The Rugbeian | The Rugby School Thailand Newsletter

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Rugbeian Newsletter | Term 1: 2019-20

THE RUGBEIAN NEWSLETTER

TERM 1: 2019-20

PRE-PREP Find out what the different classes have been up to this term – from pirate and dinosaur topics, to visits to the Outdoor Education Centre, Pre-Prep learning has been fun and engaging for everyone!

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PREP There have been lots of academic and sporting developments in the Prep School in Term 1, including a team taking part in their first Techathon Hecktathlon in Bangkok.

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SENIOR We asked some Senior School students to report on different aspects of school life, from the first days of Term 1 with lots of new faces to meet, to what’s been happening in the boarding houses.

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BEHIND THE SCENES Take a look behind the scenes to see what school events and activities have been taking place both in and outside of our school campus.

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THE RUGBEIAN NEWSLETTER

TERM 1: 2019-20

Welcome to our school newsletter Welcome to our first termly “Rugbeian Newsletter”.

From its opening in September 2017 with 110 pupils, Rugby School Thailand now has 680 pupils and we are told that it is the fastest-growing international school in Thailand. Within these pages you will find some of the reasons for that impressive growth, with articles recounting the pupils’ journey from tiny 2-year-olds in our Pre-Nursery, to energetic 11-year-olds in our Prep School, to 18-year-old ‘A’ level candidates in our Senior School.

Of course, we are blessed with a wonderful school site and outstanding facilities, but in the end a happy and successful school is created by the people involved.

From the Teepsuwan family, to the Governors, to Rugby School UK, to the senior management, the teaching staff, the support staff, the parents and, most importantly, the pupils … all have played their part in Rugby School Thailand’s remarkable progress - progress that has already led, in just two years, to it being described as ‘one of the top schools in Asia’.

And the theme running throughout the Newsletter is the school’s determination to educate ‘the whole person’. This means ensuring the highest academic standards; it means offering a huge range of activities and experiences outside the classroom; and it means developing the right qualities of character in each and every Rugby School Thailand pupil. Based upon the UK’s renowned private school model rather than the international school model, it is an approach that is unique in Thailand.

The articles in this newsletter offer a taste of another busy and rewarding term at Rugby School Thailand, and I hope that you, the reader, will find the contents to be both informative and enjoyable. My thanks to all have contributed to it and to our marketing department for putting it together.

Nigel Westlake Founding Head / Head of Prep

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TERM 1: 2019-20

PRE-PREP From the Head of Pre-Prep

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his is only the start of our third year but every year is different! New teachers, new pupils and new ideas always bring with it new learning, new opportunities and new friends.

Being settled at school and feeling safe and secure in your learning

school, we have achieved that!

environment is the key focus of Term 1 and I think by the looks on the children’s faces each morning as they arrive at

Mrs Sarah Shuttleworth Head of Pre-Prep

There is a lot packed into a week at Pre-Prep including our “Wake and Shake” sessions, our visits to the Outdoor Education Centre, our parent workshops and our array of wonderful special events.

Amazing achievements have occurred this term in all classes but here are my favourites: Pre-Nurser y settled af ter separating from their parents for the first time and also going through toilet training requires a lot of effort from the children, parents and the teachers! A huge well done to everyone in Pre-Nursery.

Nursery for settling in well and being excellent role models in the EYFS dining room by showing the new and younger pupils how we sit and eat with our cutlery and how we tidy up after ourselves.

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Reception for the big move upstairs and coping being the big children in the Early Years depar tment, guiding the younger children at play times and supporting them when they were upset. Also for riding their bikes some of them without stabilisers!

Year 2 for taking on board an array of technological challenges using drones to suppor t their learning and solving the Myster y of the Missing cake. (And also for allowing two large dinosaurs to enter the Pre-Prep at the Dino Disco.)

Year 1 for their amazing Talk For Writing performances. “The Lost Hat” was performed by all with real energy and vigour and their own versions of the story proved to be as equally entertaining.

I am wondering what exciting things we are going to do in Term 2 - I cannot wait to find out!

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Ordering Numbers Maths Challenge Butterflies

Deux Petit Oiseaux Reception, Year 1 & Year 2

TERM 1: 2019-20

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utterfly class have been busy learning how to accurately order numbers during their maths lessons. They were challenged to create partner number lists, then group number lists and finally a class number list. They had to use 2, 3 and 4 digit numbers and order them from smallest to largest. Look at what an amazing job they did...

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e have been having so much fun in French. We have been learning a song called “Deux Petit Oiseaux” We learnt to say “bonjour” and “au revoir”.

We then made our own birds (Fifi and Blanche) and we took it in turns to perform a show in our very own puppet show!

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Dinner With Family Year 1 Jellyfish

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e had a great dinner with family members in the Year 1 Jellyfish class!

In China, people love sitting around a round table to have dinner together, so, we made our own version of this. In the activity, students had to say “He is daddy, daddy eats red beans”. Then, the rest students would have to figure out who is the person that's going to eat red beans, and put the red bean in the mouth of that person.

