Secondary newsletter 31st october 2014

REGENT’S secondary newsletter 31 october 2014

KEN, YEAR 8, PLAYING VIOLIN IN THE KEY STAGE 3 STRING FESTIVAL

In this issue...

Welcome

MR BRIAN IRVING HEAD OF SECONDARY headsec-bkk@regents.ac.th STRING FESTIVAL 2014

UPDATE FROM 6TH FORM Dear Parents, After a well-earned half-term break, the students returned to school ready, I hope, for another busy and full half term. I can’t believe that it’s nearly November, or ‘Movember’ already (but more about this the next newsletter).

We had cause to celebrate in this week’s assembly. As you will read later, our IB Design Technology students entered a FOBISIA wide competition and were very successful in achieving 1st Place across 12 other highly regarded schools. Achievements such as this go to show that we are able to compete at the highest levels with the other schools both in Bangkok and around the region.

PETER DALGLISH VISIT

BOARDING NEWS

what the question was…’Mocks’ was the answer, or more specifically the start of Mocks in 32 days’ time. These are important diagnostic tests on so many levels. Both students and staff gain a snap-shot of what is going well and what needs improvement with sufficient time for both parties to make the necessary adjustments for success in May/June. This was one of the main reasons for bringing the Mock exams forward. I wish the students well in their revision and other preparations. As Samuel Goldwyn said: “The harder I work, the luckier I get”.

Finally, Halloween brought a number of students dressing up to mark the day, selling cakes and raising money for charity. More about this in our next issue.

Keep learning!

Teachers are the only group of professionals who ask questions, the answers to which they already know! This Regards, was turned around slightly in Assembly when the Year 13 and 11 students were given the answer ‘32’ and asked

also don’t miss out on :

PENPAL PROJECT • PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION • HOW TO UNLOCK POTENTIAL • TAKING RISKS IN LEARNING • STUDENT REWARDS • tonal studies in art • DATES FOR YOUR DIARY • STUDY ABROAD

Mr Brian Irving Head of Secondary

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Key Stage 3 String Festival 2014

By mr gareth ansell, music teacher On the 10th and 11th of October, Jessie, Mona and Lissa from Year 9, along with Ken from year 8 attended the 5th annual Key Stage 3 String Festival hosted by Bangkok Patana school. Over the course of two days, along with 131 students from 5 other international schools they performed pieces by Rossini, Jenkins, Shapiro, Foster and Balmages, as well as a traditional Thai piece ‘Khamen Saiyoke’. The performance was rounded out by a performance of ‘don’t stop believing’ the classic rock song made famous again by the TV show Glee.

The varied and complicated selection provided a challenge for all 4 students and it was a delight to see the progress they all made.

recent events & news

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The Penpal Project By mr charles barrow, head of english

If you are interested in taking part next year, please see Miss Teague or Mr. Ansell.

Handwriting a letter to a friend in another country – to a penpal – might seem a bit oldfashioned in an age when we have mobile telephones and email. However, it is a skill that continues to thrive at The Regent’s International School Bangkok, following a new initiative with Round Square schools around the world.

Currently, nearly every student in Years 7 to 10 at the Secondary School writes to a friend abroad.

Year 7 write to Abbotsholme in England and to Ballarat Grammar School in Australia. Year 8 write to Bishops College School in Canada, to Ballarat Grammar School, to Transylvania College in Romania and to Hawthorn Den Primary School in Scotland. Year 9 write to Bishops College School and Enka Okullari in Turkey. All of Year 10 has penpals at Enka Okullari as well.

A good penpal letter consists not only of facts, but of opinions as well. It provides students with the opportunity to think about their world through the eyes of girls and boys of the same age in a country abroad. Though we often think that the world is getting smaller and smaller, tastes in music and food are still worlds apart. Culture and traditions make every country distinct.

The handwritten letter is still a much more intimate form of communication than words squeezed in code down an electrical wire. Moreover, the handwritten letter is also assessed as 15% of IGCSE English as a Second Language. Having a penpal, therefore, makes sense both from a social and an academic context.

