Prep@53 December 2015 Edition

Prep www.bkkprep.ac.th

TOP IN THE COUNTRY! Sarah Williams, Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards

53

December 2015 Edition –

printed on recycled paper

Academic

FOBISIA Student Leadership Conference

Event

International Day

Community

Halloween Bake Sale

Sports

Outstanding Sports Achievements

IN THIS ISSUE • Bangkok Prep is getting green!

• Sixth Form Residential Trip • Whole School Recital Search for Bangkok Prep #bkkprep

SCHOOL NEWS

A growing community and an ever growing spirit W

elcome to the first Prep@53 of the academic year 2015/16. The school year has started with a flurry of activities and the design and content of this magazine reflects upon the many events and successes of the term. Lots of interesting and varied activities have taken place this term involving students from both Primary and Secondary, none of which could have happened without the support, imagination and dedication of our hardworking teaching and support teams.

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 building of our new Secondary Campus. As you can imagine this project is both exciting but also quite challenging! At the beginning of Term 2 building works will hopefully have commenced which

will no doubt dominate the school news during the coming year.

Community involvement at 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 of the members of the school team. We are looking forward to continuing to work in partnership with you during this academic year as we take the school further on its journey towards being excellent in every area of provision.

We have much to look forward this year and I hope that you enjoy this opportunity to browse through this overview of Term 1 2015/16!

Val Thomas-Peter Head of School

Endicott College, Dhurakij Pundit University and Bangkok Prep

Education for Teachers: Summer 2015 throughout the regular school year, they finished by completing the f o u r t h s e m e s t e r, either here in Bangkok or at one of the other centres in the world. Our first cohort graduated this summer.

In the spirit of being internationally minded, Bangkok Prep is very proud to be hosting this worldwide event, and we look forward to welcoming educators from around the world as they continue their studies in International Education.

Graduating class of 2015

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his summer, Bangkok Prep was proud to host for the second year in a row, a Summer International Programs Graduate Study Centre of Endicott College, in collaboration with Dhurakij Pundit Universit (DPU). Endicott is an International University that offers intensive graduate level and professional study courses towards Masters Degrees for international school teachers.

be exclusively in Leysin, Switzerland; Madrid, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; and Bangkok, Thailand.

The summer facilities for Endicott College are only found in select places around the world each summer. Currently, Endicott will

Teachers from around the world enrolled in these courses which ran intensively in June and July 2015. After two on-line semesters

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Endicott and DPU offered two degree programmes this summer: the Masters of Education Degree in International Education and the Masters of Education in International Education Administration.

Mia Livingston Endicott University and DPU Bangkok Campus Manager

SCHOOL NEWS

Learning experiences

fostering independence for our students B

angkok Prep has proven to be a very exciting learning community and since we started Term 1 in August, the children have already taken part in rich academic studies, creative arts, sports activities and whole school charity events.

As we continue to move through this academic year, the Primary children experience an impressive range of learning experiences.

During the creation of the new Bangkok Prep Primary thematic curriculum, which began in August 2015, we made sure that there were many opportunities for children to reflect on their learning. It is vital the children are encouraged to reflect on their learning and assess how they have performed. This evaluation process enables them to be independent learners and allows them to identify what they have done well and what they need to do next in order to get better at something that they have been

learning. Not only is it important that children ‘pause’ and evaluate their own progress, adults need to do this more often as well – certainly teachers are finding many benefits in reflection on their own performance.

As technology continues to increase in speed – we should all endeavour to slow our lives down and allow time for reflection and appreciation of the quality of our lives.

We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.

John Dewey Duncan Stonehouse Head of Primary

Leading the way with top results!

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he Secondary School has been an exciting place to be this term. The Secondary section is nearly as populated as Primary, and are working hard to retain a community feel as we expand. Key to this is ensuring effective communication, so that the community stays informed. We have had a large number of parent information sessions; Key Stage Information Sessions, Year 7 Settling-In, University Applications, the Options Processes and Year 5 and 6 Transition, not to mention the IB versus A Level presentation. These support the more traditional student led conferences to discuss progress as well as our weekly Prepazine. We are looking to increasingly use our own Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook use.

