September-October Issue 2019

QUILL

THE

VO LU M E 7 I S S U E 1

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dear reader

We would like to begin with the fact that it is an absolute delight and an honor to serve as Co-Editors-in-Chief for The Quill this year. In this very first issue, we start with the introduction of the hardworking members of our team, and we also feature articles of new teachers, extracurricular activities and clubs, as well as creative short stories and poems. This would have not been possible without the arduous efforts of the team, our advisor Mr. Mark, Mr. Luc, ICS administrators and faculties, and last but definitely not least - you - our readers. We hope that this issue and the publications to follow assist you in your journey of the further exploration of our beautifully diverse and wholesome community of ICS! Quillfully Yours, Aoey & Erica

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THE TEAM 4

THE QUILL

Mr. MARK COOPRIDER Advisor

aoey wirawaRn & Erica kim editor-in-chiefs

aim kumpusiri art director

hayoung you managing editor

Editors

David Bang Matthew Muehleck Nate Ronnakiat Tayida Chaiyakiturajai Pann Sripitak Joey Chao Joseph Ha Amy Jain Claire Mast Dada Phisitkul

writers

Tayida Chaiyakiturajai Mina Wangpattanamongkol Dayoung Nam Tawan Petpaiboon Shreya Rupani Charlotte Muehleck Austin Cipriano Pat Watcharapong Emily Rubio Time Kosawad

Proud Ua-arak David Bang Hannah Won Krishma Gandhi Krisha Gandhi Daniel Yim Joey Chao Hunter Lertkiatdamrong Pann Sripitak

photographers

Mina Wangpattanamongkol Lala Lertkiatdamrong Dino Nishioka Thejal Narayanasamy Ai Tulayathun Mine Umnakkittikul Tida Pinthanon Wen Aramratsameekul Ally Woo Russia Chawala Hannah Kim

Blink Chaisuparakul Hajoo Na Proud Sethaudom Joanna Pinsuvana Thaam Limwattananon Clara Park Jan Thaveeprungsiporn Tenny Srirungrojana Sunny Tangniannatchai Beam Yongphiphatwong

layout designers

Haeun You Rita Sirichanyakul Christina Chen Tan Tumpunyawat Aum Kuansongtham Bam Chadanuntakul Gloria Park Lala Viboonkiat Angie Tanabodee-umpon

Gunn Jungpaibul Ryu Ngammuang Year Ruengarak Anna Liang Sungwoo Jeon Nisha Denzau Lucy Noh Ai Tulayathun

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from the principal Dear ICS High School Students, I can’t believe we are already through the entire first quarter of the school year! Time really does fly when you’re having fun!

In looking back on the first quarter, I am astounded by what ICS high school students have already accomplished! It’s great to see so many students getting involved in building and enriching our COMMUNITY! From our seniors to ICS clubs, sports teams to the ICS Student Council, you all are once again showing what makes ICS a truly special place. Events such as the Senior Carnival, BEST Competition, ICS Activities Fair, Medical Alumni panel, Basic Life Support seminar, fundraisers, school-wide environmental initiatives, Spirit Week, the Mental Health Wellness Fair and many more show that ICS students are engaged and committed to contributing to our fantastic community! I am proud of the young men and women you are becoming!

This year, I encourage you to get involved! There are many amazing things happening all over campus all the time! Get involved, get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself.

Make new friends, nourish relationships with old ones and spend quality time together.

Seniors, enjoy your last days here at ICS! Underclassmen, your time in high school will pass quickly! Before you know it, you’ll be a senior, applying to college and feeling excitedly anxious about what the future holds. If you don’t believe me, ask one of them!

Once again, I find myself full of gratefulness. I am thankful for each of you every single day!

Serving the students, teachers and staff at ICS make my life better and full of joy! May this be the best year ICS has seen yet!

God bless, Mr. Luc

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contents 8

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Ms jing liu Mrs gerda chase Mr cody thomas STUDENT COUNCIL NEW CLUBS BEST COMPETITION

60 66 72 78 80 82

a recap On carnival eagle eye: zen senior session em kuansongtham Service Opportunity: Thai Red Cross Society Mental health wellness fair Poem & Short story from lit club

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MS

JING LIU Interview by Charlotte Muehleck

Photos by Lala Lertkiatdamrong

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Can you give a brief introduction of yourself?

I’m from Tianjin, China, which is a municipality near Beijing. I taught at a school in Tianjin for 12 years, but then I felt a calling to move out of China. So, I moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, and taught at a school there for 3 years. And now, I’m here. I’m the only child of my family, so I go back home every 6 months to see my 70-year-old parents.

Why did you decide to become a Mandarin teacher?

As a child, I always aspired to become a doctor. I went to a medical high school, but I realized that it wasn’t right for me.