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recent events & news

recent events & news

Update from the Sixth Form

By mr david butcher, senior studies coordinator Year 12 have completed their first half-term and are getting to grips with the specific language and methods of assessment used in the IB Diploma Programme. They are flourishing in terms of ability and the breadth of their knowledge. Our cohort now consists of students from; USA, Thailand, Australia, UK, Bhutan, India, Italy, Bangladesh, Korea, Germany, Canada, Indonesia and Taiwan

Year 13 have completed their Extended Essays, which is another major step towards their final examinations in May. They are also currently completing another milestone on the IB Diploma journey their Theory of Knowledge essays, which will be submitted in January.

In addition to all of this the Year 13 students have been completing Internal Assessments in all of their subjects which equate to between 20 and 30 percent of their final grade.

What’s been going on in Group 3?

I am continually amazed by the experiences and themes covered by our students have on a daily basis at The Regent’s School, Bangkok. This week I have been looking at the subjects from the Individuals and Societies group, this includes Business Management, Economics, Geography, History and Psychology.

I have been lucky to see our Historians studying the League of Nations; our Economists calculating consumer and producer surpluses; our Geographers discussing the impacts of the Millennium Development Goals and our Psychologists investigating how to treat major depressive disorder.

Coming up Our Year 12 students have begun the process of applying to become Prefects. These are important roles within our school community and provide our students with an opportunity to demonstrate how well-rounded they really are.

The Year 12 and 13 students are also currently working on plans to improve the Sixth Form facilities, which is another example of our student leaders in action.

On Monday 1st December the Mock Examinations will begin for Year 13, these are a great opportunity for the students to experience what the final examinations will be like and to identify areas of improvement. They have already prepared their revision timetables to ensure they achieve the best grades possible in them.

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recent events & news

recent events & news

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ib students win interschool dt competition Over the past two weeks we entered the Keystage 5 Fobisea Design and Technology Challenge where we had to come up with a mechanism to move 3 cans from one place to another without touching them with our hands.

Prior to the design we were given a template of a loading bay mock up where we had to situate our mechanism on the given base. We adopted the IB design cycle throughout the whole process from identifying the needs to evaluation. We came up with a final solution where we used a hydraulic system to push the cans into a cradle. The cradle was operated using a 4-axis pivot. Our design is made up of 3D printed and laser-cut components.

Through this experience we have learnt a lot of valuable knowledge, which strengthened our understanding in DT. Working against time was challenging especially during our Y13 chaos where we even had thoughts of not being able to solve the problem. However, with some support from Mr Scolyer and Mr Steve – our DT experts – we overcame the “design block”.

It’s very rewarding to know that we won the competition in the end because it not only proves that we’re able to work under pressure but our skills are also acknowledged.

We would like to thank Mr. Scolyer and Mr. Steve for all the support, without them we wouldn’t be able to be in this position.

FOBISIA DT Winners Fantastic work from our Design Technology IB students who have recently won the FOBISIA DT challenge against schools across Southeast Asia! Aided by Mr David Scolyer, our IB students contributed this winning video. Well done!

Click on the video image to watch or visit http://youtu.be/v6i185xpuT8

REGENT’S newsletter

recent events & news

recent events & news

public speaking competition

By mr charles barrow, head of english

The rationale behind the Public Speaking Competition is to develop students’ understanding of the power of the spoken word as a persuasive device. They work hard in English lessons and for homework to produce concise, well-researched speeches and to deliver a polished performance. Students in Years 7 to 11 give a speech in front of their English class and vote for winners to go through to the Year Group Finals.

The top speakers in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are then identified. A gladiatorial Grand Final in the Primary School Auditorium ensues, in a contest that is often high on drama.

Congratulations to this year’s finalists: Woon (Year

7), Sarah (Year 8), R Sun (Year 9), Toy (Year 10) and Mayank (Year 11).

The judges were looking for persuasive, logical and well-organised speeches that were delivered with charisma. Mr Hogan (Principal), Ms Harris (Head of Art), and Mr Anderson (Science teacher) had the unenviable task of choosing the winners and awarded 1st Prize to Mayank (Year 11), 2nd Prize to Toy (Year 10) and 3rd Prize to Woon (Year 7).

Mayank gave an elegantly written speech, in which he chided the audience for being too quick to judge others. Focusing on imperfection, a trait he argued is common to all human beings, he noted it is these imperfections that make us unique. Toy, whose progress to the final was most unexpected, continued to perform above expectations, connecting with her audience in a much more personal way, as she argued the value of parents, even when, in an adolescent world, their roles may seem somewhat antagonistic. Woon, in a performance that belied her age, confidently declaimed that animals should not be used for fashion.

