Spotlight on Primary March2018

Spotlight on Primary

St. Andrews International School Green Valley

March 2018

A Busy and Productive Term 2!

What a very busy and productive term we have had so far. I know children and teachers have all been working hard and trying their best to improve and this can be seen in the work that they have been doing in class and their learning journeys. For example: many children have gone up a book band in reading or even become rainbow readers this term! Teachers have also had lots of opportunities to improve and have been working really hard during training days.

This term many children have already been on field trips linked to their unit of inquiry and Year 3 had a great time camping at school overnight. I was so proud when many Primary children got involved in the science fair, producing rockets, life jackets made out of recycled materials and fantastic marble runs. We definitely have some promising scientists in the making. There were two major events last half term that really showed the great St. Andrews Community spirit and commitment to improving the lives of others who are less fortunate than ourselves. These were the: ‘One day One Goal’ football tournament and the ‘Pattaya Family Bike Day.’ Thank you to everyone who was part of these special events.

We also have so much more to look forward to from now until Songkran. A few of the highlights include: a visit from Henry Evans (a real Antarctic explorer!) and a musician, Andrew Gledhill. We also have World Maths Day and Book Day, as well as the SAIS Drama Festival and Sports Day coming up.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Spotlight on Primary and thank you for your continued support.

Michelle Taylor

Pupil Progress in Primary At St. Andrews we are committed to ensuring that all of our students make progress in all areas. Teachers have regular pupil progress meetings where they discuss and document which students may need further support or challenge in certain areas, as well as the students who may need to work harder and be motivated to reach their potential. Teachers then discuss targets for improvement with students and these targets are reviewed regularly.

Below are those students who have made outstanding progress in a particular subject or area and have undoubtedly worked exceptionally hard to achieve this. Well done!

Jaosua - Nursery Kurobuta - KG

Porjai - Rec

Ami - Year 1

Chill - Year 2

Jaosua has made great progress with his English and is now talking in complete sentences. Fantastic progress Jaosua.

Porjai has made great progress within phonics, she can now identify lots of initial sounds. Well done Porjai keep up the hard work.

Ami has made great progress in all areas due to her positive attitude and growth mindset.

Keep on working hard Ami!

Chill has made excellent progress with his reading. He is practising reading at home and has now gone up a book band.

Fantastic effort Chill, keep it up!

Kurobuta has made excellent progress and she is now much more confident in the classroom. She enjoys joining in our discussions at circle time and always has valuable comments to add.

Yubin - Year 3

Matisse – Year 4

Anut- Year 5

Sonje - Year 6

Yubin has made fantastic progress in her writing and is now using more adventurous punctuation, like ellipsis for effect. Well done Yubin!

Matisse always goes for the extra challenge in Maths and keeps trying until he understands a concept really well. We’re proud of his progress!

Anut has made great progress with his writing and can now use the past tense correctly.

Keep up the hard work Anut!

Sonje has made great progress in Maths due to her hard work and determination to improve.

This has paid off because she is now in the challenge group for Maths.

Amazing Attainment in Primary Many of our students excel in a particular area and we would like to recognise their talent, but also the hard work that goes into ensuring that they continue to improve in these areas and challenge themselves.

Below are some of our students who are achieving high results and work very hard to reach these goals.

Billy - Nursery

Darina - KG

Hugo - Reception Alexis - Year 1

Billy has settled in well to Nursery and really enjoys learning. Well done Billy!

Darina is doing really well in literacy and is now much more confident speaking English in all situations.

Well done Darina!

Hugo is a great little mathematician, he can now count up to 100 and name all the most common 3D shapes.

Great work Hugo- keep it up!

Laif - Year 2

Alexis joined St Andrews with no English and now he happily converses with teachers and his peers. He has also become a more confident and independent writer.

Laif is really good at making connections across different subjects and applying his learning in different areas. He also asks questions which show great understanding.

Well done Laif!

Tigger – Year 3

Yasmin – year 4

Grace – Year 5

Neisha - Year 6

Tigger is a great mathematician and is now doing year 6 decimal multiplications! Fantastic attainment Tigger!

Yasmin is a very talented artist and produced some fantastic art work for her ‘Learning Journey’. Well done Yasmin, keep on practising those art skills!

Grace is an amazing artist who regularly produces art work of a very high quality which demonstrates great skill and technique. Well done Grace!

Neisha is an excellent writer and her entry for the FOBISIA short story competition was exceptional. She naturally uses a wide range of interesting vocabulary and techniques and her writing really engages the reader.

Fantastic work Neisha!

Exciting and Engaging Events This term our students have already had the opportunity to participate in so many exciting events. The planning and effort our teachers, students and parents put in to make these such a success really shows what a fantastic community we have at St. Andrews GV.

The Early Years Bear Hunt We had so much fun at our Early Years open morning with lots of shrieks of delight and laughter when the children followed Ms. Lauren around the playground as she read the ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt' story.