I always took everything very seriously and made many mistakes so I knew that I wouldn’t be the perfect doctor. After finishing high school, I went to college and majored in English. While I was looking for a job after graduating, I felt a strong urge to become a teacher. Personally, I feel like I was hurt by some of my teachers, as they were very strict and abusive. I wanted to become a teacher that could positively influence the lives of students and make them feel loved. I started off teaching ESL for a few years, and then I decided to teach Mandarin because I could utilize my 2nd language learning strategies to teach Mandarin to foreign students.

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How did you discover ICS?

It was very coincidental. I wanted to leave the school I taught at in Jakarta and my friend, who had recently gone to visit a school in Surabaya, suggested I take a look at their website. I wasn’t interested in that school at all, but I figured that I could at least look at it because my friend kept urging me to do so. I was scrolling through that website and found the ICS website because it was under the same association. I looked through the ICS website and found that there was an open spot for a high school mandarin teacher. Even though I was unsure about the job, felt as if God had other plans for me, and needed to take a break from teaching for a few years, I still applied.

What did you do before you came to ICS?

At the first school I worked at in Tianjin, I taught middle school and high school mandarin, and at the school in Jakarta, I taught elementary through high school students.

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THE QUILL

what are some things you lik

ICS continues to impress me every day. Be about how great the ICS community is. Up students are very mature, nice, hardworkin

What are you looking forwa

I feel very spoiled by the ICS community. responsible and respectful. I hope I will be jobs anymore. ICS is my home and I would

ke about ICS?

efore coming to ICS, I reached out to a few ICS teachers through social media. All of them told me pon arriving at ICS, I really felt welcomed by all the teachers, administrators, staff, and students. The ng, and diligent. ICS reminds me of the school I worked at in Tianjin for 12 years.

ard to most this year?

Everyone I work with is very nice, patient, understanding and supportive. The students are very e able to settle in Thailand better than I have in other places and that I won’t have to look for other d like to keep it that way.

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Mr

Interview by Photos by Lal

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rs. Gerda Chase

Dayoung Nam la Lertkiatdamrong

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Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a Canadian, originally from Vancouver, British Columbia. If you are thinking of going to college in Canada, I recommend it, come talk to me later! I am a teacher and also a mom of 3, one college daughter and 2 boys at ICS. Our family has been living in Southeast Asia since 2010. We have been living in Myanmar until this year. I am 5 ft 5 inches, and I have a big family on my mom’s side - She was one of 13 children. Can you imagine that? Having 13 kids? That’s a lot.

What brought you to Thailand?

Well, I have been living in SE Asia since 2010. Before I taught here in Thailand, I was teaching in Myanmar. As a family we live and serve here. My husband is doing development/agricultural work as a representative for the American Soy Association. Soy milk is very healthy. Do you like it? It’s a nice alternative to milk and is quite popular in Thailand.

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Which subjects do you teach in ICS? I teach Literature (British, American and World) to the amazing ICS students at this school!

What is your favorite aspect of the ICS community?

It’s such a positive atmosphere to work at! The teachers here are immensely helpful and supportive to each other. They really care about what they do and about you guys. I love looking out my third floor classroom window and seeing all the activities happening below me. The students have so much going on, and their hearts are so eager to serve others. I love that. They work hard in class and I am always so happy to see them!

What was your inspiration to be a teacher?

Well, I love learning, and because I have spent time learning over the course of my life (and I am much older than you guys), I also enjoy seeing students learn and grow personally. I love to see their eyes open to something they have never thought about before and the “a- ha” moment of learning. I get excited. Teaching is such a privilege and honor for me.I feel blessed by God to be able to be here and to be a teacher.

What are your hobbies outside of work?

I enjoy reading, cooking, spending time with my family, traveling, eating, jogging, some team sports, and meeting new people. I am still making new friends here as I am new to Bangkok. I love Christmas time and all the fun festivities that come along with that. I love celebrating the “Reason for the Season”. I enjoy drama and the theatre. I enjoy music a lot too. So many genres and artists, I can’t narrow it down as to which are my favorites. I enjoy Spotify and Youtube for that reason! I like the beach and evening sunsets. They are so gorgeous here in Thailand.

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Mr Cody Thomas Interview by David Bang Photos by Sun Tangniannatchai

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After Mr. B’s sudden leave the year before, ICS introduces a new band teacher: Mr Cody. He’s been teaching band for the 6th year now, having flown in from his previous life in Nairobi, Kenya as a middle school and highschool band director. I’ve recently been able to sit down with him in his office, which displayed his humor, love of Harry Potter, as well as pictures of his dog, to get to know him.

I started with the first question on why he chose the subject of band. With a relaxed posture and a smile on his face, he answered, “I didn’t know I was going to be a teacher, but I grew up with my mother, who was also a teacher. You know, I grew up to be super original, haha; a band director just like she was. Yeah, I love band and love playing in it, so it was the natural thing to choose in college.” It became apparent that his sense of humor was just a part of him.