We have a multitude of events to stretch and challenge our students alongside the academic curriculum. Stand-out events have been International Day, Think Pink and Cheerleading.

Term 2 looks to be even more busy and energetic, we will be involving more students

and developing student leadership further.

We started the year celebrating our best ever examination results and excellent global university destinations of our graduating students. We also learned that Sarah Williams in Year 12, our Deputy Head Girl, received an Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award for History. Further success is happening in sport and as I write this we are leading the leagues in nearly all Basketball leagues. I am sure we will have a nail-biting end to the term as we aim for the top spots.

I would like to thank teachers, staff, students, Friends of Bangkok Prep (FOBP) and community members for their continued hard work and dedication, because of you, next term promises to be just as fulfilling.

Nigel Wilsonlock Acting Head of Secondary

www.bkkprep.ac.th 3

SCHOOL NEWS

TOP IN THE COUNTRY! Deputy Head Girl receives the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award in IGCSE History said “At Bangkok Prep, our constant focus, is to provide the best learning opportunities for individuals to reach their full potential. This excellent result is a testimony to the quality and calibre of our students at Bangkok Prep and of our qualified and dedicated teachers who nurture individuals through constant support and guidance.”

F

or the third consecutive year, a Bangkok Prep student has excelled in the IGCSE Cambridge Examination series. Seventeen year old, Deputy Head Girl, Sarah Williams in Year 12 was awarded ‘Top in the Country’

by Cambridge International Examinations for her performance in the June 2015 exams. On Wednesday 14th October, Sarah collected the Outstanding Learner Award for the highest performing student in Thailand for History at IGCSE. To put the achievement in context, Sarah outperformed every single student who took IGCSE History at schools in Thailand – this is over 40 schools.

Ms Valerie Thomas-Peter, Head of School,

Last year, two students from Bangkok Prep were awarded ‘Top in the Country’ in the IGCSE Mathematics examinations and ‘Top in The World’ in the IGCSE Art and Design examinations.

“This great achievement

by Sarah was based upon her exceptional efforts in both the end of year exam and coursework, which saw her gain a very high A* grade. Her consistent dedication to her s t u d i e s and hard work has resulted in this outstanding accomplishment. The Humanities department are all incredibly proud to have

such a talented, hard-working student taking our subjects,” said Mr Steve Rudall, Sarah’s teacher and Humanities Faculty Leader.

The IGCSE (The International General Certificate of Secondary Education) is the world’s most popular international qualification for 14 to 16 year olds, and is taught in thousands of schools worldwide. Likewise, their A Level programme, also known as The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, is also very popular worldwide and is highly recognised and valued by universities and employers. Students at Bangkok Prep sit for both the IGCSE and A Levels examinations.

All graduating students at Bangkok Prep have been offered a place to the university of their choice and some of these include University of Exeter, University of Bath, University College London (UCL), University of Southampton, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) New York, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, University of British Columbia (UBC) Canada and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore to name a few.

FOBISIA Leadership Course in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

O

n the 18 th and 19 th September, we attended the FOBISIA Student Leadership Conference hosted by The British International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Many other schools from all over South East Asia also took part in this conference to learn various skills and ideas to incorporate into our schools.

Meeting several other student leaders from different international schools in Asia gave us the chance to expand on our ideas and widen our perspective of leadership. We learned how to be the best leader possible: by being ethical.

It was an unforgettable experience and without a doubt, a beneficial one.

The two days that we spent in Vietnam were anything but ordinary. We did not only meet inspiring individuals from all over Asia, but we were also lucky enough to have participated in activities that changed our perspectives towards leadership. All the tasks and workshops were thoroughly planned out to ensure that every second was worthwhile. But most importantly, professional trainers and coaches (such as respected coach Clive Leach) enhanced the experience and pushed us to our full potential.

At the end of two productive days, we all agreed that the workshops would enable us to bring more strategic planning and ideas on how to reform our school. The highlight of the trip was surely the fact that we all got to cooperate with so many different people in a cosmopolitan environment. This experience will help us to unify all students in order to move forward together as a school.