Congratulations to all students in Years 7 to 11 for their participation and hard work, which go towards making this such an excellent competition – particularly to those in lower sets, whose courage in delivering a persuasive speech is outstanding.

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Don't Judge a Book by its Cover... the winning speech You’re sitting in a courtroom, wearing a robe with a white, curly wig upon your head, a hammer in front of you, about to deliver the final verdict on a criminal case. How ridiculously incredible does the job of a judge sound?! Doesn’t that scenario make you want to be a judge when you grow up? Well, let me tell you something. Each and every one of us sat here, in this very room, is already a judge.

Judging a book by its cover, familial love, the beauty of the sea, child labour and the use of animals in fashion were the topics of the speeches that made it to the final of this year’s Public Speaking Competition.

This competition is an integral part of every year at The Regent’s International School Bangkok. The quality of the speeches and the performances were, as ever, excellent. But, there were a couple of firsts in this year’s competition. First of all, all students in the Secondary School, whatever the quality of their English, were tasked with delivering a speech of between 3 and 5 minutes in the early stages of the competition. And secondly, Global Concerns linked up for the first time with Years 7, 8 and 9 to provide different topics of ethical concern to every house group.

REGENT’S

It’s mind-boggling to me as why we are so quick to judge others. Perhaps it’s because we’re jealous.

Perhaps it’s because we don’t like other people to be different to us. Or perhaps it’s because we’re too used to pigeon-holing things. Everywhere we look, we see objects already pigeon-holed into different groups. Even at school, we are separated into sets, tutor groups and houses. The effect of this is that we spend all of our lives designating things into places where they don’t belong. It’s as though we are trying to cram a girl’s body into a boy’s one. Of course, in the real world, there are sex-change operations which can solve this issue. However, unfortunately there are no such operations to stop people’s preposterous proclivity to judge others.

It’s absolutely absurd to think that perfection exists in our society. It’s even more foolish to try and find it. However, believe it or not, this is one of the main reasons why we judge people. We’ve all been brainwashed into believing that perfection is all around us. Whenever you switch on your TV, flip through a magazine or browse through the internet, you will see glittering celebrities who seem perfect.

Everyone sees them, but most people are too foolish to realize that the image of the celebrity has been doctored. Thus, we head out on a quest to search for perfection around us, and discriminate against those who aren’t. Look around you. It may be hard to believe, but you are surrounded by imperfection, and not perfection. Come on, we all know that the images from the magazine are airbrushed. Even our beloved teachers are imperfect. You, yourself, are imperfect. It may sound incongruous, but these imperfections are what make us unique. Our imperfections are the traits which define us, and make us stand out from the rest.

It is our imperfection which makes us who we are, and without them, we would be soulless.

Imagine there are two people – let’s call them George and Penny – sitting among us at this very moment.

Penny has a spot on her nose, which is a centimeter in length. Whenever George sees her, he can’t stop giggling? How do you think Penny will feel about herself? Every time she looks in the mirror, she will see the spot growing, slowly taking over her life. No matter how inconsequential this illustration may seem, it’s not so inconsequential when you consider that this is happening all across the globe. Teenagers like George are sucking the life out of innocent bystanders who have done nothing wrong. Sometimes, even we contribute to this. What we don’t realize is that our actions have severe consequences too.

Over the past decade, teenage suicide rates have increased by 12%, while almost 10% of all teenagers around the world are suffering from depression. You must be sitting there wondering “Damn! How have those levels suddenly risen so much?” The answer is quite simple. As technology has evolved, we have been given a much larger platform on which to judge, tease or even bully others on. Some people will be teased about their Facebook status, while others will be judged by their Instagram posts. Is it really fair to judge someone through the lens of a computer screen though? We are smart enough not to judge books by their covers, yet we still don’t seem smart enough to realize that judging people by their race, gender or appearance is a similar folly?

We are often too quick to base our judgments on a mistake that another makes. If I make a mistake while delivering this speech, I’ll always be known as the ‘guy who screwed up on stage’.