Would you rather prefer teaching older students than highschoolers?

“Oh, you mean like college kids? No, actually, my favorite age to be teaching is middle school and high school because they’re weird and quite unsure of themselves that it’s just so fun to teach.

I like the imperfections more than I like perfections.”

But don’t you get frustrated when the middle and highschoolers can’t play as well as you want them to?

“Yeah, obviously I do. It gets frustrating.

But I like to show the high level of musicianship required, and still have fun with it. And if they still can’t get it, yeah,

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We continued to talk about his time in Kenya. It turns out that he started the band program in his previous school, and that he’s learned it’s hard to run it without any of the resources. “Coming here has been like a dream; to come and have so much stuff,” he tells me, before going into how ICS is different, “It’s definitely a different style of students that I’m used to. In Nairobi, the students that I had were very in your face, not disrespectful, but just really interactive with the teaching in the classroom. Except for here, it’s a little bit of an adjustment, in that it was a lot more respectful and quiet. But no, [I don’t hate them], I love the students and I think that I couldn’t ask for better kids; they are so well behaved. It feels like I’m not even teaching.”

What would you say would be your favorite thing about ICS so far?

“Everyone is happy. Well, I know everyone is not really happy, but everyone is happy. You know what I mean? It’s just the spirit of, like, the community that’s around here; the spirit of everyone being happy with each other. I’ve never seen kids at school who smile as much as at ICS. I don’t know, it’s pretty great. I love that.”

Is there any goal, or anything you might want to achieve here at ICS? “Yes, I’ve actually had a meeting today with the highschool band, and we are making it our goal and ambition to become the jealousy of all the school. So, it’s going to happen. People are going to want to be in band, and we are really excited. ...a lot of kids did band in middle school, but when they get to highschool, they drop out. But there isn’t that culture of appreciating the band even if they are not in band. I would love to see the band grow, but I would also love to see the school get around the music department here and really support it.”

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It seems you really like interacting with the kids. At ICS, we pride ourselves on having better student-teacher relationships, so what is something that the students should know about you?

“If they approach me with a good pun, they’ll instantly win favor of my life, or if they bring me pie. I like pie a lot, haha. I’m not saying bribery works, but it does help if there’s pie involved.”

And as he says, Mr. Cody enjoys a good joke (and pie). He’s excited to be here at ICS, and the only way to see all that he’ll do for our community is wait.

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Student Council

Interview by Shreya Rupani Photos

by Proud Sethaudom THE QUILL 28

STUDENT COUNCIL Executive Committee

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Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our 2019-2020 school year’s Student Council! Mr. Mike Holden had supervised the council for the past three years, but he decided to take a break from advising this year. Therefore, our beloved principal Mr. Luc Lemley has kindly volunteered to help serve as the Student Council’s new advisor. In the executive committee we have four elected seniors: Aoey Wirawarn as president, Gunn Jungpaibul as vice president, Uriel Palmos as secretary, and Ryu Ngammuang as treasurer.

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Working closely with them are two class representatives from each grade: Matthew Muehleck and Proud Sethaudom (12), Idy Lertkiatdamrong and Pat Watcharapong (11), Davi Araujo and Emily Rubio (10), and Trak Prateepmanowong and Ploeny Pamichthanakom(9). All the posters and graphics you see from Student Council are designed by three remarkable public relations seniors: PanPan Vongsrirungruang, Sera Koo, and Hayoung You.

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As our Student Council executive committee members, what events are you excited to host this year?

Club fair, Spirit Week, ICS Got Talent, Christmas gift package deliveries, teacher’s appreciation day, Valentine’s roses and sweets delivery, and Banquet, plus many more we can’t name yet! We were really excited about the club fair we hosted earlier this year. Last year, we noticed that many people weren’t able to visit the club booths after school. So, this year, we decided to move club fair from after school to homeroom period to give every high schooler the opportunity to explore and join school clubs and activities. It was also exhilarating to see so many high schoolers dress up and cheer during the Chapel game we organized in Spirit Week. We also had a lot of fun being the very first to revamp and decorate our school blue and yellow for Spirit Week. We’ll be organizing ICS Got Talent on Thursday November 14, 2019. The selected shows are amazing, and the Friday after that is a holiday, so you all should really come!

What changes do you want to bring to ICS? It is one of our biggest goals to hear more from our high school student body through our year-long suggestion box, which is linked in our Instagram bio, as well as through surveys like the Spirit Week dress theme votings that we send throughout the year. We also hope to keep you all updated as much as possible through the new bulletin board that our public relations officers tirelessly craft out, as well as via our Instagram account @ics.stuco. We hope to maintain and enhance the tight-knit and loving community that we are already in and organize events to support that. We’re also in the process of planning out brand new activities, so stay tuned for that too!

