Prep@53, published Dec 2016

Prep www.bkkprep.ac.th

53

December 2016 Edition –

printed on recycled paper

OUTSTANDING CAMBRIDGE LEARNER AWARDS THAILAND: Hosted by Bangkok Prep

IN THIS ISSUE • “ Nai Luang” in remembrance of • Bangkok Sporting Achievements HM King Bhumibol • Residential Trips • Introducing EPQ •B erlin and Krakow Residential • World Language Competition History Trip •F OBISIA Student Leadership Conference Search for Bangkok Prep #bkkprep

SCHOOL NEWS

Welcome to Prep@53 W

elcome to the first Prep@53 of the academic year 2016/17. The school year has started with a flurry of activities but was quite quickly overtaken by the sad event of the death of King Bhumibol. The passing of this great man who was seen as the ‘Father of this Nation’ continues to be mourned by all and some of our ‘non-core’ activities have been postponed or cancelled this term as a symbol of respect to him.

The content of this magazine reflects upon the events and successes of the term that we have been able to run during this sad time. King Bhumibol believed most ardently in education but said publically that it was not only desirable to be clever but that students should also develop a good heart and use their talents to help others, particularly those who were less fortunate. We have kept this at the forefront of our thinking when planning and running activities in school.

On a happier note, at the entrance to the school many of you will have seen a display

showing some of the exciting plans for change and development, as we are entering a period of physical change for the school with the completion of our new Secondary Campus.

The new building is progressing well and we are all excited by the prospect of moving the Secondary School to our new campus at T77 to be ready for opening in August 2017.

Community involvement in Bangkok Prep is prominently featured in this edition of Prep@53, which is one of the school’s areas of strength.

Your individual and collective contribution adds to the warmth and success of the school and is appreciated by all members of the school team.

We are looking forward to continuing to work in partnership with you during this academic year.

We have much to look forward to this year and I hope that you enjoy this opportunity to browse through this overview of Term 1 2016/17!

Valerie Thomas-Peter Head of School

Bangkok Prep student receives the High Achievement Award – BANGKOK PREP HOSTS THE CAMBRIDGE OUTSTANDING LEARNER AWARDS

K

im Goodburn received the ‘High Achievement Award in AS Applied ICT’ at the the Cambridge Outstanding Learner Awards hosted

by Bangkok Prep on Tuesday, 22nd November 2016. It is customarily awarded to the student who achieves the highest standard marks in the country for a particular subject.

This is the culmination of a lot of hard work for Kim who is particularly gifted at problem solving. He achieved a very high mark in the practical skills section of the exam, which ensured that he would receive the highest overall marks in Thailand.

I am sure those of you who regularly read Bangkok Prep publications are already familiar with Kim as a result of his excellent and

2 Prep@53 December 2016

numerous sporting achievements. Therefore, it is a pleasure to be able to highlight his academic accomplishments as well.

Lastly, we at Bangkok Prep are very proud to have hosted the Cambridge Outstanding

Learner Awards this year and to join in with celebrating each student’s remarkable success.

Kate Bark Whole School ICT Leader

SCHOOL NEWS

Creativity is the key to success!

A

t the heart of Bangkok Prep’s Primary thematic curriculum lies an uncompromising commitment to ensuring every child develops to the highest possible standard in the essential competencies and skills within English, Mathematics and Computing. In addition to this, all areas of the curriculum, opportunities for creativity are actively sought out, encouraged and developed.

Unfortunately, there are still some primary international curriculums which solely focus on children’s abilities to obtain high scores in tests, at the detriment of creativity. Often the result of these types of curriculum is that young children who begin their school careers with sparkling imaginations, fertile minds and a willingness to take risks with what they think, gradually have their individuality and creativity suppressed.

Innovative and progressive curriculums like our Bangkok Prep Primary thematic curriculum must be centred on the understanding that creativity is a process which generates ideas that have value to the individual. Creativity involves looking at familiar things with a fresh eye, examining problems with an open mind, making connections, learning from mistakes and using imagination to explore new possibilities.

Combining a growth mind-set and creativity will have a direct and profound impact on our children’s motivation to learn.

High quality education must be the focus of the system that develops our natural abilities and enables us to make our way in the world. We at Bangkok Prep, proactively organise learning opportunities which enable children to explore the full range of their abilities and interests.

Creativity is the key to success!

Duncan Stonehouse Head of Primary

Growing from strength to strength A

s Bangkok Prep continues to grow and develop as an international school. We are building on our success in examinations, which is going from strength to strength in an ever wider field of subjects. Academic success, however, is only one aspect of the education we offer at Bangkok Prep as we sincerely look to grow the whole child. Sixth Formers and other student leaders are taking more ownership of some aspects of school and can now be seen leading and organising assemblies or assisting staff in supervising younger students. We are also working with several Sixth Formers to introduce their own impressive leadership programme.

