Festival
EY Songkran Festival 2025
This year the EY students had a blast!
We started the Songkran Festival with the Thai Dessert Activity, during Thai class with the teacher’s guidance, students had an opportunity to create the Thai dessert “ข้าวโพดคลุก” (kao-poadklook / Sweet corn with young coconut meat & sugar). Then the students tasted it and they loved it so much. Some of them went home and asked to cook it with their parents which is a really great activity to do with the family.
The Songkran ceremony that was held in the Early Years section was truly beautiful and meaningful. The emcees did a wonderful job introducing the significance of Songkran. The water activities brought the most enjoyment to the EY Songkran! It is absolutely great to see the students, parents, and teachers all having such a blast getting each other wet!
Kru Aim
EY Thai Team Leader
PY Songkran Festival 2025
Songkran festival, also called “water festival”, is one of the biggest Thai events at Concordian and this year it was held on April 10th, 2025. The festivities took place throughout the whole community. Beginning with a wonderful Thai dance performance in the lobby, followed by a Thai musical ensemble, and ending with Thai long drum performance, once again beautifully capturing the spirit of Songkran.
At the Grand Theater, before the wonderful pouring ceremony started, Grade 4 students took all PY students on a journey of Thai culture, performing the Dance of the Four Regions starting with the dance of Klong Sa-bat Chai as a symbol of peace and prosperity, the Umbrella Dance from North, the Mineral-Sifting Dance from South, the Dok Koon Dance from Northeast and The Long Drum dance from Central of Thailand.
Last but not least, the joyful atmosphere was absolutely great at the water activities where everyone enjoyed splashing water on each other and participating in various stations designed by the event team. Hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the amazing Thai New Year at Concordian.
Kru Nid
PY Thai Team Leader
Echoes of Songkran: Isan’s Timeless Rhythm
The Songkran Ceremony, a well-preserved tradition since the ancient Sukhothai period, has been an important part of Concordian International School. As Concordian students, we were taught the value of Songkran all the way from our primary years. We valued Songkran as a New year's day for all Thai people where we get to celebrate and do many fun activities. For example, things like water fighting, visiting temples, and making merit through giving. However, for us Songkran isn’t just about the fun activities but also being grateful and celebrating with people we love. That is why every year, all students from middle school to high school with great help from the Thai department join in to prepare celebrations for everyone to enjoy.
Every year during Songkran the hallways are decorated with festive decorations allowing all students to anticipate the joy of the Songkran ceremony. In each Thai class teachers allow students to explore their own culture, whether that be learning about ancient thai games or intricate thai crafts. For example, this year grade 10s were able to try kite making. Each class learned about the many different types of kites, such as the Pakpao kite which has a triangle shape and has long been an integral part of Thai culture, or the Chula kite which is often used for kite competitions. Each grade 10 was allowed to explore their own creativity in making the Pakpao kite which was a very fun activity that helped us learn more about Thai culture. Other grades also got to explore other activities. For example, bamboo dancing or Thai games.
For us, this year was another exciting year where we could learn more about the Songkran ceremony as well as bond with our classmates. As well as enjoy the unique Temple Fair set by our school every year and the amazing performance which caused excitement all throughout the Grand Theater.
The performance at the Grand Theater was truly inspiring to watch. Not only did the performance display the interconnections between different cultures, but more so, it influenced us to reflect more on our cultural roots and heritage, and how prevalent such details are in our everyday life and social identity. The main highlight of the day however, was the พิธีรดนำ� --- a Thai ceremony where students pour floral water over their teacher’s hands, symbolizing respect and gratitude and paying homage. Thanking teachers for their sacrifices, time and dedication, and for providing us with opportunities, knowledge and wisdom, impacting us to acknowledge the privileges that we have for such fruitful opportunities, encouraging reflections of oneself. This ceremony is not only symbolically important, but also reminds us to remain humble even in the midst of being in a “privileged position”, knowing that there is much more to explore and much more to thank for.
Other performances included Rum Lao Krathop Mai which is a Lao Bamboo Dance developed and practiced in Saraburi, Thailand from Lao communities. The dance shows the merge of both Lao history and Thai social norms, in creation of this artful approach and representation. Not only that, Rum Lao Krathop Mai also showed the physical fitness skills of both students and teachers, and the importance of syncopation and understanding each other in order to effectively perform the dance. The last part of the performances were held by exchange students from Keystone Academy, Beijing, featuring modern style, kung fu and martial arts and expressional art such as hip hop dancing (which was joined by students from 2min dance studio). This was truly the best way to conclude the performances, as it was more than just a beautifully executed performance, it shows friendship, newfound respect and appreciation, and a hope for a fresh start and “modern energy” through rediscovered historical arts and fitness practices (martial arts and kung fu).
Temple Fair is a part of our Songkran celebration. It is another exciting activity celebrated by the Concordian community yearly. It raises the spirits of Songkran through tasting Thai cuisines, enjoying traditional games and doing hands-on art and crafts. This year's Temple Fair featured a wide variety of booths from all students from grade 6 to grade 10, each offering unique experiences for visitors to engage and enjoy.
The highlight of the fair is the selection of famous Thai foods and drinks, such as Thai papaya salad (Somtam), known for its spicy and flavourful taste. Glutinous rice with coconut milk (Khao Lam), a Thai dessert cooked in bamboo. Rice crackers with chilli paste (ข้าวเกรียบ
and selection of refreshing Thai herbal juice. In addition to Thai food and drinks, there are booths celebrating Thai traditional games and performances such as coconut-shell walking (เดินกะลา), where visitor balance their walks on coconutshell. “Lao Kratop Mai” (ลาวกระทบไม้), traditional lively thai folk song dance where visitors dance in harmony, promoting teamwork and collaborative skills and Wheel rolling (ตีวงล้อ), a traditional enjoyable Thai game.
Visitors could take parted in making their very own Thai crafts such as create traditional Thai kites made from thin paper and bamboo (ประดิษฐ์ว่าว), weave coasters from bamboo strips (สานตอกที่รองแก้ว) and paint beautiful illustration on fired clay creations (เขียนสีหม้อดิน)
Overall, Temple Fair is an enjoyable, meaningful and educational event. Moreover, it allows the Concordian community to learn more about Thai traditions and history, and reflects on the rich heritage of Thailand. It is such a memorable experience for everyone.
To conclude, the Songkran ceremony to us is an undeniably important tradition that we are happy to celebrate each and every year, continuing this amazing tradition here at Concordian. We would like to thank everyone involved in making this magical event happen.
By Peach, Maggie, IngIng G10