Is there anything else that you want to say to the student body?

Your class representatives and public relations officers are working really hard to make our numerous events happen. From blowing up balloons and hanging up the blue and yellow flags to systematically planning out the amazing features and games in all our events, they’re doing it all. We hope to bring you all as much fun as possible! Please just come up to us if you ever have any questions or concerns.

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Medical Club

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Interview by Emily Rubio Photos by Mine Um

l & Science

o mnakkittikul

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The Medical and Science Club aspires to formulate a platform for ICS students to be able to get a glimpse of what to look for when pursuing a medical career. Together, the founders of the club, Plearn Chirasavenuprapand, Memo Tangtipongkul, Petch wattanasawang, and Emily Rubio, place their focus on organizing large events for their club members to benefit from. The Medical and Science Club has held a “Medical Alumni Interview,” where former ICS graduates talk about their meticulous journey to medical school. The event hosted over a hundred attendees.

Additionally, the Medical and Science Club’s founders have held ICS’s first “Basic Life Support” event, where club members got a chance to learn CPR, an essential life skill. With the help of Mr. Paul, the club supervisor, the Medical and Science Club is destined to compose various other impactful events throughout this school year and the following years to come.

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WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START THE CLUB? PL: I want other people who are interested in medicine to have opportunities to get familiar with the field, since such opportunities are not very common. I also believe that the club will be interesting and fun to others as well!

HOW DID YOU BECOME SO INTERESTED IN THE MEDICAL AND SCIENCE FIELD? PL: I enjoy learning sciences such as biology and chemistry, which is why the medical field intrigues me. It’s also not like any other field, in the aspect that it uses all your past knowledge. If you’re in the medicine field, you will be able to live your life to the fullest potential.

M: I went to the hospital for a community service project and saw some medical university students who were wearing the hospital gown. I felt like it was a really cool uniform to wear and now I aspire to be in that position when I grow up. Also, I find biology interesting and I do well in class.

Pt: I’m a person who can’t really sit still and study at a table. I always have to do some sort of hands-on activity, so I believe that the medical field would suit me well. More importantly, working in the medical field means that you will be able to save many lives as well as help the friends and family of the patient.

WHICH EVENTS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO HOSTING? Pl: I’m really looking forward to hosting a blood drive at ICS since it would benefit many people.

WHAT IS ONCE IMPACT YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ON THE MEMBERS OF YOUR CLUB? M: My goal is to have the members of our club discover more about themselves, as well as facilitate their process in applying to medical school.

PT: And if they choose not to pursue the medical field, they could hopefully use the activities that we do to help others later on.

PL: I want the members to learn new things, realize that science and medicine can be fun, and understand that even highschoolers can experience it, since you’re never too young to learn!

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FeminICS Interview by Hannah Smith Photos by Thejal Narayanasamy

Starting this year, for the first time in ICS history, FeminICS opens its doors to students, encouraging them to represent the spirit of feminism. If you’re interested in social conflicts regarding gender, this is the club for you. The members of FeminICS share their feminist ideals and arguments regarding gender equality through a series of speeches in Ted Talk formats, art exhibits (for any artists out there who would like to join the club), as well as service trips.

FeminICS is led by its two junior presidents: Amy Jain and Aree Sanchez. Amy’s inspiration for the club name materialized during a service conference, in which she discovered the existence of feminist clubs in other schools, such as NIST, who took a creative approach with the word ‘Feminist’ to make the club, FemiNIST. Inspired to raise awareness in the ICS community as well, she, alongside Sanchez, formed FeminICS.

FeminICS was shaped for the purpose of providing a platform for ICS students to be united by and involved in Feminism. It’s not too late to sign up and join this community! For freshmen, it is a great place to start. For the middle schoolers that are interested, consider signing up next year and take part in all the action!

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Computer Science Interviewed by David Bang Photos by Joanna Pinsuvana

Club

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Computer experts rejoice! One of the newer clubs at ICS this year, among the many clubs available, is the Computer Science Club. The club was founded and led by Prin, an enthusiast for the subject. “Computer Science has been a passion of mine for a couple of years already,” Prin says, “I’ve actually joined the Computer Science Club at ICS, but that club closed down many years ago. So, I wanted to re-establish the club, and since Computer Science is a rapidly growing field in the modern world, I feel like it would be a great club to have.”