Maths Gameshow Koalas (and then the rest of Year 2)

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e had so much fun exploring all the spellings for numbers up to 100. It was interesting to see how some words changed spellings for example forty lost the ‘u’ out of four. We then shared this learning with the other Year 2 classes and all played beat the teacher... I bet you can’t guess who won?

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Storymap Nursery Tigers

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he Tigers had their first practice with making a storymap. We read the book ‘Shark in the Park” and after that the children had to sequence the pictures on the Smartboard.

We also created a ‘Shark in the park’ role-play table and all the Tigers made their own story map, which was a fun and challenging activity.

Reception Bring Your Bike To School Reception

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ll the Reception children loved bringing their bikes into school, and what super cyclists we were! Everyone worked really hard to use their coordination to put on and fasten up their cycle helmets.

Safety first! Then we were set to zoom around the cycle path; we had scooters, balance bikes, bikes with stabilizers and even some bikes with just two wheels!

We definitely can’t wait until this event again in Term 2!

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Visit To The Outdoor Education Centre Year 1

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ear 1 have thoroughly enjoyed our visits to the OEC this term. The children get very excited before we leave and always return with big smiles on their faces.

During our first visit back in October we spent some time learning about our 5 senses. The children learned about animals that have a ‘Super Sense’ such as the eagle with its super vision. We also got to explore the centre and get to know the site a bit better, ready for our next visit.

During our second visit we began to use our map skills to find our way around the camp, with children learning about directions: north, south, east and west.

Mr Nick also had a skeleton at the camp and started to discuss back bones, as we taught the children about vertebrates and invertebrates. He also showed us lots of x-rays to get a better understanding of what different animals look like inside.

The children particularly enjoyed the high ropes course, walking through the wonderful green forests of the nature site.

They were all sad to leave, however it was definitely time for a snack and a cool down. All of year 1 are looking forward to returning to the Outdoor Education Centre soon.

Yo Ho! It’s A Pirates Life For Us Nursery

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he Nursery classes have loved our ‘Pirate’ topic this term. We have been making lots of fun crafts including our own pirate hats and engaging in imaginative role-play through dressing up and being in the pirate cafe.

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TERM 1: 2019-20

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Paper Mache Dino Eggs Koalas

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oalas have been really enjoying their dinosaur topic and to help bring it to life, they have been set the task of making their own dinosaur egg. We discussed how to paper mache properly in order to create a nice, smooth egg surface and then, the Koalas set to work. They had a great time moulding their paper strips onto their balloons and the finished products looked fabulous!

Muck, Mess & Mixtures Topic Pre-Nursery

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his half term has been so much fun! The children in Pre-Nursery explored colours and textures using their senses. After reading a story called ‘Mix It Up’, we learnt that we could make new colours by mixing blue, red and yellow. We then mixed our own new colours, but we didn’t use a paint brush…

our methods were very messy!

We used our hands, big spray bottles, balloons and even toy cars to paint with. The children were thoroughly engaged and also learnt lots of personal skills too, such as co-operation, taking turns, being thoughtful and communicating with their friends.

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Celebrating With A Dino Disco Year 2

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ur Year 2 Topic has been about dinosaurs and their adaptations. The children have investigated different habitats, physical features and behavioural adaptations to classify and compare animals.

The theme of this Topic has offered many opportunities for exciting science and creative art activities. To celebrate their learning, Year 2 had a Dino Disco complete with a ‘herbivore snack’ and special guests*! (*Miss Sarah in an inflatable dino costume)

Topic on 3 Little Pigs Reception

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ver the last few weeks the students in Reception have absolutely adored learning all about the story of ‘The 3 Little Pigs’. The children got to retell the story through a variety of media-Makaton, role play, small world play and we even began to write some simple sentences from the story too! We ended this topic with the most amazing trip to the on-site Outdoor Education Camp to build our own stick houses and listen to the story one final time in the giant house of straw! And luckily we didn't have a visit from the Big Bad Wolf!

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Rugby Rascals

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ugby Rascals (our weekly playgroup) has been busy with lots of new Rascals joining this term. Each week our young friends and parents join in with a range of fun activities. Always popular is the soft play, where children can climb, balance and roll. Every week we try to focus on developing new skills and showing our helpers how adventurous we have become.

A baby exercise class with Miss Sarah sees everyone getting active as we sing and dance our way through a variety of moves. We

have parachute sessions that help us with our core strength and yoga sessions where we try to pose like a cat or a snake.

After snack time we explore the Nursery playground and usually have fun playing with bubbles, digging in the sand or whizzing down the slides. We have lots of space to enjoy and places to explore in our outdoor session.

Back inside we have special time with Miss Hannah and Miss India, which combines stories and rhymes with music. Everyone loves the

rhythm sticks and the lights and sounds used to encourage our little Rascals’ sensory development. Best yet is when we have umbrellas, bubbles and water spray sessions, which is rich with language, inspiration and creativity!

All in all, a morning of fun and stimulating activities and a chance for parents to meet new friends.

All the activities are led in English and new vocabulary is introduced weekly through songs, music and story.