This year all Residentials occurred at the same time in the first part of Term One. This meant that students and teachers had an earlier opportunity of developing relationships that would benefit them over the whole year.

These occurred all over Thailand and offered challenging yet rewarding experiences that will be remembered for a long time to come. Having them all at the same time also means that there will be less disruption throughout the year!

we are beginning to call ‘T77’. Lots of steady planning is underway to ensure a smooth transition and many parents have taken one of our early morning tours, which have been very well received. I have also enjoyed the drone footage that tries to give a sense of the size of the new site.

We continue to be excited about our move to the new Secondary Campus in On Nut that

It would be remiss of me if I did not mention the very sad passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in

mid-October. The school’s students have been sombre at times and have reacted with great dignity. They have been given opportunities to reflect on his great legacy to Thailand and we will continue to appropriately mourn his death in the coming months.

Nigel Wilsonlock Head of Secondary

www.bkkprep.ac.th 3

SCHOOL NEWS

Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) M

any students and schools/colleges are caught in a conundrum – how to demonstrate that students possess the suite of qualifications, skills and qualities that will differentiate them from others when applying for university and employment.

The EPQ allows our students to achieve the above. It is innovative, flexible, interactive and well respected by universities all over the world.

Universities and future employers highly value students’ ability to research and analyse material independently. Promoting independent learning is central to the ethos of the EPQ and bolsters critical thinking.

Universities support and value the EPQ as evidence of students’ ability to use a vast array of skills that are vital for successful study in higher education. It also: • makes students responsible for their own learning

•e nables teachers to mentor individual students • enables students to study a subject they enjoy, even if it is not available at A-level • i nspires and motivates students – completing the project gives them greater confidence and a sense of achievement.

Our Year 12 students are currently deciding their topic focus and how they will complete the work. Students can choose between writing a 5,000 word essay, making a product or holding an event. Students are working on a wide range of interesting topics including: a documentary about Third Culture Kids, the health benefits of soap made from tea, producing a piece of artwork about war, an essay about the quality of prisons versus reform in specific countries and many others.

The EPQ team is very excited about seeing the end result in December 2017 and are looking

forward to sharing the products, events and papers with the wider school community, in order to inspire and educate all our students.

Sara Wilsonlock Head of Sixth Form

FOBISIA Leadership Conference in Penang, Malaysia

T

he FOBISIA Leadership Conference was an amazing experience and opportunity. The main focus of this conference was cross cultural leadership. Throughout the conference, the Bangkok Prep leadership team along with other leaders from all across Asia discussed various leadership stories and were able to learn from each other’s experiences. The most important thing that we learnt from this conference is that it is crucial to be aware that people from different cultures have different ways of working e.g. communication, evaluation, decisions and trust. Therefore, this conference has really allowed us to be culturally-sensitive when working with our Prefect Team in order

4 Prep@53 December 2016

The following day, we had an early start as we headed out to the International School of Penang. During the course of the conference on Saturday, we learnt about leadership in a Global Context as well as design thinking.

We implemented the valuable knowledge we learnt into the real life situations of our school; where we rotated around the different schools attending and discussed their problems and the potential solutions that they could introduce once they got back to school. We gained a lot of knowledge through the exchanging of ideas and solutions that we could potentially introduce in order to improve our school even further!

We ended the eventful day with a trip to the night market, where we got a glimpse of local Malaysian life! to be able to work effectively with a diverse team of people.

The first day of FOBISIA Leadership Conference in Penang was really exciting and informative as we learnt about leadership, the best way to motivate your team and how to move towards success. People all over the world came together to share their views regarding their experience with leadership, how they dealt with problems and achieved their targets.

We also had a chance to meet other students from different schools and share our views about leadership and ideas. This exchange of ideas from other students helped us to gain more knowledge and was an amazing experience!”

Having this great opportunity to go to a conference where we learnt about various new leadership skills has given us a great foundation to build on and become leaders for the future.

We were honoured to represent Bangkok Prep and to be able to form new relationships with people from different schools countries including Malaysia, Singapore, China and Thailand.

Punn Chatupanyachotikul, Year 13 Krit Osirichaivait, Year 13 Ananya Pawa, Year 12 Mayank Agrawai, Year 12

ACADEMIC

Interactive Vocal Workshop with Dominic Peckham

...The infectious rhythms and physical movements together with Peckham’s vocal direction get even the most reluctant of people bursting into song...

JONATHAN WIKELY MUSIC TEACHER MAGAZINE

D

ominic Peckham is regarded as ‘one of the finest conductors of his generation.