This club, which meets every week, is a great place for whoever is interested in computers or the rapidly-growing computer science industry. Also, perks of joining this club is that it isn’t like a class: “During club meetings, we focus on programming and programming concepts. The programing language we focus on is Java… The main point of the club isn’t to be a substitute to the AP Computer Science courses that ICS offers, but it’s more like teaching people how to design codes, how to think in terms of codes, and how to design algorithms. I guess the goal would be that all members learn to appreciate programming as an art form and also be able to, like what Mr. Dan (Mr. Daniel) always says, ‘be adept in confrontational thinking and learn how the compiler works.’ ”

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If anyone would lead a computer-related club, it would be Prin. His passion for this field has led him to success in multiple computer-based classes ICS offers. When asked what inspired this particular interest, he responded, “Well, it was my exposure to this field in Computer Science called machine learning, or as some people would think, kind of like artificial intelligence. I think that it’s really relevant in the modern world and a really interesting topic. I also like math. Computer Science uses a lot of math, so I felt drawn to it because of that… and it has many applications in the real world as well.”

The Computer Science Club isn’t only for high-end experts, but is also for those who want to simply dip their toes into something new. “The club was designed so that no prior knowledge is required, but, since we already started the past couple of weeks, if a new person joins, they might have to do a bit of catching up. I’ve already taught the basics of Java, like control structures, but in the next couple of weeks, what I want to do is simulation: a ball bouncing with gravity, or a pendulum swinging, or even a double pendulum, which is a chaotic system. If anyone wants to join, they can just email me, or meet us in Mr. Daniel’s room on Mondays from 2:30 to 3:30 pm.”

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Baking Club Interview by Krishma Gandhi Photo by Dino Nishioka

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Two senior leaders, Year and Bam, have started a new Baking Club here at ICS. This new club is very unique compared to other clubs ICS offers. Although this is their first year, they have already done a lot!

But what do they do? The Baking Club is basically a refreshing activity where students come together as a club and bake goodies. This year, they started out by making Rice Krispies as their first task, then sold it in and out of school. The ideas for baked goodies are finalized by Bam after students present them. The club is held after school a few days a month to discuss and bake goodies.

According to the leaders, the idea of starting this club came from their natural interests. Bam and Year had an idea for quite some time to start a baking club due to their interests in both baking and helping the community. They wanted the students at ICS to have an opportunity to do something fun and helpful besides studying.

While starting this club, they did face some difficulties. They didn’t know where they were going to bake with multiple people and where they would host their meetings in school. They also contemplated the money that would be needed to purchase the initial ingredients to get the club up and running. They did, however, get past these difficulties and came up with ideas that would benefit the club and the community as a whole. They found a great combination of helping and having fun.

After gaining profit by selling baked goodies, they decided to use the money for a good cause. The money earned should be donated to nonprofit organizations and hospitals that really need help.

Bam and Year hope for this club to continue in its success even after they graduate. They want the members of the club to find meaning and to understand the cause of this club. They also wish to donate 5000 baht over the course of this year.

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Plastic Revolution Interview by Hunter Lertkiatdamrong Photo by Russia Chawala What is your main goal in the Plastic Revolution?

We want to be able to get rid of plastic by 2020 in ICS and build a trend in our community so people are more aware of the problem and how to fix it.

How are you planning on achieving this goal?

We have many projects that we are working on. For example, we are sharing news about current events during Chapel, and fundraising through free dress days and donating money to a campaign for our work. We also plan on selling plastic bottles, reusable straws, alternatives to plastic, or single-use plastics. Right now, we already have a team trying to do just that, and spread awareness about plastic so that people can reduce their consumption. Additionally, we are also going to go on field trips to places like PTT, SCG, Trash Hero, Less Plastic Thailand, and other people that are willing to help us. It will be an educational field trip where students get to learn more about the plastic problem.

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When did the Plastic Revolution team begin?

Well, we started this team in Middle School in the GIN conference, during my 8th grade year, which is about a year ago.

Why do you want to reduce the use of plastic?

Well, not all plastics are bad, we have to clarify that there is a difference between plastic and single-use plastic, and the type of plastic that we are trying to reduce is single-use plastic. They are the type that are most harmful because they’re used only once, and is extremely wasteful, last very long, and once it’s done being used, we don’t know where it goes. Most of the time, it goes to the ocean or the coastline, so it destroys the environment. We need to make people understand that the input and output are not waging right now.

Since you said the the plastics go to the ocean, are there any other ways that plastics affect the environment?

Obviously, another way that people try to destroy plastics is by burning it, but they don’t realize that the toxins that plastics produce after they are burned are very harmful. There has been research that has shown that toxins produced by plastics can cause cancer and are more harmful than other types of toxins.

Are there anything else that you guys want to add in?

Please check out our new video about an introduction to plastic problem on our youtube channel, which is Trak Hero Studio. It will be up very soon. If you can help us, please subscribe and spread the awareness! You can also check out our Instagram, which is @icsplasticrevolution.

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forensics Forensics Club Club Interview by Gandhi Interview byKrisha Krisha Gandhi Photo by Beam Yongphiphatwong Photos by Beam Yongphiphatwong

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Since when were you interested in creating the Forensics club?

I became interested in the idea of creating a club since eighth grade, but I postponed taking action on it until this year.