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THE RUGBEIAN NEWSLETTER

TERM 1: 2019-20

THE RUGBEIAN NEWSLETTER

TERM 1: 2019-20

PREP Prep School Head

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Byhis anyisstandards, hasofbeen a morning of 70+ already onarrive offer, at and our only the this start each as they very the Saturday Enrichment ourgood thirdterm. year Academically but every school, we have achieved programme that! children have worked hard and has never been more popular. year is d i f f e r e n t ! N ew There is a lot packed into risen to the challenge another Teamwork and leadership awere to teachers, new pupils of and week at Pre-Prep including our full ideas set of always school exams. new bring The the fore during exciting challenges “Wakeset andfor Shake” ourat our sports department enjoyed each sessions, Year group with it new learning,has new visits to the Outdoor Education significant success oppor tunities andagainst new older Outdoor Education Centre, and Centre,the our parent workshops and larger international schools children’s global awareness friends.

Being settled at and our array of wonderful i n foand o t b feeling a l l , swsafe i m mand i n g a n d inspired a very special Eco-Fair. school specialCultural events. highlights included Wai basketball.

Prep school musicians secure in your learning have achieved excellent results Kru, Remembrance Day, Loy environment is the key focus in their music exams and have Krathong and the end of term of enthralled Term 1 andtheir I think by the in a Carol Service. In short, the everaudience looks on the children’s wonderful Christmasfaces Concert. enthusiastic Prep School pupils Our budding actors and actresses and their outstanding teachers can of Years 3 and 4 have performed be proud of another successful, and sung with great confidence happy term... and gusto in ‘The journey of the Nigel Westlake Noble Gnarble’. Fresh Actvities Head of Prep School have been added to the selection

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Academic News

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hat is remarkable about Rugby School Thailand is how much we can squeeze into one term; this term has not disappointed. We are always seeking ways in which to improve the education of our pupils and this manifests itself in many ways. In the last 15 weeks, there have been celebrations, competitions, events, exams, trips and much, much more. Here are a few of our highlights.

ipads

The introduction of 1:1 iPads has been a prominent development this year and we are now approaching the end of a successful Term 1. The payoffs of integrating 1:1 devices often take months, if not years, to be realised. However, we are pleased to report that already we are seeing cloud-based learning platforms being implemented across the school to take advantage of personalised learning opportunities and techniques for our pupils. The long-term benefits of teaching our pupils how to balance their device use in a world full of screens will, of course, take time but we are very pleased that the pupils are taking this seriously. There can be a misconception that giving pupils 1:1 devices will increase their screen time in a negative context however, increasing research suggests that it is not how long we are spending on our devices, but what we are doing with them that counts. Although this is early days, it is encouraging to see so many positive uses of devices amongst our school, from both pupils and teachers. We can only look ahead with optimism at what the future uses and advantages can be brought to Rugby School Thailand through technology as a result.

languages in our school. In November, all our pupils in the Prep School participated in the Education Perfect Northern Championships, where 155 schools with a total of 19226 pupils competed across the Northern Hemisphere. Their aim was to earn as many points as possible, practising their languages.

We did incredibly well, answering 57730 questions and achieving 38th place globally and 3rd overall in Thailand. Our pupils earned 5 credits, 6 bronze, 1 silver and 4 gold certificates. Huge congratulations to all participants!

Richard Burkhill – Head of Computing

Gold

Sara Howell – Deputy Head Academic

Our young mathematicians participated in the UK Primary Maths Challenge (PMC), which is held each year for children in Year 5 & 6. The PMC encourages enthusiasm, boosts confidence in mathematics and shows the different way questions can be asked.

There is a focus on problem solving as a means of helping pupils develop their reasoning skills. We are pleased to announce that a good number of our pupils were awarded silver and gold certificates.

Kun, Max, Sieun, Mathew, Don, Oliver

Events

Languages are very important in our international community and we are always looking at ways in which we can celebrate the diversity of cultures and 14 | PREP

Silver

Roberto, Teddy, Ethan, Shirley, Yuxi, Kai Yi, Andrey, Melon William Howell – Assistant Head & Head of Maths

Trips

At the beginning of our academic year, Year 5 visited the Butterfly Corner Pattaya, which is one of the biggest butterfly farms in the world and hosts over 5000 butterflies with more than 10 species. Our pupils were able to ponder the beauty of these insects and learnt many important facts about them. They discovered more about their life cycle and created a documentary on iMovie with the footage they filmed with their iPads.

Mario Ortiz – Teacher of Science

Open to students with all levels of programming experience and skill sets, this conference was centered around teamwork, collaboration, and passion amongst tech enthusiasts. All funds raised from this event are being used to provide microfinance loans to less fortunate families around Southeast Asia to help provide them with the required funds that help improve their daily lives and businesses. Rugby School Thailand’s pupils were outstanding in their organisation, cooperation and ability to complete the vast array of challenges given to them. They should be incredibly proud of their participation and we very much look forward to the next event.

More recently, we took 15 of our pupils from all year groups to the Bangkok Techathon Hackathon. This was Richard Burkhill – Head of Computing Thailand’s second ever inter-school hackathon: a 2 day conference where participants worked together to create apps and programs on a given theme, hosted

by Bangkok Patana School.

