Secondary newsletter 19th december 2014

REGENT’S secondary newsletter 19 dECEMBER 2014

merry christmas & happy new year!

In this issue...

Welcome

MR BRIAN IRVING HEAD OF SECONDARY headsec-bkk@regents.ac.th

PRINCIPAL’S LETTER

CHRISTMAS CONCERT Dear Parents, Students have been asked to write reflections on the first term as part of their end of term report, and so I thought why not do the same…

This is my 4th term in the Regent’s International School and like the previous 3 terms it has been a roller-coaster of excitement, challenge, awe and wonder.

Excitement at the sheer range and quality of activities and events that have taken place during the term such as, but not exclusively, Loy Krathong, Sports Day and the King’s Birthday Celebrations. The constant challenge of improving what we do in terms of academics, communicating in English and supporting our students. Awe at the breadth of achievements of students (from gaining interviews at Cambridge University to achieving highly in mock examinations) and staff (from running marathons to studying for

YEAR 7 KHAO YAI TRIP

higher degrees)and finally the wonder of what’s coming up next…

Only this week, for example, we have the Christmas Concert and a Secondary Christmas Fair organised by the students, for the students to raise money for our community partners. The selfless nature of our student body as a whole is so heartening that they are willing to help and support some members of our society who are, for whatever reasons, less fortunate than us.

And so, it is within this school spirit of giving and caring for others that I offer each and every one of you my very best wishes for the festive season, safe travels and a restful holiday.

SCIENCE TO TRY AT HOME

also don’t miss out on :

CHRISTMAS FAIR • SAVE THE DATE • REGENT’S, UK Mr Brian Irving Head of Secondary

newsletter

Principal’s letter

a reflection, updates and the future: A letter from the principal

by Mr Peter Hogan, Principal What makes a school special is best measured by what the students are like, what they do, what they believe is important and how they treat other people. Being new at the start of this term I met lots of our students and was delighted by what I discovered. I found students to be hard working, who wanted to do well and who know where they were going. This is not particularly unusual in a good international school but what was different was what else they were doing and the opinions they held. The volume and quality of work for others, the commitment to service and the thoughtfulness shown is quite exceptional. In my view this is something that sets us apart and makes me very proud to be a new member of the school community.

At the start of term I asked all staff and all the older students about the school; in particular what they liked and what they would like to see improved.

The clear message from the students was that they felt valued, known and understood by the staff and that they are treated as individuals.

Although the younger students are not able to articulate their opinions so well the primary staff views were a vital part of the process.

Mr. Hogan took part in Loy Krathong and other Thai cultural celebrations this year for the first time

principal’s letter

REGENT’S newsletter

volume and quality of work for others, the “ The commitment to service and the thoughtfulness shown is quite exceptional. In my view this is something that sets us apart and makes me very proud to be a new member of the school community.

As a result of listening to students there has been a good deal of improvement of facilities including the primary play areas, secondary outdoor recreation area, a business school, a primary parents lounge, a refurbished secondary dining room, renovated Sixth Form rooms that are now a new IB suite and improved catering for boarders. Renovations and improvement will continue along with completing our new building and tennis courts. There is a new approach and new roles for Senior School prefects and some improvements planned for the uniform. We have improved Wi-Fi and internet speeds across the school, developed the Virtual Leaning Environment in the Senior School and our new school app will be launched in January. We believe it will be the first of its kind in Thailand; it will be free to download and keep everyone up to date with what is going on.

We have had a wide variety of school trips and service activities in Bangkok and outside the region, visiting sports coaches, musicians, performers and

“

REGENT’S

university staff. There have been an encouraging number of Oxbridge applications and three students invited to interview at Cambridge. We have held some large scale events, in particular our Loy Krathong celebrations attracted large numbers and was a great success involving almost the whole school.