Chulnop Burusratanaphan (Jhah), Head Boy Vlada Kharanzhevich, Head Girl Sarah Williams, Deputy Head Girl

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MR JOSH MORRIS THOUGHTS I was especially delighted to take the team of student leaders to the FOBISIA Conference and I was impressed and proud of the way they involved themselves in the conference. I got some positive feedback from other teachers about our students and the way they conducted themselves.

They also made a real impression on some of the other delegates there - so much so that one of the student leaders from a Vietnamese school opted not to go to his own school’s Sixth Form social but to join the Bangkok Prep team at their end of conference celebration meal!

ACADEMIC

Model United Nations Preparing the leaders of tomorrow

On Saturday 10th October, the Model United Nations team from Bangkok Prep travelled to NIST to attend the 23rd annual Bangkok Model United Nations Conference along with seventeen other international schools in Bangkok. All of us were allocated different committees and represented the views of different countries. We then started to debate and wrote resolutions to issues that are currently being dealt with and discussed around the world. This experience was truly precious and eye-opening as it not only allowed me to become more aware of the current topics, but also developed my debating skills and overall made me a more experienced delegate.

Punn Chatupanyachotikul, Year 12

The MUN Conference was very lively and busy, and numerous students from many leading international schools were present.

As I was in the Disarmament and Security Committee (DISEC), I was put into a room full of students that I had never met before.

However, luckily for me, everybody was very friendly and even though we had only met that day, the conference was full of joy and laughter as we progressed with our debates and speeches. Only two months into the year, MUN has quickly become one of the highlights of Year 11.

Pat-arpa Kritsanaviparkporn (Emmy), Year 11

This was my first time attending a MUN conference and I chose to be in the Human Rights Committee, as it included topics that I thought I might be able to do well in. I was the delegate of Argentina. Both the research process and writing the opening speech were challenging, but I managed to get through with help from Mr John Lockwood, English Faculty Leader.

As I sat I was shivering from fear and excitement. Since the turns were chosen by alphabetical order, and I was representing Argentina, I was first. I went up to the podium and delivered my opening speech, and soon after came the resolution writing and debating.

Overall, taking part in MUN was an amazing learning experience where I familiarise myself with debating and speech writing skills and met new friends.

Amber Kar Yan Tan, Year 9

Eco School Team O

ne of the major challenges facing future generations is a changing climate and the declining state of the planet.

Primary Eco Team

With this in mind, some of our students have decided to take steps towards making our school a more environmentally friendly community.

Last year, the Bangkok Prep Eco Team registered as an Eco School and, after months of hard work, the team were awarded a Bronze Award in May of this year.

This is the first of three awards, which ultimately leads to a coveted Green Flag status, something that is respected worldwide as a demonstration of excellence in environmentally friendly schooling. We are currently busy meeting the criteria for the Silver Award and hope to gain this in the next few months.

Secondary Eco Team

So far, we have campaigned for energy

saving light bulbs, embedded a recycling plan for every class, taught people about wasting energy, designed reminders to not waste water, developed a Secondary Eco Team and, most importantly, raised awareness of these global issues that affect every single one of us. By encouraging an environmentally friendly mind set we hope to inspire those children that will go on to be the policy makers and business owners of the future, which will in turn lead to a healthier planet.

We have many more exciting plans for the future so please make sure that you are following our updates in the PREPazine and on our Firefly page.

Kris Leverton Year 6 teacher and Primary and Secondary Eco Team Facilitator

www.bkkprep.ac.th 5

ACADEMIC

Public Speaking Competition 1st place

T

hursday 8th October saw the return of the Year 8 Public Speaking Competition, now in its fifth year of running. We again saw six competitors of outstanding quality making persuasive and impassioned speeches on a variety of subjects.