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Co-curricularActivities Once again we’ve had an exciting schedule of daily cocurricular activities on offer. With over 130 different options for Prep pupils to choose from, Bushcraft, Archery and Coding remain steady favourites, while LAMDA, Mechanical Marble runs and First Lego League competitions have been popular new additions. These activities all complement the learning our children do within the academic timetable, and offer a fun and dynamic alternative to classroom lessons, furthering the school ethos of ‘the whole person, the whole point.’

Saturday Enrichment Our Saturday Enrichment programme has gone from strength to strength this term, with children enjoying many more sporting opportunities, as well as a wide range of other offerings such as: Outdoor adventurous Maths, Painting, Cookery, Obstacle Course/Warrior Games, Music exam preparation, Movie-Making, Screen printing, Racquet Sports, Pottery, Paddle boarding, STEAM challenge and Virtual Reality.

Charlie Rowe, Assistant Head Co-Curricular

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TERM 1: 2019-20

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Divisions

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his term has seen the four Prep School Divisions grow in numbers and compete across a wide range of areas. Each division now has a new Divisional captain appointed from our Year 8 students: Danny for Arnold, Molly for Beauclerc, Caidie for Hardy and Andrie for Webb-Ellis. Each division is competing to win the prestigious cup at the end of the term and there have been competitions for the students ranging from music to football, Christmas card making to Krathong-building. Perhaps most importantly of all the pupils are trying to earn as many gold and green stars as possible through their hard work and good behaviour. All of these will soon be tallied up and the winners announced at the end of term.

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Drama

The Journey of a Noble Gnarble

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arlier this month a Noble Gnarble emerged from behind the coral reef, and began her journey to the surface of the sea. The Year 3 & 4 play was a story about a gnarble unlike the other gnarbles. She has a dream. Not content to wallow in the murky depths, the Noble Gnarble yearns to see the sun. She is a feisty little fish – tenacious, blindly determined and (perhaps) even a little naïve, as she heads for the top of ocean.

“We belong down here!” protest the others. “You have tiny fins, a floppy tail…and besides…”

“YOU’RE JUST A LITTLE GNARBLE”.

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Our Noble Gnarble will not be deterred. Supported by a team of 6 staff members, our cast of 89 young sea creatures from Years 3 and 4 began their journey together in Week 1, Term 1. Every week we learned our songs with Mr Collings in Music. We worked with Mrs Douglas in D&T and Mr Christopher Douglas to design and create our set. We came together every Wednesday in the Veraphan Theatre to sing, dance (under the able instruction of chief Gnarble choreographer, Miss Laura Falconer) and breathe life into the gills of our tale.

Just like the brave little fish in our story, we faced challenges. We challenged ourselves to tackle some of the issues threatening our oceans today – in particular, the pollution caused by single-use plastics.

We wanted to build a sustainable set, using materials which could potentially end up in our waterways.

We wanted to hold the beautiful story, music and dance against a backdrop where little fish face far bigger challenges than being eaten by a bigger fish. The process was one of trial and error and not without setbacks, but thanks to the creativity and tireless efforts of our DT team, our amazing parent volunteers and the students themselves, we reached a destination which (we hope) highlighted the need for us to tackle these challenges together. Like the Noble Gnarble, we have a long way to go; but, with a little bit of luck and a whole lot of determination, a good idea will go a long way.

the brim with compact, single-use plastic). We used old umbrellas to build jellyfish, cardboard boxes for our coral reef and soda cans,too. To find out, you will have to join the Noble Gnarble on her journey.

Thank you to the parents and staff who so willingly sacrificed their time every Wednesday afternoon (in particular, Khun Kwon for her incredible jellyfish).

Thank you to staff members: Mr. John Gore for his IT expertise, Mr. Matt Mann for his DIY skills, Mr. Richard Burkhill for designing our lights, Ms. Ellie Barnes and Khun Mai for their mind-bending skills with a paintbrush, our incredibly patient maintenance team, IT, procurement, service-support, our gurus of all things marketing, Mrs. Antoinette Keane for helping us find the sun when we lost our way, Mrs. Joanah Westlake (Keys), Khun Boom (Clarinet), Khun Tan (Percussion), Miss Felicity Passmore (Head of Drama), Mr. Will Stoker for advice, support and backstage assistance, Mrs. Sara Howell, and Mr. Nigel Westlake for his passion in all things “drama”.

Finally, to my team of fellow sea-creatures: Mr. Ryan Mason, Miss Laura Falconer, Miss Caroline Watt, Mrs. Katy Douglas and, master of the piano, keyboard, vocals…and everything else…Mr. Ben Collings – thank you for bringing our story to life.

Journey of the Noble Gnarble starred Yuko Green and Evie Mayall in the lead-roles and they both did an exemplary job.

The prep community collected plastic bottles, which Craig Donaldson, English Teacher and Play Director the students turned into eco-bricks (bottles stuffed to

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Music

Jo Westlake reports on music from Term 1

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usic continues to be a central part of life at RST. With all pupils studying class music, a huge percentage of the school learning an instrument and a large number of ensembles rehearsing on a weekly basis including brass, guitar, clarinet, percussion, flute, xylophone, saxophone, string as well as our school Concert Band and choirs, there is never a quiet moment!

performance of ‘Football’s Coming Home’, taking the trophy in this year’s Music Competition themed on “Sporting Anthems”. Great unison singing, rapping, acting and fabulous choices of songs including ‘Eye of the Tiger’, ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, ‘Hall of Fame’. The set song ‘World in Union’ brought the school together.