We are busy school with students who live up to the ideals of the Round Square. However our biggest successes are in the classroom. Academic excellence is vital and the quality of our teaching continues to be at the core of what we do. With good teaching, hardworking students and our holistic approach our students and our school continues to flourish. The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next, said Abraham Lincoln and I am in no doubt many leaders of the next generation are with us today at Regent’s International.

Christmas concert

by Ms rachel teague, head of music

There was a wonderful Christmas concert organised by the Music and Drama Departments on 16th December. All students throughout the school, Years 1 to IB, performed in the Christmas concert and were joined by Primary and Secondary Orchestras, Primary and Secondary Choir and String group. Florence, Mo and Tania compѐred with amusing jokes and repartee.

We started with the King’s anthem followed by the Principal’s address. The Secondary Orchestra played ‘Sleigh Ride’ with much verve which gave a great start to the festive concert. Sadhu, Primary Head Boy and then the rest of the programme ran in order of Year 1,2,3,4,5, and 6 interspersed with seasonal Drama performances. The String Group performed well it their extracts from ‘Frozen’. The Primary Orchestra also performed ‘Suffolk Morris’ and we are looking forward to hearing more in the future.

All Primary students performed with energy and enjoyment and their performances were delightful.

Primary joined with the Secondary choir to perform The King’s Anthem before they performed ‘Lean on Me.’ Tyler ‘s performance as Scrooge in the Y9 and Y10 Drama performance was particularly memorable and the Drama Performances were very entertaining.

The concert finished with a very successful, combined performance of choir and orchestra playing, ‘The Christmas Festival.’ Audience participated with singing along with the Christmas Carols. This was a lovely end to the concert. There was an amusing seasonal video performance by Mr Irving, Mr Hogan and Mrs Perkins, which the students thoroughly enjoyed.

A good time was had by all!

recent events & news

REGENT’S newsletter

REGENT’S newsletter

Recent events & News

the christmas fair

by Mr jennifer charles, ks3 teacher Thank you so much to all the staff and students for helping to finish the term with a bang! The Christmas Fair was a great success. An extra thank you to Mr Jones, Dr Sweeting, Mr Curran, Mr Dan, Mr Anderson and Khun Win for kindly letting us wax their legs to help raise more money. We raised an amazing 23,500 baht today for the Camillian Home.

For those who would like to learn more about the home, here is a link to their facebook page: www.facebook.com/Camillian.Home?fref=ts A pretty great effort! Merry Christmas to one and all!

REGENT’S newsletter

science @ home

Make Science Fun - Try this!

Film Canister Rocket

by Mr gavin terry, secondary science teacher Love science? Watch this space for scientific experiments you can try at home! just make sure you have help from a parent or guardian. brought to you by our secondary science teacher mr terry caution: this experiment must be done outside!

What do I need?

Water Empty film canister & lid ½ an antacid tablet (Alka-Seltzer works best if you can find it!)

Teaspoon

What do I do?

1. Break the antacid tablet in half. Alka-Seltzer works well if you can find it in Thailand. Make sure it is an antacid tablet (not a capsule!)

2. Remove the lid from the film canister and put a teaspoon (5 ml) of water into the canister.

Do the next 2 steps quickly 3. Drop the tablet half into the canister and put the cap onto the canister (make sure that it snaps on tightly) and give it a quick shake 4. Quickly put the canister on the ground CAP SIDE DOWN and STEP BACK at least 2 meters.

About 10 seconds later, you will hear a POP! and the film canister will launch into the air! !!! Caution: If it does not launch, wait at least 30 second before examining the canister. Usually the cap is not on tight enough and the gas has leaked out. !!!

You could try making a cone out of paper to add to your rocket to make it fly even better What is happening?

The antacid tablet reacts with the water producing carbon dioxide gas. As the carbon dioxide builds up it creates pressure inside the canister. The pressure builds up inside until eventually the cap is blasted down and the canister blasted up into the air.