They went ‘Swishy, swishy!’ through the grass, ‘Splash, splosh!’ across the river, ‘Squelch, squelch!’ in the mud, ‘Stumble trip!’ through the forest, ‘Hooo wooo!’ through the swirling snowstorm and 'Tiptoe, tiptoe!’ through the gloomy cave … where they encountered a big googly eyed, furry eared BEAR with a shiny wet nose!

On top of this the children also got involved in many bear-themed activities: face-painting, head bands, cup cakes and the morning culminated with their very own bear-hunt in the Nursery playground. It was a fantastic event with lots of visitors and a chance for our parents to join in the fun.

Chinese New Year Thank you to our Chinese language teachers and students for putting on a fantastic Chinese New Year assembly. Not only was it lots of fun, it showed us that some great learning has been going on.

Our Mandarin department and our wonderful parent community also came together to make delicious Chinese dumplings in our Primary innovation kitchen. Ms. Jasmine made it look very easy, proving that it truly is an art!

Valentine’s Disco The annual Primary Valentines disco was a huge success with a fantastic turnout. A big thank you to our teachers and our parent teacher group for all the hard work that went into the evening. As you can see from the photos our students thoroughly enjoyed this social event.

Spectacular Science Fair Challenges The re-vamped Science Fair reached a spectacular crescendo this year when 150+ students from 10 international schools from Bangkok and the Eastern seaboard came together to compete in a range of different events. Alongside the traditional KS3 Science Fair, Primary and Secondary students were set a variety of different challenges which they had three weeks to prepare; the design and construction of Bottle Rockets, Marble Runs, Life Jackets and Water Shoes encouraged careful planning and collaboration across island communities and age groups and encouraged more students to get involved than in previous years. The results were outstanding – a high end scientific competition with primary students competing directly against IB students. The traditional crowd pleaser of Mr Frost’s intergalactic Bottle Rocket competition was won by an IB student, but the second furthest rocket was made by Marla in Year 2!

Green Valley students worked really well and won lots of the awards, but whilst the individual competition was impressive, the real winner of the day was Science.

It goes without saying that none of this is possible without lots of collaboration from teachers, support staff and maintenance staff – so a huge thankyou to all those involved and of course our very generous sponsors – Cognita, PTG and the Mermaids Dive Center.

Fantastic Field trips in the Primary School Year 1 Thai Thani Cultural Centre As part of their unit on Homes and Shelters

Year 2 Suppatraland As part of their unit on Plants

Year 3 Camp Out As part of their unit on Health and Wellbeing

Year 4 Catholic Church and Mosque As part of their unit on Religion

Sports update Puppy Cup Swim Meet With personal bests and school records tumbling down in recent months, it was now time to take the team to Bangkok and face Thailand's biggest schools to see how much progress they had made!

Everybody performed phenomenally well and in total the Panthers took 48 heat wins. In the morning session, James picked up two gold medals and a silver, Lucas claimed silver, Leela picked up two gold medals and Marla the gold for backstroke.

In the afternoon presentation Flore picked up silver for second fastest overall freestyle time and Stepan claimed a gold medal.

As well as the success on the podium it was so encouraging to hear other coaches comment on the great technique our young swimmers.

Hours and hours of early mornings and tiring laps in the pool, you are an inspiration and proof that hard work and commitment pays off.

Basketball The Primary Panthers hit the road to face Tara Patana. The girls were outstanding with some great passing and all but one player scoring to show what an all round team they are. They never looked like losing and came away with a big 28-4 win. The boys also cruised to victory, Paul pulling the strings and testing the opposition, he finished with a flourish knocking down a 3 pointer to end the game 21-1.

For our youngest teams to test themselves against 3 schools in 4 games to rack up a combined score of 88-13 just goes to show how bright the future is for Team GV Basketball. Well done Panthers!

Year 1 Learning Journey Different materials are used in the construction of shelters Year 1 completed their Learning Journey with a flourish! Students planned, designed and created a model shelter for themselves as well as a shelter for a selected animal. Using recycled materials as well as clay to create these shelters, students then reflected on the materials they would be made form and why, presenting their work to their parents and visitors who came. Excellent work, Year 1s, you have shown what amazing Inquirers you are!

Year 4 Learning Journey People search for meaning through spiritual values and beliefs.

Thank you to all of the parents and family members that joined us for the Year 4 Learning Journey. “People search for meaning through spiritual values and beliefs� was the Central Idea at the centre of this project where students compared and contrasted different religions. Students were buzzing with anticipation all morning, coaching and helping each other to prepare their artwork and presentations. Mr. Ben and Mrs. G were very impressed at the camaraderie and dedication that all students showed throughout the 'Learning Journey' process. This unit has really opened their minds and their hearts. The future will be brighter with them in it, fostering kindness and acceptance throughout their lives.

Community Service Action ‘One Day One Goal’ this year raised over 100,000 baht for charity.

Bouncy Castles, dunk tanks, face painting and pony riding gave the players and spectators plenty to enjoy away from the football fields.

One Day One Goal

On the pitch there were 10 trophies up for grabs in 5 different age groups and a long, tough day of football ultimately saw Green Valley comfortably come out on top as the most successful school.

Six 1st places, two runners up and two 3rd place finishes meant we finished on the podium in every competition.