The Public Speaking Competition is the culmination of a six-week unit of work at the beginning of Year 8’s English studies. They read and - when possible - listen to great public speeches from the past: Martin Luther king Jnr’s ‘I have a dream’, John F. Kennedy’s ‘We choose to go to the moon’, and Nelson Mandela’s ‘I choose to die’. Whilst considering the issues raised in these speeches, the students also learn the rhetorical techniques that writers use to make their speeches effective, vivid, and memorable. The six students chosen from the entire Year 8 student body this year were Marco Kuratana and Pim Sirilar from 8VP; Joe Jacobson and Svara Mandrekar from 8DK;

and Ellie Velez and Nathan Della Gatta from 8CC. Marco talked about the importance of persistence and never giving up; Pim discussed the evils of discrimination; Joe held forth about the ruinous influence of KFC on modern life; Svara outlined the problems represented by the vast number of plastic bags we use every day; Ellie reminded us that smoking is a foul, unhealthy habit; and Nathan took aim at everyone’s least favourite insect, the mosquito. In the end, after extremely lengthy deliberations, our four judges, Mr Wilsonlock, Ms Laragione, Ms Court-Smith, and

2nd place

Ms Brown decided on the winners. Joe and Svara came joint third, Marco came second, and Ellie came first from her clear and confident delivery, powerful language, and the coherent structure to her argument. We were extremely pleased with the quality of the competitors’ speeches and very happy at the success of the event, and would like to extend a big ‘thank you’ to all who participated, helped, and attended.

John Lockwood English and EAL Faculty Leader

Joint 3rd place

World Maths Day Competition O

ctober saw the return of World Maths Day, an online competition in which over 20,000 schools participate from 153 different countries.

This year our students were placed into houses, rather than their maths groups. Each house then earned house points. The number of house points they were awarded was dependent on how many points they accumulated during the competition.

Points were earned for competing against students from around the globe in answering as many questions as they could in 60 second games.

Once again the students participated enthusiastically, from Year 3 to Year 13. The Secondary students who scored top points from each year group were also awarded certificates during the Assembly. For achieving excellence, a special congratulation goes to Thaksini Chawla (Krishna) and Ishaan Bhatnagar, both from Year 6, for gaining a place in Asia’s top 100.

Rob Hills

6 Prep@53 December 2015

Secondary

Primary

1 Surus 2nd Sabre 3rd Ursus 4th Sabre

1st Tigers 2nd Bears 3rd lions 4th Elephants

st

Mathematics and Computing Faculty Leader

Simon Callow

Year 6 teacher and Primary Numeracy Coordinator

PRIMARY

The final standings were

SECONDARY

ACADEMIC

Senses Week in Foundation Stage

C

hildren in the Foundation Stage explored characteristics of effective learning throughout our Senses Week; playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically.

In Nursery, our main focus was on hearing and touching. We made a group book all about textures where we sorted materials into different groups such as soft, rough, bumpy and shiny, then we displayed them in our book for the reading corner. The children explored their hearing by using the ‘Talking Telephones’ in our garden with Ms Nan. The children thought it was fantastic to hear each other so loud and clear at opposite ends of the grass.

A highlight throughout the week was the very exciting cooking classes where children investigated how ingredients and their properties can change when melted, mixed together and chilled. May we very kindly thank all of our Reception parents for leading these much enjoyed cooking workshops.

We had a very special visit to Year 1, where we were invited to share our learning in a ‘Senses Extravaganza’. Children became buddies for the morning as they explored different challenges including food tasting, guess the smell, what’s in the box and what can I hear? Thank you to Year 1 for being such excellent teachers with their Foundation Stage friends.

In Reception, the children engaged in a range of activities exploring and discussing different textures, smells, tastes and sounds. We began the week with a sensory walk, tiptoeing barefoot through soft, hard, gooey, sticky, slimy, lumpy, feathery and prickly objects. It was lots of fun and there was lots of laughter! We asked each other – what could you feel?

Charlotte C. Loach Head of Foundation Stage Helen Young Foundation Stage Coordinator

Open Morning on Thursday 11th February!

Star Wars at Bangkok Prep

he event will be on Thursday 11th February and will start at 8am with a presentation about our school where we will share our fantastic facilities and information about our curriculum.

Both parents and children are invited to explore our Foundation Stage and Primary School, and see learning first-hand by visiting each of our classrooms during the school day. If you or your friends have a child between the ages of 18 months and 5 years this is a great opportunity! Please help spread the word around! RSVP at info@bkkprep.ac.th.

his October, children in Year 3 and Year 4 took part in an amazing reading session where they met with characters from the Star Wars Movies. They took part in drama, storytelling and art work activities. This type of experience remains with children forever and consolidates their love of reading.