When you think about it, it’s fairly apparent that society has made great progress. We have overcome challenges like slavery, world wars and discrimination. However, overcoming those challenges would not have been possible if we hadn’t worked together. One man alone cannot change the way society thinks or acts, but together, all of us can make a difference. That is why I ask you, today, to stop to stop judging others! Everyone deserves a chance to live their lives the way they want to. Everyone should live their lives the way they want to, not how you or I want to. With that thought in our heads, I bid you farewell.

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education & innovation

education & innovation

Unlocking Potential

By mr David Jones, deputy head Sir Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, "Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential" At The Regent's International School Bangkok teachers and the senior management team carefully monitor the progress each student makes. Students are assessed every six weeks to measures their attainment and effort along with a number of other approaches they take towards their school life. Effort grades are all important; as Sir Winston stated, without effort potential will not be achieved.

Parents will have recently received a grade sheet to report the first set of data for this term.

Assessing and monitoring is all very good but unless such assessments inform parents and student about how improvements can be made, then the whole process fails.

Reflecting on performance and planning how to improve is all important and Regent's students receive constant advice through a variety of formative assessment feedback to advise how progress can be made.

Year 11 are at a very important milestone in their school careers as their IGCSE performance is the first real public measure of their ability in all the subjects they study. Their results will stay with them for life under performing at this crucial time could seriously affect their career and educational ambitions for the future.

To ensure students have the very best chance of success, teacher lay on extra tutorial sessions at lunchtime and after school to which students who would benefit from extra help will be invited. Actually 'invited' may not be the correct word as invitations are usually able to be declined. In the case of these intervention sessions, as we call them, if a student is invited to join, they will be expected to attend.

As a school we will provide all the support we can to ensure our student achieve the best they can. We know that intervention works and improves eventual grades which is why it is seen as a compulsory part of school life for those who will benefit. Parents will be kept fully informed of the intervention on offer. All students have to provide is the effort needed to take advantage of this focussed help.

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Take risks...within reason

By mr brian irving, head of secondary Head of Secondary, Mr Irvhing, explores why it may be worthwhile to take risks in learning practices than finding out too late in your academic life

Having gone through a very traditional education and degree course, having a good memory, in fact a very good memory, was always going to be an advantage.

The world of Biology, and more specifically my own specialism of Human Physiology had at its core the requirement to memorise tens of thousands of facts over a 3 year period before accessing these under the pressure of a series of 3 hour examinations. No continuous internal assessment in those days!

Developing a good functional memory is something that anyone can do, but like any worthwhile skill, it takes practice. There are many websites wholly dedicated to helping students improve their memory, but again, like many other skills, a technique which works for one person might not work for another.

As an audio-visual learner, I learn best through pictures and sound. It took a while to realise this and many poor test scores in my younger secondary years taught me the errors in my attempts to learn scientific facts, historical dates and French vocabulary..

The point of this is to encourage you all to take risks and try different methods of learning early on in your school life. Better to experiment with your learning style in year 7 and get a poor result, than to do so in the external examination years and live with the unsatisfactory grade forever.

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recent events & news

A time for change

a reflection on peter dalglish’s visit to the school and the message he left behind

recent events & news

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Student Rewards

By mr david figes, deputy head of secondary

By ms jennifer charles, ks3 teacher It is rare to find someone like Peter Dalglish. For all our longing to genuinely help, the sad truth is that the hardships of others are all too easy to forget for people who live privileged lives such as ours. Last week Peter stood in front of us, a man who has acted upon this ambition to help others and has done so with great success.

The UN representative and founder of the Street Kids International charity and Trails Youth Initiative program came to Regent’s to share with us his thoughts and experiences of working in the charity sector. His profound words captured our audience of secondary students and the teachers that sat with them.

While many of his stories outlined the horrors faced by many children across the world leaving us both shocked and saddened, his address finished by giving us a message a hope. A message to inspire. Peter’s story highlights to us the ways in which we can all make a difference: by keeping the promises we make to ourselves and others, by asking for help and by repeatedly evaluating what is important. Every small act of kindness, has the potential to cause of ripple of good.

Peter’s effect on our students and teachers was evident when a large group gathered at the end to meet him, asking to hear more, to share how they too want to help make a change and to ask for advice on how to do this.

From this meeting, we decided to create an Amnesty International Group in school. We are still in the process of setting up, but would welcome any ideas or members. If you are interested in making a change and helping others please contact either myself or Miss Edwards.