REGENT’S newsletter

recent news & events

recent news & events

YEAR 7 KHAO YAI RESIDENTIAL TRIP

by MR LEE BURN, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT PE & SPORT

Our Year 7 students departed the Regent's Secondary School to embark on an adventure that was full of challenge; for some it was the prospect of spending 2 nights away from Mum and Dad, for others the host of exciting activities that were on offer. We travelled to our destination, The Wild Lodge, Khao Yai in good time; we were welcomed by our hosts and ushered to our new Gucci accommodation. No more than 5 minutes had passed when a small group of students were heard ‘yelling’ at the tops of their voices. The staff teachers ran to assist only to find a small 5cm culprit, otherwise known as Mr. Gecko traversing one of the cabin ceilings. It does not take a detective to work out that we were roughing it, rustic style!

Our 3 days activities were catered for excellently and included a river scramble, night walk, a 6km orienteering hike, canoeing, a camp fire and the much anticipated high ropes course! It is fair to say that our physical and mental limits were tested well beyond our normal means.

I am proud to report that our students approach to such challenge was excellent. Individuals faced their

fears and displayed great courage in overcoming certain reservations linked to our activities. In particular the ‘high ropes course’; suspended 10m above the grounds surface may not seem a lot but it sure looks higher when perched precariously on top of a narrow wooden platform or a hanging rope crossing! Some students wobbled with jelly legs, whilst others raced through each experience as if they were keen to bring the ordeal to an end.

As teachers, we were very impressed with our student’s behaviour over the short trip. Honesty, trust and mutual respect is important when taking young people away as there is a huge responsibility to ensure everybody is happy and safe. Our students did not let us down. They were fantastic, and I would not hesitate at taking them away again in the future.

A huge well done to everyone, and a big thank you to Mr. Green who organised the trip as part of our Rounds Square Ideals programme. We can be certain that we contributed to each of the pillars through this brilliant outdoor adventurous experience.

The Regent’s School , UK students will gain valuable experience within a British academic environment and a home-from-home boarding facility, which offers care and security.

Diss • Norfolk • IP22 2PA • England

ThE REgENT’s school, UK

Spend a Term in the UK! For StudentS ageS up to 14 YearS oLd

terM 2: 5 Jan – 27 MarCH 2015

The Regent’s school, Bangkok now offers a unique opportunity for students to experience real British style boarding at The Regent’s school UK. The Regent’s school UK is based at the Riddlesworth hall campus, near cambridge; a beautiful city in England, rich with history. This 300 year old school boasts of prominent alumni members, including the late Diana, Princess of Wales. We open this exciting opportunity for both boys and girls ages up to 14 years old.

Places to visit Within the exchange programme, there is the possibility to visit some of the most beautiful and interesting sights that make the United Kingdom one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. london has many exciting points of interest, including Pleasurewood Theme Park.

Accommodation The Boarding house provides the utmost in security and comfort, with supervision from the headmaster and a team of Boarding staff. They ensure that your child is happy and at home in their new environment.

BoARDINg AT ThE REgENT’s school, UK 02 957 5777 Ext 222

www.rEgEnts.ac.th/uk

admissionspri-bkk@rEgEnts.ac.th

02 957 5777 Ext 222

www.rEgEnts.ac.th/uk

admissionspri-bkk@rEgEnts.ac.th

Afternoon Activities students keep busy in the afternoon with a variety of activities, including hockey, rugby and horse riding. sTUDENTs hAvE A vARIETy of REcREATIoNAl AcTIvITIEs To choosE fRom

Contact us for more information please phone 02 957 5777 ext 222. To enroll your child, please complete the attached application form and email to admissionspri-bkk@regents.ac.th. further information can also be found on the website at www.regents.ac.th/uk

the regent’s school bangkok 601/99 pracha-uthit road wangtonglang bangkok 10310 telephone: +66 (0) 2 957 5777   e-mail: enquiry@regents.ac.th

02 957 5777 Ext 222

www.rEgEnts.ac.th/uk

admissionspri-bkk@rEgEnts.ac.th