What made you want to start the Forensics club?

I have always been interested in learning about detectives and investigations aspect of science especially because it has a different learning style when compared to other sciences. It is based more on activities and experiments.

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What do you do in the club?

In the club, we investigate and play games to solve muder cases. We also do activities and experiments like the blood typing experiment.

Are there any difference between the Forensics class and this club?

It is actually pretty similar to the class, but we perform a lot more experiments than the class. Although many members join the club to celebrate the freedom, this club is mainly designed to those students who can’t take the class because of their full schedule. There are a lot more games in the Forensics Club when compared to the class itself.

What are your future plans?

I’m planning to do more scientific experiments, such as chromatography, and also more games! Games will be based on muder cases. It’ll be an activity where students will get to work together and use evidence to determine who the murderer is.

As you are a senior, what impact do you want to leave behind in terms of creating Forensics Club?

The reason I started this club is not only to pursue my personal interests, but also I wanted to open something new to ICS. There is a group of people who enjoy investigations and I hope, with this club, they will be able to portray their interests easily at ICS.

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BEST COMPETITION

Interview by Proud Ua-arak Photos by Mina Wangpattanamongkol

The ICS Business Club’s Bangkok Entrepreneurial Student Tryouts (BEST) competition last August was a complete success!

Participants attended a three-day Entrepreneurship Exploration Program supported by the Reactor Schools during summer break and teamed up to make a business plan for their pitch before a panel of expert judges on August 24, 2019.

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Joanna Pinsuvana, the club president behind the making of BEST, decided to create this competition after discovering the lack of opportunity in Bangkok for high school students interested in entrepreneurship to extend and implement their knowledge in this field. Now, let’s hear from Iwin Linpiyawan, a member of the Liro Apparel team -- a startup company whose goal is to make products that help reduce plastic waste!

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IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION, YOU HAD TO ATTEND A 3-DAY EEP CAMP DURING THE SUMMER TO PREPARE. WHAT DID YOU LEARN THERE? I: We learned about the basic foundations for starting and setting up a business. Specifically, we first identified a problem and came up with corresponding solutions in the form of a business idea or product. Then, we looked for ways to effectively get our business out into the market. We learned about marketing tactics, such as how we can make our brand stand out from other competing brands. Specifically, the strategic use of marketing skills to influence people, whether or not the product itself is innovative, and presenting it in a way to make it seem worth paying for.

WHAT WAS ONE OF THE OBSTACLES YOUR TEAM FACED, AND OVERCAME THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE CAMP? I: One of our obstacles had to do with the branding and the logo. In the beginning, we had a business idea that involved reducing plastic use in the world, so we came up with this brand named “Pura,” which means ‘plastic’ in Japanese, and our logo was a culturally universal symbol of recycling.

However, we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to officially turn that into a brand since we might not be able to register for a copyright for the name. Therefore, we changed our company’s name and logo to make it more unique while still reflective of our purpose. We ended up using the name “Liro,” which means ‘Earth’ in Latin. It’s catchier and still shows how the purpose of this brand is to save the Earth by reducing plastic waste.

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HOW DID YOU FEEL DURING THE COMPETITION AFTER THE EEP CAMP, WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE OF MAKING AND PLANNING A BUSINESS IDEA, FOLLOWING THROUGH ON IT, AND PRESENTING IT IN A COMPETITION AGAINST OTHER GROUPS? I: I learned that we had to be very precise in how we plan out our company and how we pitch it; during the process it’s easy to swerve left and right from the original plan, so we had to be sure to practice a lot and basically know every aspect and detail of the product before presenting it. We had to know what we needed to say in order to get the message across to the judges and prove our points.

SPEAKING OF THE JUDGES, WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT HOW YOU APPROACHED SOME OF THE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS THE JUDGES ASKED? I: The judges tried to ask questions to point out the flaws of our business idea and plan to see whether if we could think of a solution on the spot. Honestly, we had to ‘waffle’ a little bit so that we could think of appropriate answers to their difficult questions. If I could do it again, I’d plan to ‘reverse the roles’ and put myself in the judges’ shoes where I anticipate the types of questions they might ask and plan on how I should approach them first.

AFTER THIS EXPERIENCE, WOULD YOU CONSIDER DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR IN THE FUTURE? I: I would definitely try to create another startup, but next time I’d focus even more on helping the society and getting the product out. It’s not all about money in business. To me, it’s more about making something that can positively impact the people! I would say that the most important aspect of startups and business, to me, is the opportunity to help and give back to the community that we live in, and I’ll definitely work on that in my next startup idea.