Mr Dalglish (centre), Dr Virachai and Mr Hogan with Secondary pillar leaders

At The Regent’s International School Bangkok we believe that students should be rewarded when they push themselves to do something excellent.

Excellence can come in many forms within a school setting and as a school we want to highlight and praise students when they strive for excellence.

At the beginning of this academic year the school relaunched the ‘merit’ system. Students collect ‘merits’ and when they obtain 40, 80 and 120 ‘merits’ total they are rewarded with further with House Points, certificates, letters of commendation and in school privilege cards.

(2 weeks in a row - awarded by Tutor) - this would reward students for good behaviour and organisation, and for speaking English.

• Showing outstanding care, consideration or compassion

How can students obtain merits?

The competition to be the first student to 40 ‘merits’ has been intense but just before the half term break we had our first student to reach this achievement.

Congratulations to Cartoon in Year 9 who received 40 House Points and in school privilege cards, which she shared with her friends so they could all be part of her success.

• • • •

As we move into the second half of this term the competition to achieve the most ‘merits’ continues.

How many students can get to the 40 ‘merits’ level?

Who will be the first to 80 ‘merits’?

Outstanding academic work Outstanding effort Full half term attendance at a co-curricular activity with any required dress/equipment (valid authorised absence accepted as attendance) • No negative comments plus diary signed

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recent events & news

YEAR 10 TONAL STUDIES

By mS FELICITY , Curriculum Leader of the Arts This term the Year 10's have been working hard on improving their skills. Their first project was to produce a tonal study using a wide range of values, blending and direction to produce an image that has form. For their first piece of work I am sure that you will agree these are STUNNING!!! If you want a closer look you can find them on display in the Foyer of the Secondary Building

recent events & news

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boarding news

Sanuk Centre

By anurag, gap staff

boarding news

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splash down

By anurag, gap staff

After a great start to the year, the Boarders went on their well-deserved half-term holiday to Rayong.

Before we hit the sun and sand, we took a small detour to visit a small day care centre that was doing amazing charity work. For the majority of the children who parents work in construction, their daily lives are confined to a small congregated iron house with minimal space and close to no ventilation.

The Sanuk Centre offers these children food, education, a place to have fun and be themselves.

The centre is run through the dedicated work of volunteers and generous donation of the local business owners. The boarders spent the day helping the volunteers entertain the children.

The children and the Boarders were split into 3 groups with one group heading for the beach, another went for a dip in the swimming pool while one group created cards that the children could sell at the markets to buy toys and other items.

The day was a massive success and the boarders left tired and many were moved by the poor living standard. The Regent’s Boarding community is certain to continue our support of the Sanuk Centre and its volunteers and we look forward to visiting again.

After a week of relaxing on the beach or by the pool, our very tanned boarders took a small detour on the way home to visit Splash Down.

Located in Pattaya, Splash Down is a water park that offers many water based obstacles and challenges.

The Boarders spent 4 hours jumping, sliding, falling and splashing. The most popular of the attractions was by far the bouncing balls. This challenge proved just too technical for our boarding cohort but watching those attempt them was enjoyable enough.

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dates for your diary

newsletter

newsletter

important dates - term 1! finally, don’t forget to put these dates in your diary!

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

14th November - Loy Krathong - 6 pm 28th November - Secondary Sports Day 29th November - Ploenchit Fair 29th November – 2nd December - Year 12 CAS Project

1st December – 9th December Year 11 and Year 13 Mock Exams 5th December King’s Birthday - school closed 10th December - Parent Consultations 16th December Whole School Christmas concert 17th December Term 1 ends and Full Reports distributed

U15 FOBISIA Games!

By mr lee burns, HEAD OF PE AND SPORTS The time is nearly upon us to compete in what is the highlight of the competitive calendar.

The FOBISIA games brings together numerous competitors across a range of sporting disciplines.

From Basketball to Swimming and Football to Track and Field.

This year The Regent’s International School have a dedicated few who are keen to display their skills against a host of other competitors from across the Asian continent. The competitive element of

the games accounts for a large part of its success, however, another just as valuable part of getting involved includes the process of meeting new friends, having fun and developing ones personal attributes that rarely have the chance to surface in other day to day activities.

We wish our fine ambassadors good luck and hope they do us proud in competition. Good luck to Tilly, Drive, Ploy, Anshen, Mike, Jace and the mighty ‘Mighty’.

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

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.

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.

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