He is internationally renowned for his pioneering educational work across the world, and recently appeared on BBC 2 as lead mentor for ‘The Naked Choir’ with Gareth Malone. He holds an impressive array of posts including Artistic Director of the National Youth Choir of Kenya, Musical Director of the London Oriana Choir, Assistant Music Director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Artistic Director of the Fourth Choir, Director of the Ulster Youth Choir, and is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford.

It was then, with great excitement and anticipation that we welcomed Dominic to the Music Department to work with our students on Friday, 7th October. He quickly developed a

friendly rapport and helped our young singers to develop their voices and build on their passion for singing, through a range of engaging songs and activities. With workshops for Primary and Secondary Choir, IGCSE and A Level students and even an after school session for our teaching staff, Dominic was able to engage the entire school community and bring us together through a celebration of singing and music.

Highlights from the day included an uplifting rendition of ‘Asikitali’ by our Secondary Choir as well as a lively performance of ‘Grandma’s Hands’ performed by over 300 of our Key Stage 2 children. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day for all involved and one of the highlights of the school year so far.

On Saturday 8th November, Dominic returned to the Bangkok Prep campus to lead a CPD workshop for our own Music Staff as well as visiting music delegates from other schools in South-East Asia. Alongside teaching techniques, Dominic gave us thoughtful advice on the importance of singing as an emotional and artistic expression as well as the significance

of using music to develop teamwork and community. his was an invaluable experience which will not only help to shape the direction of our singing curriculum but also to develop our school’s musical community.

Dulcie Kellner Whole School Music Leader

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle T

his term has been another very busy term for the Bangkok Prep Eco Team! The most visible initiative for this term has been in finalising a school recycling system. We are pleased to announce that Bangkok Prep now has a full recycling system for white paper, coloured paper, organic food waste and plastic bottles. These are the main waste products of the school, as identified by the Eco Team, when carrying out their yearly environmental review.

When you look around the school you will see that yellow and blue paper recycling bins have been added to our plastic bottle recycling bins, to create a number of recycling stations throughout the campus. This has taken some time to organise, as the Eco Team

was determined to set up a system where we could be certain that as much of our waste as possible was being recycled. We also wanted to ensure that the recycling systems are financially sustainable and have used money raised from previous recycling drives to pay for the majority of the bins purchased this term.

Assemblies and lessons about recycling have been delivered by the Eco Team to students throughout the school. The Eco Teams would also like to urge the wider school community to make sure that they are following the signs on our recycling bins, by separating their waste correctly. This will help us to sell on our waste paper and plastic bottles, and use that money to set up further recycling projects.

The Eco Team would like to thank everybody who has supported us in our Eco efforts this term, it is greatly appreciated.

Kris Leverton Key Stage 2 Leader and Eco Team Facilitator

www.bkkprep.ac.th 5

ACADEMIC

Year 8 Public Speaking Competition

O

n Thursday October 6th members of the Year 8 classes once again participated in the Year 8 Public Speaking Competition. The Public Speaking Competition is the culmination of six weeks work studying the great speeches from the recent past, such as Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ and Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Students come to understand the social contexts that produced the speeches, and the various linguistic and rhetorical techniques that the speakers used to make their words and their message so powerful. The students then apply these techniques to writing their own speeches.

This year the Public Speaking Competition was a little different to the competition in previous years. This year it was organised in the format of a public debate. The students were put into

teams and given one of two topics: “Books are better than films” or “Money can’t buy you happiness”. The teams were also given a position - to agree or disagree - on the topic.

The public debate format allowed students to demonstrate not just that the were capable of reading out a speech in public, but also that they could listen to their opponents’ arguments and respond to them - to ‘think on their feet’.

In the event the students - four from each class - performed beyond our expectations. We heard argument, counter-argument, positions proposed and rebutted all students who took part did a wonderful job of making their ideas

clear. These students were Khing Supboonrod, Malissa Saengtubtim, Arlena Khorana, Chanunchida Phonoi, Dhruv Khotari, Rohan Sethi, Alice Bohman, Angelina Allen, Kanev Kapoor, Rinchen Tshomo, Viswaja Gopinathan, Athicha Srichawla, Sean Spencer, Sehaj Lamba, Voralapa Lochaya.

Our congratulations should especially go out to Malissa Saengtubtim and Chanunchida Phonoi (Pung Pung) who won the trophy for the most skillful and persuasive speakers.

John Lockwood Secondary English Faculty Leader

Great achievements in

the Worldwide Language Competition 1

50 students from Years 6 to 11 entered the Vocab Express Worldwide Online Competition. Having practised in class, many children logged on in their spare time to learn more French, Mandarin and Japanese vocabulary; maximising their scores in the process.

Globally, there were over 500 schools taking part, and to make it fair the organisers arranged different leagues based on the number of students entered and the sizes of the schools.