The highlight of the term was the Christmas Prep Concert, which displayed an incredible showcase of talent. All the ensembles perfected their performances, from the Percussion Ensemble Crab dance, the Junior Choir ‘Coming to Town’ from the Polar Express, ‘Mission Impossible’ by the Brass Ensemble and the Concert Band bringing in festive cheer with ‘Deck the Halls’ and ‘Hark the Herald’. As the end of term approaches, the choristers continue to work hard preparing for our traditional carol service, complete with readings, carols and anthems.

A highlight of the term was ‘Bassistry Arts’, in which every child in Prep enjoyed learning fun songs, dances and movements incorporating an explosion of percussion instruments. The theatre was alive with action and energy during a whole school performance.

Even the staff took to the stage! Regular lunchtime and beginner concerts took place, giving musicians the opportunity to perform in preparation for a very successful set of Trinity and ABRSM exam results.

Parents enjoyed the Year 3 and 4 production of the Noble Joanah Westlake, Director of Music Gnarble, in which every child worked so energetically to produce a fantastic show full of rhythmic songs and dances. Congratulations to Hardy with their rousing

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Eco-Fair

Environmental action at Rugby School Thailand

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e are very proud that at Rugby School Thailand we have a growing body of pupils and staff who care passionately about environmental issues and want to be proactive in promoting awareness and good practice at school and in the wider community. This was nobly demonstrated at the Eco-Fair in November.

The theme was the 6 R’s; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair, Rethink, Refuse and involved staff and pupils from the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior Sections of the school. There were workshops, education stands and pupil presentations, as well as handmade items such as an eco- board game, screen printed cloth bags, eco crafts, aloe vera beauty products, coffee grinds body scrubs and candles. All had A group of Year 6 pupils from Rugby School been made either as part of the curriculum Thailand attended the first ever Eco Beasts or in eco-themed activities. The second-hand Community Action Day in Bangkok in January uniform, wax wraps and plant stalls were very 2019. At the end of the event they had to set popular. Our thanks to the representatives from goals as targets to promote environmental Wat Koh School who came with displays about ideas in their school and local community. their fruit and vegetable growing projects and They delivered an assembly to the Prep School made delicious organic melon smoothies. As explaining the UN Global Goals for Sustainability well as raising awareness the Eco-Fair also raised and had the idea of hosting an Eco Fair to raise funds for future sustainability projects – our awareness in the wider community. own fruit and vegetable plot being one of them.

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Outdoor Education Building team spirit

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ne of the skills we try and promote in the pupils at Rugby School is teamwork, a skill required in so many aspects of life. We tend to think of teamwork in sports but it is a vital part of modern work, where it might be physically working with others or working collaboratively via computer. The pupils at Rugby learn about teamwork playing in a band, singing in a choir and increasingly using iPads as part of their academic learning.

This term every pupil visited the Outdoor Education Centre (OEC) as part of their year-group to do some team-building exercises. The OEC has a highropes course, a long flying fox, a climbing wall, archery and an enclosed space with a beautiful covered bamboo building where pupils can receive instruction whilst out of the sun.

The games and challenges were designed so pupils could see what it was like to work with others under the pressure of trying to work something out as a group. Working with others to do the various exercises brings out skills of: listening to others letting others have a say how to talk to others to motivate them how to give clear instructions developing empathy (the appreciation of others’ feelings)

It was also useful to have the trips this first term of the year so that new and returning pupils worked together to get to know each other and discover new friendships.

The year groups certainly enjoyed themselves and found the mornings to be very beneficial.

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TERM 1: 2019-20

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Prep School Sports Swimming

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wimming has continued to go from strength to strength this term with success both in national swim galas and GBAC (Greater Bangkok Athletics Conference) galas. The pupils should be congratulated on their dedication to training with early starts and late finishes. Their hard work has really paid off.

Results: GBAC Gala Prep Gala – 3rd Overall International School / Thai Club Competitions Regular top 5 finishes in competition 3rd Thai Sports Authority of Thailand Many pupils on the path to qualify for the Nationals.

Year 2 & 3 Football World Cup

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he aims of the Rugby School Football Mini World Cup were to promote the game of football through fun, teamwork and co-operation in a competitive, yet friendly environment. The tournament was designed to help pupils to learn to win and lose with dignity while always showing respect for their team-mates, the opposition and officials.

The tournament had six teams entered with final positions as follows: 1st Germany 2nd Spain 3rd Holland 4th Brazil 5th France 6th Australia

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TERM 1: 2019-20

U11 Rugby

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n the 16th November the U11 Rugby Squad played in the Royal Bangkok Sports Club International Rugby 10’s competition. After a draw and a loss to two tough teams, Rugby School Thailand were second in their pool. This led to two more games against some experienced opposition. Despite losing these games the boys played some of their best rugby and finished sixth out of nine teams overall. Some very courageous and technically excellent tackling from several players with a lot of positives to take from the tournament.