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Nurturing the love of reading

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Duncan Stonehouse Head of Primary

www.bkkprep.ac.th 7

ACADEMIC

Sixth Form Residential Trip

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eptember 28th to October 2nd, Year 12 and 13 students went on their Residential Trip to Chiang Mai. The week was full of activities and fun. Activities that the students participated in included: Muay Thai , Emotional Detox, Jungle Survival and building a shelter, visiting an Elephant Nature Park, climbing a Limestone Waterfall, competing in an Amazing Race, Hiking, as well as working at โรงเรียนบ้าน สันทราย/ Ban San Sai School.

WHAT STUDENTS SAID ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE

It was epic!

Bhum Fuengfuskul (Poom), Year 12 The Amazing Race was fun but challenging — I was definitely glad it was over!

Nehal Kanwar (Nehal), Year 13

Ban San Sai School was our community service project that we had raised money to help. This day included lots of hard work, painting tyres, painting a building, preparing soil, and planting a garden. At the school we were also able to interact with the students and share a snack with them. The residential was tough - there was certainly a lot of sweat but the food was incredible and we enjoyed getting to know each other better.

Sara Wilsonlock Head of sixth Form Rhonda Wright Head of Year 12

Allowed me to experience real life — I feel sheltered at school.

Pupa Bangraithong (Tonpai), Year 12 I was so lucky to see the elephants on my birthday — they are incredible animals and I feel blessed to have been able to feed and wash them.

Vishnupriya Suresh (Vichu), Year 12 The hike was extremely tough and a brand new experience for me but the view at the top almost made it with the sweat and tears!

Divya Lakhotia, Year 12 I loved spending the free time making new friends as I was new to the school.

Bhoomika Parihar (Rashi), Year 12 The Amazing Race was amazing and a challenging new experience.

Gurpreet Srimasorn (Gops), Year 13 I enjoyed the waterfall climb — it was easy and fun.

Anand Sharma (Anand), Year 13 An emotionally touching, life-lasting experience.

Roman Fekante, Year 13 An adrenalin rush.

Chulnop Burusratanaphan (Jhah), Year 13 Exhilarating.

Mananchaya Khumtai (Mild), Year 13

A Level Internship in the PE department

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ighteen year old and recent A Level graduate from Chipping Norton Secondary School located in Oxfordshire England, Benjamin Proctor has been undergoing his Work Experience at Bangkok Prep, in the PE department since the beginning of the academic year. During his gap year, Benjamin thought that work experience would be a great use of his time, and he was right!

“My internship has been a great insight into a professional working environment. It has definitely changed my attitude towards work and improved my work ethic. This first work experience has given me the benchmark I needed for the future.” Physical Education and Business were amongst his favourite A Level subjects for which he was very passionate. In September 2016, Benjamin plans to return to England and further his studies in Sports Marketing at Leeds Beckett University; a programme of study that combines both his favourite topics studied during A Level. Benjamin dreams of a career in Sports Marketing for a multinational sports brand. His work experience at Bangkok Prep is ending this December, after which he will be completing his gap year travelling in South East Asia and India for leisure.

8 Prep@53 December 2015

THE ARTS

Whole School Recital T

he Whole School Recital took place on Thursday 15th October in the Auditorium.

Following the tradition set at last year’s Recital this event was primarily a solo performance opportunity which represented a range of talent from across both the Primary and Secondary sections of the school. Students worked incredibly hard in preparation for the event and the standard of performance was very high.

Congratulations to all those who were involved!

This year, we also invited the English department and the World Languages department to include some poetry readings. Amongst the poems recited on the night were some of last year’s Poetry Competition winners as well as some of the enthusiastic talents of our Primary writers. It was lovely to hear and to celebrate the diversity of languages spoken here at Bangkok Prep and it is a tradition which we hope to continue in the future.

We are so pleased to see a growing number of pupils involved in music-making. Musical performances are important in the development of the school community and offer a great opportunity for students to develop a wide range of important life skills. There is so much music making going on and we wish we had time to showcase everything. We would like to take the opportunity once again to invite students to join in our musical extra-curricular activities so that they too can enjoy the spotlight at our forthcoming music events.