Bangkok Prep came first in the Challenge Cup Piccolo (for less than 150 entries), third in the Genius Cup, which combined the top 25 student scores at each school, allowing schools of different sizes to compete on an equal basis.

This was a fantastic achievement!

Headline results: Mandarin - F irst in the Genius Cup (for all schools entered) Japanese - First in the Genius Cup French - T hird in the Genius Cup and Second in the French Challenge Cup Piccolo.

6 Prep@53 December 2016

Congratulations to everyone who took part for an excellent set of results. There were many prestigious schools involved and our students performed extremely well again.

On an individual basis special mention must go to the amazing Phoomsit Chokchaitanaporn, who achieved First place in the Mandarin Genius Cup for the second year running. Miu Sakurai also achieved First place in Japanese with Miki Uchida in Second place. I’d also like to congratulate Avi Gupta for his Third place in French. Students will be receiving Amazon vouchers and special certificates in due course.

As a school, our top 25 students are listed below and they will also receive official award certificates.

I am immensely proud of our students and their achievements. Students worked together as a great team to bring about this success. Every point counted! I’m looking forward to even better success next year!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Student Score Phoomsit Chokchaitanaporn 72,105 Avi Gupta 67,065 Phusayam Anurakwongsri 60,385 Miu Sakurai 49,130 Miki Uchida 25,060 Anusha (Anu) Siddiqui 24,480 Saanchi Mathur 20,640 Chanunchida Phonoi 19,620 Andre Ratarasarn 19,340 Sobhonwit Manusook 16,015 Pitchaon Ponlapanun 15,540 Palin Sunthonchai 14,260 Chawla Thaksini 12,965 Chandresh Palanichamy 10,225 Nagisa Nishikawa 9,335 Marco Kuratana 8,890 Anusha Mathur 8,855 Silvana Dufes 8,775 Bhavesh Palanichamy 8,155 Nirbhay Vashisht 7,630 Yohsuke Iijima 7,615 Arzoo Ajmera 7,525 Ayami Osada 7,270 Chanisara Kurucharoenporn 6,605 Malissa Saengtubtim 6,460

Christophe Chanrion, Whole School World Languages Faculty Leader

ACADEMIC

In healthy school

I

n healthy school’s gardening club we are busy planting tomatoes, corn, chives, basil, coriander and lots more. It is going very well and already a lot of the plants are almost fully grown. At first it was hard to grow the seeds we planted because it rained a lot but we came up with a solution! We have covered the seeds now so that they won’t get wet. When the plants are fully grown we will eat them and make delicious dishes using them. We are planning to make egg and cress sandwiches next week. With the tomatoes we might make spaghetti bolognaise.

We might even have a chance to make popcorn!

Eventually we would like to make a lunch for everyone. As part of healthy schools club we have also been given jobs during break and lunch. We have to water the plants to ensure they grow and at lunch time, we give out house points to those who eat vegetables and fruits.

We have been very healthy and will always try our best and never give up!

Laura Stone Year 1 Leader

Year 2 Day out at the Butterfly Farm

O

n Wednesday 28th September, Year 2 went on a trip to the Bangkok Butterfly Garden as part of their ‘Staying Alive’ topic. After a walk through Chatuchak Park, we arrived at the Butterfly Garden and the children quickly got to work and went searching for as many types of butterfly as they could find! Everyone had their favourite - some liked the Leopard Lacewing whilst others preferred the Great Egg-fly. We also took part in a treasure hunt around the garden to find some other interesting things.

We got the opportunity to see some butterflies really close up and learn their life cycle. It was great to see some chrysalises, which some butterflies had recently hatched out from! After all of our discoveries, we were well and truly ready for our picnic in the park. We’d had such a busy and active day, that many of us were fast asleep on the coach back to school!

Daniel O’Sullivan Year 2 Leader

www.bkkprep.ac.th 7

ACADEMIC

“Nai Luang” in remembrance “The important thing for the survival of the Thai society is that the majority of those who work, both in the government and the private sector, still strive to work in the same direction: this is why the Thai nation still stands.” -part of a speech by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej that shows his passion for our nation, “The Kingdom of Thailand”. For seventy years, His Majesty was the Thai people’s ultimate pillar and guiding light. His fortitude and devotion to the country and human development were, and is still, an inspiration to all.

