going to be a day where records were going to be smashed! The 'Time Attack' was also about setting new 50 metre records as well and some of the times were blistering. It was fantastic to see students from both the Primary and Secondary school competing together and supporting each other. In Secondary, Ella and Victor sealed their dominance in the water with every single U13 record in their names but this years year 6 cohort set great times so will challenge all the way next year. Willem and Eva's efforts in the mornings started to show as they chipped their way into the U15 records and as Year 10s next year will surely improve on them. Jade and Sang led the way in the Seniors setting some great times and examples to the younger swimmers.
Looking Ahead As the school year draws to a close and we all look forward to a well deserved break, we are also keeping an eye on events in the new school year. Students start back on Wednesday August 22, while teachers are back at school on Sunday August 19. Copies of the School Calendar for 2018—2019 and the Events Calendar can be found by clicking on the links below:
To access the 2018—2019 Calendar click here: http://vle.standrews-schools.com/Resources/ To check all upcoming school dates please click on this link: http://vle.standrews-schools.com/dashboard/