Bangkok Lions Rugby match

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e were delighted to welcome three teams from Bangkok Lions Rugby Club to our school for our first ‘contact’ rugby matches. The U9, U11 & U13 teams enjoyed a morning of coaching - with the focus upon tackling and rucking - followed by some terrific matches, with both teams scoring some impressive running tries.

In the true spirit of rugby sportsmanship, the matches ended with a traditional ‘tunnel’ and the teams all applauded each other's efforts! Bangkok Lions players, coaches and parents then joined us for a convivial match lunch, during which richly-deserved ‘player of the match’ awards were presented to the stand-out Bangkok Lions players.

Saturday Sport

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aturday Sport has continued this term with all the boys and girls invited to participate in a morning of football and basketball. This will continue next term to help all the pupils to further develop their skills across a range of sports.

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Divisional Football

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his term saw the Divisional football tournament take place with all the pupils having the opportunity to represent their Division. With the emphasis of teamwork and fair play, everyone involved played with a smile on their face!

Harrow Cup Football

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n the 16th November five teams from the Prep School entered the Harrow Cup Football tournament. All teams performed amazingly against some strong competition, showing that RST can compete well against top teams in Bangkok.

U9 Boys – Winners U9 Girls – Runners Up U11 Girls – Runners Up U13 Boys – Winners U13 Girls – 4th Place

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Elephant Cup – U10’s

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n October an Under 10’s team entered the ‘Elephant Cup’ Football tournament, which included several local Thai teams and a team from South Korea. The standard of all the teams entered was very high and gave the boys in Year 4 & 5 a chance to develop their skills against some strong opposition.

Planet Football

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his term boys from Years 4, 5, 6 & 7 have been playing in a league competition organized

by Planet Football. This has given the boys a chance to play regular football and develop their game against some strong local teams.

Thank you to Mr. Holland for giving these boys the opportunity every Sunday.

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U13 Boys Cricket

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TERM 1: 2019-20

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TERM 1: 2019-20

SENIOR T

From the Head of Senior

his is only the start of our school, we have achieved that! third year but every year is There is a lot packed into a The Senior School became different!

New teachers, new fully There is an ebullient mood in week at Pre-Prep including our operational September, pupils and new in ideas always with the Senior School. It is a busy “Wake and Shake” our find in F,learning, E, and D Blocks, place.

Seeingsessions, our pupils bringclasses with it new new visits their to theniche Outdoor Education the Lower XXnew andfriends. the XX. We amid the myriad opportunities and Centre, our parent workshops the nomenclature of Rugby of opportunities on offer is Beinguse settled at school and and our array rewarding. of wonderful School UK to identify our year extremely Whether feeling safe and secure in your special events. groups 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. in CAP, Activities, DofE, games, learning music, drama, or specialist Mrs Sarah Shuttleworth We doubled size, and 19 environment is theinkey focus sport, there is something to Head of Pre-Prep new1teachers fromby around of Term and I think the the capture their interest. joined us at the start of looksglobe on the children’s faces academic year.

As well each the morning as they arrive at as a Our first cohort of XX pupils has new boarding house (School completed UCAS applications, House), we were excited to and a number have received open our new Science Centre. offers to some of the UK’s finest Classes are being spread across universities. With the dedication the Prep and Senior precincts and expertise of our excellent this year as we await the staff, our Senior School has opening of the Senior teaching established itself as a vibrant block next September. We are learning community of which also excited to see the Webb- we can be very proud.

Ellis Centre take shape. It will be Mr Alan Ball a game changer when it opens.

Head of Senior

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Community Action Programme

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uring term one, the senior school has made great progress in developing its Community Action Programme (CAP). Students across all year groups worked together to agree the areas in which they wanted to volunteer, leading up to our Make-it-Happen event in October, where student leaders from our Levee pitched ideas for student volunteering.

Following this event, students chose to join one of six CAP teams: Events & Fundraising; Community; RST; Animals; Environment; Design & Social Media. We have since organised a wide variety of community events, including a Halloween Disco for the Prep School and an English language event at the local Kao Mai Kaeo Community School. Students have also organised a hugely impressive collection for the Father Ray Foundation SOS Rice Appeal which our Levee presented to the Foundation in time for Christmas.

Closer to home, students have organised a Christmas jumper day to raise money for good

causes. The CAP Environment team has made great progress towards RST joining the ‘Bye Bye Plastic Bags’ initiative by conducting interviews with representatives of Pattaya City Hall about single use plastic bag usage. Grace and Greta were also lucky enough to meet with Taya Teepsuwan at Chula Demonstration School in Bangkok to see their Zero Waste initiative in action and learn how our student leaders can further develop waste reduction and recycling here at RST. CAP is a vital component of the Senior co-curricular programme, developing leadership, teamwork and entrepreneurial skills, as well as an appreciation of the role we must all play as global citizens. CAP is also used as the service element for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. We look forward to seeing how our senior students continue to develop the programme in Term 2, with a number of exciting events and ideas already in the pipeline.