His Majesty has dedicated himself to fulfilling the oath he made, to the benefit and happiness of the Thai people. The Thai people’s love and loyalty is founded not just on respect for the institution of the monarchy but on the King personally - with his moral integrity, close contact with his people and his lifelong devotion to us, as evident in the many projects he has undertaken on our behalf. More than 3,000 royal projects, 30 international awards, 20 honorary degrees and all His Majesty’s multifarious duties are the valuable legacies of His Majesty for the

Thai nation. We “Bangkok PREP” and all citizen in Thailand must learn to follow in His Majesty footsteps and carry on his royal legacies. Above of all, we must live with wellness, morality and sufficiency for being good sons and daughters of our beloved “Nai Luang”

Piyawat Tammapaktarakul Head of Thai Department

Options for IGCSE and A Level: decisions, decisions, decisions!

I

have been busy choosing their IGCSE and A-level subjects respectively.

Following presentations about the process with both students and their parents and the opportunity to meet with teachers and students to ask about the options, Year 9 and Year 11

Students were encouraged to ask lots of questions from their teachers, parents and research possible courses that they may wish to pursue in the future to help guide their choices. They were also encouraged to ensure they make choices that are well-balanced to

t has been a busy time for the Year 9 and Year 11 students as they have been choosing their options for the next stage of their education.

8 Prep@53 December 2016

keep their options open for the future and because universities like to see a broad range of subjects at IGCSE level. Our team of teachers here at Bangkok Prep have been offering their knowledge and experience in helping our Year 9 and Year 11 make the best choices.

Lisa Cook Key Stage 4 Leader

THE ARTS

A trip to Berlin and Krakow

S

eventeen Year 10 and 11 Bangkok Prep students travelled across the planet to experience some fascinating History first hand over half term. We visited some amazing sights in Berlin, following in the steps of the Nazi regime we took in; the Reichstag, Wannasee Villa, the Topography of Terror and finished with a wonderful trip to the highest point in Berlin on top of the TV tower.

We then traveled by overnight train to the beautiful city of Krakow to explore its history and the tragic links to the Holocaust. Students and teachers were moved by the Schindler factory, day trip to Auschwitz-Birkineau and the experience of talking to a holocaust survivor. All returned safely and in time for the beginning of school with unforgettable memories of a once in a lifetime trip.

Special thanks must go to Ms Giddings for a fabulously organised trip.

Steve Rudall Humanities Faculty Leader

‘Creative thinking and PREParing for our future.’

I

t is common knowledge that in a fast changing digital world, many of the occupations the children of today will be chasing later in their lives do not currently exist. So how do we educate and prepare our students for an increasingly competitive world that is constantly evolving? By developing qualities within students such as curiosity, innovation, resilience, creativity, initiative and adaptability we can ensure students have the skills required for a successful future. Academic excellence provides a foundation for progression but it is the ability to innovate that will set them apart.

In the Creative Arts Faculty we are striving to

promote these qualities within our students.

Increasing awareness of the importance for students to be able to generate their own ideas, work through a design process, and confidently explore a range of approaches is proving essential in the developing appreciation for creativity as an essential skill alongside literacy and numeracy.

The new Secondary Campus will provide huge opportunities to develop the curriculum for students as we introduce new technology and facilities that replicate a professional and progressive creative learning environment. To

reflect the increasing importance of creativity and imagination as valuable life skills we are also broadening the curriculum to reflect the skills required in the modern world. Students will have access to a digital a iMac studios to explore Music Technology, Graphic Design and Photography, experience industry standard equipment such as 3D printers and laser cutters as well as use advanced lighting and audio equipment for dramatic performance.

Tom Bannister Creative Arts Faculty Leader

‘Logic will get you from A to B, but imagination will take you everywhere.’

ALBERT EINSTEIN

www.bkkprep.ac.th 9

RESIDENTIAL TRIPS

Year 7 Residential Trip

D

uring the week commencing Monday 10 October, Year 7 took part in a residential trip to Rayong. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to come together as a year group as well as enrich their curricular studies.

The activities on the trip were varied and saw students participating in cookery classes, orienteering, snorkelling, and a visit to a turtle

sanctuary amongst others. For many students, the highlight of the week was kayaking.

Students particularly enjoyed seeing some teachers capsizing in their kayak. It was fitting that the week ended with a beach clean-up, which was an appropriate way for us to pay respects to the local environment.

It was a real pleasure to see how students bonded throughout the week. The supportiveness towards the end of the week was a testament to the sense of community for which Bangkok Prep students are so wellknown.

Joshua Watters Key Stage 3 Leader

Year 8 Residential Trip T

he year group had one of the most memorable residential trips ever this year.

Conveniently located just a few hours from Bangkok was a little taste of paradise. The Varuna Yacht Club in Chonburi offered great accommodation with epic coastal views across to an island called Koh Larn. The main activity each day was sailing, which was the highlight of our trip, and students learned how to control a sail and main sheet in high winds.

as well as a Picasso art challenge. One of the most enjoyable activities was making a cushioning contraption out of only newspaper which would prevent a raw egg from breaking when dropped from the first floor balcony. Needless to say, there was a lot of cleaning up to do after! The whole experience was finished off with a wonderful BBQ on the beach on our final evening. It was a truly amazing trip full of experiences that will be remembered for a long time to come.