One of the competitions that we didn’t win was won by a charity team coached by Mr.Dusting and two CAS students, Jody and Jade.

They were well deserved champions and the win was certainly a high point for the team!

There was terrific participation from Team GV at the Pattaya Family Bike Day this year. Students, parents and teachers had so much fun and the smiles as they crossed the finish line said it all!

Congratulations to the PFBD team who put in so much effort every year to lay on such a fantastic family event, raising money for ‘Women with a Mission’ and the ‘Make a Wish Foundation’.

We were also very proud of our Secondary and CAS students who volunteered for the day covering jobs such as manning the water stations on the bike tracks and running the face painting stall. If you didn't make it this year, then make sure you book it in the diary for 2019.

Pattaya Family Bike Ride

Robotics Competition in Bangkok We had 5 of our Primary students competing in a Robotics competition in Bangkok this term. Despite being the youngest team by far, they still made the cut for the finals and the 2 teams placed 5th and 6th respectively. The team have spent weeks working on making a robot which could complete a set course involving obstacles, tricky turns and cheese!! Well done on a great result, your commitment definitely paid dividends.

A huge thank you must also go to Mr. Greener who spends his free time mentoring and coaching the team.

LAMDA Exams This year, for the first time, our Year 5 and Year 6 students were given the opportunity to take part in LAMDA exams (The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art). Each student had to learn a prose and verse off by heart and perform it to an examiner. Despite this being their first time, they showed incredible skill, memory and confidence in their performances. Well done to everyone for all their accomplishments!

Parent help and support At St. Andrews we are very lucky to have parents who are willing to give up their time to help in the Primary School. The way that our parents help include: listening to children read, helping with a Primary activity, helping in the library and buying all the ingredients every week for our cooking activities.

Below are our upcoming PYP Units of Inquiry. We are looking for parents and/or community members who may be able to help support these units by sharing their expertise. Even if your child isn’t in the year group, if you think you could offer something, please let us know!

You can either talk to the class teachers directly or speak to Rachel Mustovic, our PYP Coordinator (email: rmustovic@standrews-schools.com).

Year Nursery

Central Idea My wonderful world

Kindergarten & The games that we play help us learn new things.

Reception Year 1

Stories have key components that enhance our understanding.

Year 2

Stories can be told through a range of media.

Year 3

Throughout history, sport has influenced cultures around the world.

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Geographical features support habitats and a range of human activities.

Energy is generated in a variety of ways and impacts on our environment.

Small Steps to Global Goals Exhibition

Information for Parents We have several different ways of keeping parents updated with our latest news and events:

Firefly Online Learning Platform This not only provides parents with curriculum and general school information but also has Class Pages with weekly updates and news.

Facebook Follow us /StAndrewsGV

Twitter Follow us @primarygv

LINE Stay in touch by joining GV School News or GV Parent Sport

Parents Corner Parents Corner is a new addition to the newsletter containing hints, tips, strategies and local reviews that may be of interest to you. We would love parent contributions so please send any to Laura Kerr lkerr@standrews-schools.com or pop in and see me.

We need your help!

Would you like to volunteer to help local village children learn how to swim?

Every Tuesday 4.30-5.15pm at the school swimming pool.

We would love more help in and out of the water. Don’t worry if you only speak Thai, we need Thai speakers too! Talk to Miss Laura or Mr Gaz, gbooth@standrews-schools.com

Meet the Professionals We regularly call on the advice and expertise of external professionals to help us be the best that we can be at supporting children at St Andrews. Our new feature, introduces a new professional each newsletter: Stephanie Holmes is a British speech and language therapist who works at The Village International School for children with special needs in Pattaya. She comes to St Andrews every week to do fantastic speech and language work with our children.

Where did you train to become a speech and language therapist (SALT)?

I trained at The University of Sheffield in England.

What is your favourite thing about Thailand?

I love the beaches and islands in Thailand.

What do you love most about being a SALT? The best thing about being a SALT is helping children to have a voice, and the 'eureka' moments are the best!

What is your favourite food?

My favourite food is pizza - I'm fussy about the base though!

Did you know‌.?

We have separate adults and students toilets labelled around school. Please only use the adult/ staff toilets.

Upcoming Events March 6

Guest speaker– The explorer, Henry Evans visits GV

March 12

Percussion Day with visiting musician Simon Gledhill

March 12-13

Year 4 residential trip to Khao Chamao National Park

March 13

Sports Day (Early Years - Year 2)

March 14

World Maths Day

March 14

Sports Day (Year 3-6)

March 16

Term 2 Reports Sent Home

March 20-23

IB Art Exhibition

March 20

Year 3 Trip to Thai Polo

March 21

Parent Teacher Conference Day (Student Led)

March 24

SAIS Drama Festival @ St. Andrews Sathorn

March 25

Tournament of the Minds

March 27-30

Year 6 PYP Exhibition

March 30

Book Day Parade

April 3

Swimming Gala (Early Years - Year 2)

April 4

Swimming Gala (Year 3-4)

April 5

School Songkran Celebrations

April 6-22

TERM BREAK

April 23

FIRST DAY OF TERM 3