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A RECA

ON

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CARN

AP

Words by Pat Watcharapong Photos by Wen Aramratsameekul

NIVAL

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The best of its kind in quite some years, with countless food, games, booths, and activities, this year’s carnival was truly a grand gift from our seniors. As you would guess, much work and labor has gone into this event. As one of the junior class’ representatives, I can say that my partner and I experienced considerable hardships in preparing our little refreshment booth. It puts one into perspective; when you go through such difficulty for such a small-scale arrangement, it makes you realize how much blood, sweat, and tears the people behind Carnival 2019 must have put in. It just so happens that the taproot of this beautiful tree is a good friend of mine: Genie.

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Not so long ago, I had the chance to talk to her about the event, in hindsight.

Through the cliché questions like “How do you feel about Carnival in general?,” and “How did you prepare for the event?,” what stuck out to me wasn’t the answers she gave (they were what you would expect, honestly), but what shone through in her response was the way she expressed herself. Her attitude towards the whole thing was one of satisfaction and pride. Not the kind that is arrogant, but one that shows that the person is content with their work. Even though it took a lot out of her and her team, she insists that, given the chance, she would do it again, with less anxiety and more confidence, seeing how well everything panned out on that sunny Saturday in the middle of fall.

I’ll spare you the details about which problems arose along the way and all the aspects involved at Carnival: we’ve all been there (except some boys in ROTC who could not come; it’s unfortunate how much they missed out on). A word to the not-sowise underclassmen from Genie, paraphrased by me, is that...

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W

hen the time comes for you to do something that takes great effort, whether it be Carnival or other challenges in life, you must persist. For if you don’t, you will lose your opportunity to grow as a person and you will live out your days pondering over what great things you could have done.

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Eagle eye

zen

CHATCHALERMCHAI Interview by Tawan Petpaiboon Photos by Mina Wangpattananamongkol

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How and when did you discover your cooking skill?

When I was 11 years old, I watched MasterChef Australia and I wanted to cook, so I just practiced by watching YouTube videos. I started by being my mom’s sous chef, and then started cooking by myself.

What made you enter the Master Chef Junior TV show?

I just saw it as an opportunity to try something new and try to enter a cooking competition.

Did you doubt yourself when you joined the competition; that you might not even be able to do it?

Of course I was doubting myself. I thought I wouldn’t even make it to the first round, but I made it to the top fuve.

What was the most difficult situation being on the TV show?

Probably choosing friendship over winning because sometimes, you have to choose between two friends of whom you’ll work with. I overcame the problem by talking to my friends ahead of time that no matter what happens, we will still be friends.

What experiences did you get from being in the TV show?

Controlling your temper (like about getting angry), team challenges, as well as focusing on one thing [at a time].

How do you feel about many people being your fan clubs?

I was shocked the first time when my followers on Instagram boosted up. But I guess it feels weird to get noticed when you walk outside. I also feel motivated when I get recognized to cook more and improve.

How did you feel after you left Masterchef Junior?

I felt both sad and relieved. Relieved on the part that I don’t have to wake up at 5 on every Sunday morning.

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How often do you cook at home?

It depends on how free I am and if I have too much homework. Sometimes, I do it for pleasure and fun. Sometimes, I do it for big occasions like family dinners.

What is your favorite dish to cook?

Definitely the most number of times I cooked, it would be steak. I do cook desserts, but it’s not my specialty.

Do you prefer cooking by yourself or as a team?

I like cooking by myself. It just feels more quiet. I don’t know, it just feels better to cook by myself.

What’s the most important thing in cooking as a team?

Cooking as a team? You have to be able to communicate and know what each of you can do and cannot do so that others can help.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your cooking skill?

Seven.

What cooking advice would you give to beginner CHEFs? Keep it cool, be patient, and don’t rush anything.

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sENIOR SESSION sENIOR SESSION

EM

kuansongtham kuansongtham Interviewby

by Austin Austin Cipriano Cipriano Interview Photosby

by Blink Blink Chaisuparakul Chaisuparakul Photos

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HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU ATTENDED ICS? I’ve been at ICS for fourteen years now.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST MEMORIES THAT YOU HAVE MADE IN THAT TIME? The best memories have been small things like random conversations at lunch where we reminisce about things like our days in kindergarten. I’ve also made plenty of fun memories on sports trips.

WHAT MEMORIES ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING THIS YEAR? I’m really looking forward to the soccer and basketball seasons as well as getting to go to Korea for ACSC. Finally getting into college will also be nice. I also want to focus on creating valuable friendships since it is our last year.

NAME SOME POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES TO BEING A SENIOR. The superiority and respect that we have, the generosity and understanding we get from teachers, and the fact that will be growing up and starting a new chapter are some of the biggest benefits. Yet, along with this, we’re super busy finishing capstone and applying to college. Underclassmen also have high expectations for us and tend to ask for a lot of advice when we’re often just as lost as them. .

What interests and/or hobbies do you want to focus on this upcoming year?

I want to have great soccer and basketball seasons.

How do you think ICS will change after the senior class leaves?