They also had plenty of opportunities for team building exercises like raft construction and racing,

Jon-Paul Dally Year 8 Leader

Year 9 Residential Trip

T

he Year 9 Residential trip was to Pranburi, just outside Hua Hin and proved to be a great experience for students and staff!

Before we even reached our hotel we visited a self-sufficiency project where, after a little trepidation, students happily got involved in

10 Prep@53 December 2016

making mud bricks and learning about some of the other interesting aspects of the project – working towards a sustainable economy.

Day 2 was the highlight for most students with an exciting and challenging military obstacle

course. Students rose to the challenge with great enthusiasm and the staff and teachers were particularly impressed with how they tackled the difficult rope swing over a muddy ditch!

The third day was a calmer vibe as we went to volunteer at a local school for blind students, finding out about some of the techniques the students use to learn, including an amazing pen that enabled students to draw with string on a velcro board. The final full day saw us linking with Geography and Science as we explored the Mangrove ecosystem and learnt about the value and fragility of those amazing trees. The trip had an excellent blend of fun, challenge and education. The students did not fail to impress with their enthusiasm and maturity.

Josh Morris Year 9 Leader

RESIDENTIAL TRIPS

Year 10

Year 11

Residential Trip

Residential Trip

Y

ear 10 ventured to the Wild Lodge, an Eco Lodge and Outdoor Adventure Camp on the edge of Khao Yai National Park. They participated in many activities that challenged their fears and taught them new skills. There were many Katnis Everdeens’ and Robin Hoods’ on the Archery course and daredevils who challenged themselves on the high ropes course. Students also tried their culinary skills in the kitchen making Penang curry and a stuffed Thai omelette, and very tasty they were.

T

he Year 11’s spent a great week up at the Maekok River Village Outdoor Education Centre in Chiang Rai. On the programme were lots of team building games and an opportunity for the students to get involved in Community Service, through helping to construct a school for children with special needs. This was a challenging but rewarding experience. Both the students and the staff had a fantastic time during our week away.

These activities really help to nurture our students with their selfconfidence and self-esteem, allowing them to have experiences outside of their normal comfort zone. Students were able to demonstrate many of the Life values here at Bangkok Prep including being active learners, team workers, community minded and so much more.

As the Year Leader, I was incredibly proud of the way the students conducted themselves and how they approached all tasks put in front of them. The rafting was a particular highlight and all teams successfully made it down the river! The teaching staff were also impressed with the cookery skills on display and we encourage parents to be brave and get your Year 11 student to make dinner one evening!

I hope that the students will cherish the memories that were created and fondly remember their Chiang Rai experience.

Lisa Cook Key Stage 4 Leader

Nichola Giddings Year 11 Leader

Sixth Form Residential Trip O

n Monday, 10th October, the Sixth Form alarm clocks rudely rang at 3.30am and students and staff struggled through the dawn light to school - it was time for the Sixth Form residential and we had a plane to catch.

Despite our sleepiness, everyone was excited in anticipation of a great week in Chiang Mai. We arrived at the hotel, had lunch, and then got straight to work at the local Ban San Sai School. It was the same local school that we supported last year so we decided to return to see if the work we completed had managed to stand the test of time. It had, but there were many other things that we could do to help out even more. We spent 3 or 4 hours gardening as well as painting tables and murals in the incredibly hot weather. Due to a fund raising activity before we left for Chiang Mai, we were able to donate all the paint and paintbrushes and also enough money for the school to buy teaching materials of their choice.

For the rest of the residential trip we split into four groups for our daily activities. We organised a real mixture of high energy activities and more cultural learning activities

for this year. Students got to experience zip lining, an army boot camp, paintballing, Zorbing and Thai Boxing. To accompany the action students also tried Thai cooking, visiting a local Wat and cultural museum, making clay pots and making paper out of elephant dung.

There was plenty of time to get to know everyone in the Sixth Form and evening activities brought a real sense of cohesion to the group. We had a quiz - including drama rounds, a superhero dress-up night and a barbeque. The food was delicious and the atmosphere friendly and fun.

We, the Sixth Form team, were thrilled to accompany such amazingly mature and simply delightful students. We were very proud of them all and we are sure they enjoyed the residential as much as we did. We know they will remember their week in October for the rest of their lives and we are delighted that we can help them make such pleasant memories.

Sara Wilsonlock Head of Sixth Form

www.bkkprep.ac.th 11

EVENTS

Sports Day enthusiastic and energetic at every event. Students enjoyed a well-deserved ice cream treat afterwards (thank you to our FOBP for the ice cream).