Dulcie Kellner Head of Music

Creative Arts O

ur Faculty consists of 4 subject areas (Art, Design Technology, Drama and Music) and we can be found on the 4th and 5th floors of the Secondary School. Here is our magnificent team!

Design Technology

Music

We would like to show off some of the exciting Design Technology projects that students have designed and made during the first half term.

In Key Stage 3, students have been performing, singing, composing and exploring new styles of music. In Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 students have been studying and analysing set works for their IGCSE and A Level exams. Extra-curricular clubs are in full swing preparing for the Christmas Concert and we finished our last half term with a successful Whole School Recital in October which showcased solo performances from Primary and Secondary.

 A manda Cowan, Amanda Laragione, Adam Spence, Dulcie Kellner, Thomas Carrigan, Sophie Tighe

Art Year 12 Art students are exploring a very traditional method of oil painting used by Old Masters such as Rembrandt and Titian. The technique involves creating a monochromatic painting, which is then worked on top of with colour. Here is an example of Prao’s (Y12) outstanding work and her take on this method.

Drama Year 7 are studying Greek theatre, Year 8 are learning about crime and punishment through Drama, Year 9 have been performing comedy sketches, learning about the psychology behind what makes us laugh. The Year 11 students have just completed both practical exams and Year 13 are entering their final unit of work in their journey through Drama. After devising and performing their original play ‘Opening Boxes’ they can now focus on being directors, readying a complete design concept for Buchner’s Woyzeck.

Adam Spence Creative Arts Faculty Leader

www.bkkprep.ac.th 9

EVENTS

International Day

O

n International Day, several sixth formers volunteered to help out with Primary activities and taking pictures around the school for the media team. In the Primary group, we mainly helped out in the Year 1 and 2 areas, and assisted with the North American, British and Thai stations. In the North American area we helped Primary decorate biscuits, educated the students on agriculture in America, and guided them to complete word searches and a quiz. In the United Kingdom we gave out scones and cookies to the Primary students, helped them colour in paper crowns and told them stories about the history of the countries. It felt very fulfilling and enjoyable for all of us to be able to get to know the younger years, and learn about their different cultures and ideas. In the media team we observed the activities of both the Primary and the Secondary, taking pictures of their teamwork, diversity and recreation. We then used all the pictures taken to create a video of International Day, which we displayed in the Assembly, to show everybody the great times that we all had. It was a pleasure for us to help out in the fantastic Bangkok Prep tradition that is International Day, and we all hope that every student, teacher and helper had as much fun as we did. We all look forward to doing it again next year!

Sarah Williams, Year 12 Deputy Head Girl

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EVENTS

www.bkkprep.ac.th 11

EVENTS

Think

Pink

at Bangkok Prep

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n the morning of Friday 16th October I scurried into school a little late, my head full of hopes for the upcoming day and a small clutch of worry in my heart. This was the first charity day of the academic year- and my first as Community Action Project co-coordinator.

Would anyone have listened? Would the students get involved? Would we raise any money at all?

The sight that greeted me as I turned the corner and beheld the playground brought a small shout of laughter to my lips. The playground was awash with pink! Every hue and tone imaginable was represented from palest peach to darkest puce. From the smallest Foundation Stage student in his sister’s T-shirt to strapping Sixth Formers swathed in pink kaftans, nearly all were strutting around like the proverbial panther, preening and prancing – in pink! I knew then we were going to raise a good amount of money for a great cause.

Bangkok Breast Cancer Support group was the beneficiary of our ‘Think Pink’ fundraising day – so named as October is the official month in which International Breast Cancer charities raise awareness and funds. It was good to have three representatives from the charity here to witness the ‘pinkerobics’, pink lemonade and pink ice-cream sales, as well as the pink faces of the teachers who joined in with the dancing fun!

The FOBP did an amazing sales job – the queue for pink lemonade stretched to the football pitch and back and with several students slurping their lemonade and promptly re-joining the queue, the line continued until the bell for lessons began.

witnessed as the sun set on the days of disco… but that was the point – to be silly, have fun and raise money; Bangkok Prep succeeded ably in all three areas.