Tom Spreyer, Deputy Head Co-Curricular

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TERM 1: 2019-20

First week at RST A student’s personal account

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e had many new students arriving at RST this year, one of which being me. Many people had vastly different experiences during the introduction to the school and its community, from day students to boarders, or from F Block to XX. From the first day of the week to the last, all of the experiences the students have are different. Boarders arrived to school on Sunday evening, while day students arrived on Monday morning.

So while day students were getting used to the new term, boarders were already somewhat settled in. Here is a brief rundown of what happened on the first week of school.

Monday

We all went to the school theatre for a briefing about the school’s systems and its rules. When the presentation was over we went to our house rooms for our first call over. There, we introduced ourselves to the students and staff, before being given our schedules and heading to our first classes. We had an exciting football match for a fun finish to the first day of school.

Tuesday

Tuesday was the first full day of school and a chance to get used to the new school layout.

Wednesday

Wednesday started off like any other regular school day.

However, at the end of the day, we had an invigorating event called “It’s A Knockout!”. It was very fun event, packed with games and activities! This was also a chance to meet different people from different year groups.

Thursday

Thursday was another normal day of school of learning and playing with friends.

Friday

The last day of the first week. New beginnings can be tiring, so we were excited for the weekend! Students were given the option to either go home at 3:45pm for an early finish, or go home at the regular time of 6pm. It was a good first week!

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Boarding Life

A Senior boarder gives the low down on daily life

As a boarder here you’re are encouraged to be independent, responsible, to manage our own time and take care of each other, while always being inclusive. It’s good preparation for lfie beyond school!

Daily Life

the trips I enjoyed most recently was rock climbing.

We are usually back to school by around 6pm, when we have dinner.

Weekday Activities From Monday to Thursday we have evening activities from 7.15-7.45pm. Each year group does different amounts of activities - for example, F Block do them everyday, E Block do at least three, D Block need to do two or more, LXX can do just one, and XX can choose to do activities if they wish. There are a whole host of sports and fitness activities, which is great.

Everyday, from Monday to Friday, we have call over at 7:30am to register our name to make sure that everyone is here, before we head over to breakfast.

After breakfast the school day starts, and continues until dinner at 5:50pm. When we have finished eating we have free time until 7:10pm, which is activity time.

Evening call over is at 8:15pm and this is when we Sunday hand in our phones. After the call over finishes, we have some time to ourselves until we hand in all other Sunday is our Shopping Day! After a relaxed morning devices before snack time and lights out. with a lie in following by brunch, students can go shopping to buy things they need or just enjoy a day Weekend Activities out. We can also choose to stay at the boarding house On Saturday boarding students have sports in the to catch up with study or have time their free time as morning until 12pm. After lunch we head out for our well. The House Deans let us choose.

Saturday trip, which is different each week. One of

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TERM 1: 2019-20

It’s a Knockout!

A student’s perspective

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September - 3 days after the start of the academic year - the Senior School hosted a fun and exciting event: It’s A Knockout! This activity took place at the end of the school day and it was an amazing way to blast off our new beginnings on a new year at RST. Speaking of new beginnings, our school has welcomed many new students and staff joining this year, and this activity really helped them to meet and talk to new people as well as helping them integrate into our school community.

In Call Over, we were notified of our groups which were mixed between houses and gender. The event took place from 15:00 to 18:00 We played a variety of games, during the event such as full-scale table football, the invisible maze and Dizzy Rascals.

When we went into our groups we introduced ourselves to each other and got to talk to new people (and painted each other’s faces). We then had a briefing of our activities and we were introduced to the activity carousel.

Firstly, we played a game that involved a wheelbarrow race to a pool in the middle of a field and required the players to dip their heads in the water and switch roles on the way back.

Then we had the Invisible Maze, which was a game that required each team to figure out the exit of a maze with invisible boundaries and get an egg through the maze.

After that, we had a game of ‘table football’, which was modified as if it were a game that was played on an actual football field. Everybody had to hold hands as if they were stuck together like the players on a football table. We could also only swing our legs forward and backward and only go sideways.Finally,

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we played a strange game called Dizzy Rascals, where we had to spin around a cricket bat one by one and run through an obstacle course that involved jumping over hurdles. Needless to say, it didn’t go well for some of us! On the way back, we had to spin again and dribble a football back to our starting point, while holding a frisbee over our head.

But it wasn’t over yet. We finally played a large game of ‘tug-o-war’ between every group. We also got to witness a spectacular game between teachers.

We were exhausted by the end. Fortunately, we were given ice cream as a reward for taking part in the event, which was a great way to end a great day.

THE RUGBEIAN NEWSLETTER

TERM 1: 2019-20

Sport Schedule Term 1 This term we have had many sporting events and seen our teams go in strength and identity. This term we have played interhouse sports, GBAC tournaments, Faldo series Golf events, multiple tournaments and various friendlies. We have played over 39 competitive fixtures and have a current win rate of 62%. We would like to thank all the students and staff that have been involved in making these events a success for Rugby School Thailand.

Please see a list of the fixtures to take away some of the notable moments.