The atmosphere was electric with the enthusiasm from our Year 6 student helpers who ran the stations. These helper were a great example of student leadership at its best at Bangkok Prep.

W

e were blessed with good weather on Wednesday, 9th November as our Year 1 and 2 students had an exciting morning participating in their annual Sports Day. The students had fun as they crawled through tunnels, threw bean bags into hoops, ran over hurdles, jumped in sacks, and travelled over benches and much more. It was lovely to hear

the children cheering for each other and to see them all dressed in their house t-shirts; the sea of colour was a wonderful sight.

Thank you to all the parents who attended and cheered on the children, it was fantastic to see so many of you at school. All the children deserved their participation medal for being so

KS1 students have worked hard this term practising for Sports Day within PE lesson.

As a result of this we have more competent throwers, runners and jumpers which will stand them in good stead for the rest of the year as these skills are used in other activities within PE class. The three competitive station results will be announced later this month.

Well done to all involved and we look forward to the next Key Stage 1 event.

Joanne North Primary PE Faculty Leader

Wai Kru

paying respect to our beloved teachers

W

ai Kru ceremony is Thai culture for education, it allows the students pay respect to their teachers. In doing this, they ask their teachers to teach them well and thank them for their devotion. Every student came to school with a bunch of flowers for their teachers. The flowers used in the arrangement are symbolic. Dok Ma Khue.(eggplants flower) stands for respect because when the tree is blooming its branches bend down in the same way a student pays respect to their teacher.

Ya Praek (Bermuda grass) stands for patience or perseverance because although the grass looks wilted it is still very much alive. Khao Tok (popped rice) stands for discipline because the rice is placed in a pan together and heated

12 Prep@53 December 2016

up to become popped rice. The Dok Kem has the same name as the Thai word for needle to show that the student is sharp-witted and brainy.

Wai Kru Day is always held on a Thursday, as this is thought to be an auspicious day by Thai people. It is the day of the year when Thai students show the most respect to their teachers by participating in a big school ceremony.

Western students could learn a lot from Thai students and Thai culture, when it comes to pay respect on Teachers’ Day. At Bangkok Prep held our annual Wai Kru Ceremony on Thursday, 27th September 2016.

The Wai Kru ceremony which takes place in most

educational institutions in Thailand generally follow the same form. The ceremony usually begins by the students’ recitation of the Wai Kru chant, which expresses respect for and gratitude to the teachers, and asks for the teachers’ blessing of their studies. Following this, a select number of students, usually the representatives of each class, will present the teachers with offerings of garlands. This is usually followed by a speech by Mrs. Valerie Thomas-Peter (Head of school ) offering the students guidance in their academic year.

Piyawat Tammapaktarakul Head of Thai Department

COMMUNITY

Giving back to the community A

Puppy cup 2017, get ready!

O

t Bangkok Prep, we believe that a successful student is also emotionally mature and has a ‘rounded’ education so that they are prepared for independence at university.

It is also part of our mission to “embrace social and personal responsibility”.

n Saturday the 14th of January 2017, Bangkok Prep will hold their 2nd annual Puppy Cup swim meet for developing squad swimmers. We expect to have more than 400 swimmers this year competing from more than 10 International Schools. This event is an initiative of Bangkok Prep to provide competition experience to those primary aged swimmers who have not yet had a taste of inter school competition. The emphasis is on fun, relaxed competition and race day excitement.

This year we are working with Asylum Access, an organisation which supports the Thailand asylum seeking community. We invite children from the asylum seeking community to use our educational facilities while our Sixth Form students plan and teach lessons across a range of subjects.We have also continued our work with the Saeng Sawang Foundation, visiting the centre to support local disabled children.

During the Sixth Form residential trip, our students used the money they raised to purchase the required building materials to make improvements to a local community school.

We found that many of those developing swimmers who participated in last year’s Puppy Cup, have now become productive members of our higher ability squads. Bangkok Prep anticipates that we will have 40 plus swimmers represent the Bulldogs at this year’s event, and these swimmers will come from Pre Squad and those swimmers that have been selected from Year 1 & 2.

Through our program of ‘In School Assistance’ we currently have members of our Sixth Form supporting across the school in roles such as Administration, HR, IT support and Reprographics.

Emma Marsh Year 13 Leader

The numbers for last year’s Puppy Cup were a total of 120 swimmers from 5 schools so Bangkok Prep is very pleased and proud that this event is now on the radar of more schools, so more Bangkok students now have the wonderful opportunity of competing.

It is a great family day with a lot of fun and excitement – please join us and cheer on our developing Bulldogs!