The final total raised was 62,665 baht – a fantastic achievement. Bangkok Breast Cancer support are planning to buy a machine to aid chemotherapy with the money and we are planning to do it all again –albeit bigger, better (and definitely pinker) next October.

Elizabeth O’Sullivan and Ellie Voce-Godwin Bangkok Prep Community Action Project Coordinators

Ms Isla Gordon from the PE department nimbly led three dance routines from a stage in the Undercroft area and many students joined in as well. Some senior staff were even seen strutting their funky selves and throwing out moves last

Thailand’s rich cultural rituals T

hailand is host to many traditional events all year round such as Wai Kru and Loy Krathong. These celebrations emphasise a notion of respect for the elderly, caregivers or instructors, and the environment. At Bangkok Prep, we value these rich cultural rituals which enhance our experience of Thai culture. The Thai department organised two beautiful events for which the school community gathered in October and November 2015.

WAI KRU DAY

LOY KRATHONG FESTIVAL

Traditionally, Wai Kru ceremony is celebrated in Thailand on 16th January of every year. We do this to pay respect to the teachers. Wai Kru means ‘Teachers Day or Pay respect to the Teachers’. This day is also a school holiday usually in Thai schools and sometimes in international schools. I, myself have done this many times. When the teacher teaches us students, they are helping us to get a brighter future. So, in return we have Wai Kru Day. In Wai Kru Day we give flowers and chocolates while kneeling down to teachers and Head of School.

Wai Kru Day is one of the most important festivals in Thailand.

Kirti Jhawar Year 7

12 Prep@53 December 2015

My experience about Wai Kru Day was awesome because we get to pay respect to the teachers. I like to respect the teachers because each year the teachers work really hard to get all of the activities, work and field trips for us. So, I think we need to respect the teacher because of all that they have done for us all these years.

They helped us all those years we were in school with them. It’s best to respect the teachers that help.

It could be any teacher that you respect for Wai Kru Day. I hope everyone can respect all teachers.

Jorden Bowers Year 5

Loy Krathong is a very fun festival where you make Krathongs made of banana trees, banana leaves, flowers and candles. In Loy Krathong you make Krathongs and release them in a river to apologise to the water goddess for dirtying seas and rivers. Krathongs that are not environmentally friendly are made of plastic and foam.

Parth Hingorani Year 5

COMMUNITY

A ‘Spooktacular’ Event

at Bangkok Prep

H

alloween Eve Thursday 30th October, was not an ordinary day at Bangkok Prep. It would seem that our Gallery had been taken over by fearful ghouls, goblins, demons, zombies and insane doctors studying the macabre. The frightening music coming from the ominously dark door did not scare away our students though.

The anxious crowds of students dressed for the occasion lined up to enter Bangkok Prep’s “Haunted Disco”, a dark and sinister lair of tents set up to chill and thrill and put the students in the mood for Halloween,

all to support the endeavours of the Friends of Bangkok Prep (FOBP).

Thanks to the all the volunteers who made it their mission to bring this event to life or death, depending on how you look at it. The creativity and hard work that went into decorating the Gallery definitely paid off listening to the screams and nervous laughter coming from the room. A special thanks to Nap Vatcharindr, Year 2 parent who was the evil mastermind behind the event.

Michelle Stairs Bangkok Prep Parent

Parent support: A Precious Addition to our Community Spirit Teachers Appreciation Morning

Funky Fridays

The Friends of Bangkok Prep (FOBP) have been quite 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 Tuesday 9th 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.

September also saw the start of what now seems to have become a tradition at Bangkok Prep: Funky Fridays. These, set up on every last Friday of each month, have allowed the dedicated group of parents to collect funds towards the support of school events and charity. We thank the Friends of Bangkok Prep for their continuing support of the school and for constantly entertaining our children with great games, activities and providing delicious snacks. At Bangkok Prep, we all seem to be ‘hooked’ on their amazing lemonade! FOBP, you are an important part of the great Bangkok Prep community spirit, keep it up!