Interhouse champions Faldo Series Phuket Nua Nunya – overall boys winner RST – overall boys team winner

GBAC basketball U15 girls - Champions U15 boys – 2nd place

Harrow Football Cup U15 boys – Champions U15 girls – 4th place

First Senior Rugby School game at ISB Faldo Series Hua Hin In Srisuriyachai – 2nd place Nua Nunya – 4th place Heewon Pak – 5th place Sea Jitmaneekan – 7th place Kieron O’Brien, Head of PE and Games/Activities co-ordinator SENIOR | 33

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TERM 1: 2019-20

Drama It has been a busy term in the drama department with auditions, rehearsals and performances aplenty. Here is a snapshot of what we have been up to...

The Lion King On 9th November 150 students, staff and families boarded a coach to Bangkok to see Disney’s award-winning musical The Lion King. The production exploded with glorious colours, stunning effects and enchanting music. From the moment it began, we were mesmorised and lived every moment Simba’s journey from tragedy to redemption. The trip was a roaring success and enabled our pupils to see world-class theatre, some for the first time.

Romeo and Juliet Researsals for Romeo and Juliet are well under-way and our actors, stage managers, set designers and musicians are working hard to create a performance which will not be forgotten. Taking place at a music festival inspired by Pattala Loca, this production will engage and enthral it’s guests with a myriad of musical and dramatic encounters.

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TERM 1: 2019-20

GCSE Performances D Block GCSE students, Milly Hitchmough, Georgina Milton and Tim Bykov, have also been working hard this term, preparing for their IGCSE practical examinations. For their Component 2: Devised Performance, they created a compelling and sensitive piece based on Shamima Begum, a British girl who at aged 15 ran away from home to join Islamic State. The students recognised the rich theatrical and educational opportunities that this issue presented and used the style of Frantic Assembly to offer two sides of a court-room argument. They ended their carefully researched performance by asking the audience to make up their own minds, questioning, ‘should Shamima Begum be allowed back into the UK?’

Dear Future Generations E Block students Ana Devesa and Katie Stewart wowed audiences at the Eco-Fair once again with their clever and slick performance of Prince EA’s spoken word, entitled, ‘Dear Future Generations’. The two Drama Scholars used their own time to choreograph original movement to the piece and delivered the challenging language with ease. For their efforts in creating this performance, Katie and Ana each received a Distinction.

Felicity Passmore, Head of Drama

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TERM 1: 2019-20

BEHIND THE SCENES Holy Worship Day

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ur school staff were invited to a beautiful ceremony for The Holy Worship and First Teacher Ceremony, which was held on the auspicious day of 28th November. Led by an astrologer, the congregation were able to pay respects to the Holy Worship and First Teacher by giving offerings and casting flowers on a feasting table. Gifts were offered to the monks present, who then chanted the Holy Stanzas before blessing our schools by sprinkling holy water throughout the buildings.

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THE RUGBEIAN NEWSLETTER

TERM 1: 2019-20

RST Vipers Cricket Team

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his term Rugby School Thailand established an adult Indoor Cricket League, that has been played between 2 RST teams (Vipers and Cobras) and 2 local teams (Asia All Stars and Pattaya Cricket Club). After the teams had played each other twice, the two RST teams were joint first, with 14 points. The final was played this Monday between the Vipers and Cobras. The Cobras batted first, losing regular wickets and ending on a total of 73 for 10 wickets. With Mr Jones being the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 wickets. In reply, the Vipers batted very cautiously, losing only 2 wickets and ended on 83 runs for 2 wickets, which gave the Vipers a wellplayed victory.

Next term, the league is expanding to 7 teams, with 4 RST Teams being entered and 3 local teams.

Movember

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his November a collection of male staff members took part in “Movember”. Movember is a global initiative that aims to change the face of men’s health, raising awareness of prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health issues in men.

Every November participating men do their best to grow a mo’ to raise money for charity – which in this case was for the Pattaya Orphanage.

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THE RUGBEIAN NEWSLETTER

TERM 1: 2019-20

Phloenchit Fair

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ugby School Thailand took part in one of Bangkok’s most prominent annual events, the Ploenchit Fair.

Each year people travel from all over the city and beyond to enjoy a family day of entertainment, with many stalls hosted by fellow international schools in Thailand. The marketing team hosted a stall that proved a big hit, with our homemade rugby pass game (custom made by Mr Kennedy in the D&T department) and a photobooth where people could dress up and take photos home as a memory of the day. It was also the debut outing for our new school mascot‌

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THE RUGBEIAN NEWSLETTER

TERM 1: 2019-20

RST Christmas Fair

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n 7th December we hosted our first-ever Christmas Fair! Set in the school’s Covered Games Area with an enormous 6 metre tree as the centrepiece, the hall was transformed with garlands and decoration to make it into the perfect venue for local families and visitors here for the Bangkok Soccer School Tournament.

We had activities, games, shopping stalls and a wonderful selection of entertainment, largely by homegrown RST talent, such as the staff choir, Senior choir, Prep choir and Kelly’s band. Thank you to everyone from our passionate school community for helping to make the day happen. We raised lots of money for the Hand-to Hand Foundation, which will go towards giving underprivileged families in the Pattaya area a much happier Christmas.

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