Matthew Ferrier Head of Aquatics

Parent support: A Precious Addition to our Community Spirit Teacher’s Appreciation Morning The Friends of Bangkok Prep (FOBP) have been active since the beginning of the academic year with several events. The dynamic group of parents kicked off the year by organising the Teachers Appreciation Morning on Wednesday, 21st September. They prepared a gorgeous array of fresh food, coffee and tea for our teachers and staff as a token of their appreciation towards the care of their children.

www.bkkprep.ac.th 13

SPORTS

Outstanding Sports Achievements

Golf Achievement On 9-11 November 2016, Monte participated in 8 th Albatross International Junior Golf Championship in Gurgaon, India as a representative of Thailand Junior Golf Federation to play against junior players from many countries. After a 3-day competition (54 holes), Monte has secured 2 winning prizes. The first prize was ‘Individual Boy aged 9-10’ event and another prize was from a team competition for Boys age 12 and below.

Karting Achievement Congratulations to Minnie, 7HP, and Enzo, 3LS, for winning the fourth and fifth place respectively in the 2016 Kat-Bira Asian Karting Open Championship Series! We are very proud of their achievement.

Basketball Update

I

t has been another successful season for Basketball at Bangkok Prep. The season started with more students than ever being given the opportunity to train with the Basketball Squads and having the chance to secure a position in the teams. In Primary the U11 girls and boys teams have competed in the TISAC league, the Bangkok Invitational Basketball Tournament and soon they will compete in the TISAC tournament. Bangkok Prep will be hosting the U11 boys tournament and hoping to perform

14 Prep@53 December 2016

well on home soil. Both teams have found it challenging this year but the dedication to training has been excellent and with the number of Year 5 students in the squads this year it can only hold well for the team to progress next year. In Secondary the basketball teams have had some great success. The U13 Boys have already being crowned TISAC Tournament Winners and League Runners Up. The Senior boys also looked like they could run out as league winners. The U15 Boys will finish in 3rd

place with them narrowly losing by only 2 points in both games against the teams that finished 1st and 2nd respectively. Lastly the girls have also had a strong season with the U13 Girls finishing Runners Up, U15 Girls finishing in 3rd place and the Seniors finishing in 4th place. As this season wraps up we look forward to the football season in Term 2.

Ben Cantrill Secondary PE Faculty Leader

SPORTS

Swimming

at Bangkok Prep

A

s this is being written our Bulldogs team are preparing for our first major event and one of the premier events of the swim calendar – the ISB Swimfest which hosts over 1000 swimmers.

This year we are taking a record number of 85 swimmers (over 10% of our whole school population) and our coaches have set themselves and our swimmers realistic but achievable goals.

We have already tasted success this year with great results in Tiger Prawns and the Shrewsbury Aquathon where the ethos of the Bulldog was displayed from our youngest students to our older students. On more than one occasion Prep colours took over the podium.

Shrewsbury Aquathon: 1st place U13 Girls 1st 2nd 3rd and 4th U8 Girls

2nd place Senior Girls 2nd place U8 Boys

Our 2nd annual Puppy Cup will be held in January, a meet designed by Bangkok Prep to cater for developing swimmers from all international schools in the Bangkok region. We will also take a small but talented side to Brunei in January to compete at the FOBISIA annual swim meet.

The Department is going through an exciting time and a very much developmental stage, and I can say with a great deal of confidence that Bangkok Prep will be one of the premier schools when people think of Asian International School swimming in the future.

ISB swimfest overall ranked 3rd

Most of you by now have met our 2 squad coaches – Kieran McRoberts and Alex Meramo – both very qualified, both dedicated to each individual swimmer, and bringing differing strengths to our team. I am pleased with the

progress that our consistent squad swimmers are making under their direction. The Department has set down both short and long term plans for growth and our focus will always remain in developing swimmers and being able to offer parents first class coaching. With the opening of the Secondary Campus next year, we will also have additional first class facilities and ample space to grow a core team.

One of the things that is part of our ongoing improvement and success, is the quality of our Curriculum Swimming, and it is very pleasing for me to say that our school has one of the highest ratios of swimmer/non swimmer per class in International Schools in Thailand. It is the mission statement of Bangkok Prep’s Aquatics department that ‘no child will leave our school a non-swimmer’. We are very close to achieving 100% in this key performance indicator starting with KS1 and most certainly winning with KS2. Isla Gordon, Jo North, Karen Clayton, Khun Oum, and Vicente have shown great dedication and commitment to achieving this mission with our little ones and we appreciate parental patience – we as a school understand that in the beginning there is a degree of anxiety for both parent and child. I would like to thank those parents who have supported us with this by ensuring their child comes to the curriculum lessons prepared. Thank you very much. Your child will be a swimmer and have a lifelong skill!

Matthew Ferrier Head of Aquatics

www.bkkprep.ac.th 15