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SPORTS

Outstanding Sports Achievements

Sprint Achievements On Saturday 31st October and Sunday 1st November, Kimberley Goodburn (Kim), Year 12 student, entered the 100m and 200m U18 men’s races at the 9th Annual Burapha University Open Athletics tournament. Kim set fantastic records and personal best (PB) times achieved as follows:

 Tennis Success Michael Mathayomchand (Mike) in Year 11 placed 5th in the Chang-LTAT Jr Championship in Trang. After rain delays and long days of matches, Mike won the Championship for U16.

200m qualifying round: won with an electronically timed PB of 23:13 200m final round: 4th place with an electronically timed PB of 23:07 100m qualifying round: 2nd with an electronically timed PB of 11.23 100m final round: won 3rd place medal with an electronically timed PB of 11:18

 Rugby Achievement On Sunday 11th October, Kimberly Goodburn (Kim) in Year 12 played his first Rugby League game for the Southerners’ adult team in the ‘Bangkok 9’s Rugby League’ competition. The Southerners won the cup, with Kim scoring in each of the matches and 6 tries in total. Kim was the highest scoring player in the squad! As a result of his performance, Kim was asked to join the “Thailand All-Stars” National Team in their match against Japan.

 Piano Competition On Friday 30th October, Malissa Saengtubtim in Year 7 won the second prize “Category C” award in the Churairat Piano Competition 2015 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

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 Sailing Achievement Arthit Romanyk (Miki) in Year 10 has won 1st place for the 4.7 Laser class in JVK Eastern Seaboard Regatta held at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. This 3-day national sailing regatta brought 12 sailors from around Thailand. Amongst the competitors were athletes from the National Sailing Team. Lathavit Thananitayaudom (Win) in Year 9 also joined the competition and achieved 5th place overall. The next event will be the Phuket’s King Cup in December 2015 which is an international event and the most prestigious international sailing event in Asia.

 Golf Achievement Achira Chumchaivate (Monte) in Year 4 joined a Thai Students Golf Union tournament at Watermill Golf and Garden, and played against under 11 years old competitors. Monte won 1st place in the competition with a score of 8 over par which was 5 strokes better than the second place.

SPORTS

To Swim or Not to Swim…

Swimming: A lifelong skill

I

may be biased, but swimming to me is just as an important subject as mathematics or science. Learning to swim is a lifelong skill that has recreational, safety, and health benefits.

You can swim well into your old age without the jarring of jogging on old joints and swimming exercises every muscle in the body. When a child is first learning to swim, we realise that they are using muscles they have never used before. The development in core body strength in swimming is unparalleled to any other sport.

At Bangkok Prep, the Aquatics team is placing a high degree of importance on our building blocks to learn how to swim. Appropriate steps are in place to ensure that every child who attends all of their swimming lessons will leave Bangkok Prep, a swimmer.

We understand the initial fears and normal apprehensions that children have when learning new things, particularly with swimming. That’s why we want to ask parents to help us work towards the mutual goal of providing all of our students with this lifelong skill.

Competition News The future is certainly bright when it comes to our competitive swimming and we have a full calendar after Christmas. The U9 to Seniors Phuket FOBISIA competition will be held in January 2016, and we will be taking a small, yet dynamic squad. This is a high level event and we expect to do well with our team.

In the new year, we will also be holding the first ever Puppy Cup (U11 and under) at Bangkok Prep. This will give our less experienced competition swimmers a taste of a competition event. We anticipate that the Puppy Cup will become a permanent fixture on international school’s sporting calendars.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the swimmers, parents, coaches, and school community a Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Go Bulldogs!

Matt Ferrier Head of Aquatics

Basketball Update O

ur basketball teams have had a tremendous season this year. They have dominated the other schools in many games and, in league standings at the moment; we are 1st in 6 out of 8 age groups with only a few teams left with one game to go. There have been some great moments so far and some outstanding performances by our players. All of our players deserve recognition but, as space is very limited, I will only pick out a few: Martin Lowe Head of PE

U11 Girls

U15 Girls

League – 3rd place Tournament – to be announced

League Champions Tournament – 4th place

U11 Boys

U15 Boys

League Champions Tournament Champions

League Champions Tournament – 2nd place

U13 Girls

Senior Girls

League Champions Tournament – 2nd place

League – 3rd place Tournament – 5th place

U13 Boys

Senior Boys

League Champions Tournament – 3rd place

League Champions Tournament – 6th place

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