The AP Exam averages and highschool average GPA will obviously decrease but other than that not much should change. We are a pretty introverted class that sticks to ourselves.

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO ALL THE UNDERCLASSMEN? Sometimes you just need to commit and do things without thinking. Just do it. Just yeet it. Also make sure you try your best to live in the present without worrying too much about the past. Also make sure to never skip AP notes.

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SERVICe opportunity Written by Pann Sripitak

While some ICS students may volunteer to help the community just to fill up the required community service hours, others volunteer out of sheer genuinity. While hopefully, the main drive to serve the community is the latter, whatever students’ main goals are, volunteer hours do contribute to help the society! With that, a famous place to volunteer at is the Thai Red Cross Society, a blood bank located opposite of the Chula Hospital where people from all over the country travel to donate their blood for those in need of a blood transfer.

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The Thai Red Cross Society, formerly known as the “Red Unalom Society,” was founded

by Lady Plien Pasakornravongs in 1893 with the permission of King Chulalongkorn. Later, King Vajiravudh, together with his brothers and sisters, created a hospital belonging to the Red Cross Society on the king’s private land, which later became known as “Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.” The Thai Red Cross was later officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross on May 27, 1920.

Today, the Thai Red Cross Society serves as one of the biggest and most prominent blood banks in Thailand. They continuously create events and festivals where people gather to donate blood while treating hundreds or sometimes thousands of donors every day.

Volunteering at the Thai Red Cross Society is a great opportunity as it allows people to facilitate the process of donating blood more efficiently. Some may be assigned to help check donor’s blood pressure or heart rate to determine if they’re eligible for blood donation or not, whilst others may be assigned to help encourage donors to sign up for other programs that can potentially save lives. The impacts are truly great– there are still many people in Thailand who are in desperate need for blood transfusion, and volunteering at the Thai Red Cross Society is a great way to help out.

The Thai Red Cross Society is always accepting volunteers– all it takes is a simple visit to their website or a call. This is a great service opportunity that shouldn’t be overlooked.

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MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS FAIR

Interview by Joey Chao Photos by Beam Yongphip

Near the end of September, the Mental Health Awareness Club had its first “Mental Health Wellness Fair,” with the purpose of having students and parents understand mental illnesses in greater depth and ways to combat them. At this event, Mrs. Lauren Sentovich, a mental health counselor (and Mr. Mark Sentovich’s wife), gave an informative speech about mental illnesses and their impact. Being a licensed certified social worker, she has volunteered with NCS clients from all around the world from ages 12-55 and has even counseled ICS students too.

In this speech, Mrs. Lauren addressed three key questions that relate to mental disorders in adolescents. For the first question, “What are the common mental disorders found in adolescents, 78

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and what are the warning signs that we should look out for?” she mentioned the importance of not offending others by saying you have a disorder when you don’t. The disorders she elaborated on were anxiety disorders, depression, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In her second question, “As an adolescent, how do I help myself or a friend who may be having one of these disorders?” Mrs. Lauren expounded upon talking with people you love and/or trust, listening with compassion, validating their feelings, having empathy, and being honest with yourself and others. She also gave other methods like going to counseling where different types of therapy can help you alleviate the issues you are

phatwong

facing. These can be cognitive behavior therapy, which focuses on “changing the way you think”, or exposure therapy, as her example of, “The first time you watch a scary movie, it is really really scary, but the second time you watch it, it is less scary. “ “If your friend confides in you that they do want to hurt themselves or someone else, I just encourage them to seek professional help, talk to teachers, or talk to a counselor as soon as possible because these things must be taken seriously.”

Lastly, for the question, “As an adolescent, what are some ways to manage stress at school or at home so that the problem doesn't escalate into something more serious like a mental

disorder?” Mrs. Lauran informed us that talking to someone you trust, finding healthy coping mechanisms to reduce stress (listening to music, exercising, eating healthily, etc.), and reducing unhealthy coping mechanisms were solutions she suggested.

Overall, the fair went especially great, with more than 50 students participating along with many parents. For those who created their own Gratitude jar along with a Year in Pixels, they will be able to keep track of their happiness and elevate it on days they feel unhappy.

In the future, the club hopes to continue creating events like this which will benefit the ICS community.

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TIMELINE

Concentrate your diluted prime, Unprecedented memories come back over time, I’m not a poet, or one to rhyme, But time gushes out like water from a fountain.

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The Dreams I Call Mine Written by Ploeny Parnichthanakom I am running.

I had been running. I have always been running, and I suppose I will continue running.

I can’t feel the usual jarring pain in my ankles and knees, nor the wind that should be whipping past my cheeks, nor the tightness in my chest from either breathing or beating.

It is only natural that I am running from something. Or towards. Perhaps both.

Why do they want me? Why do I not even know who they are? They are just blurs of black.

Solid shapes of black. Clearly people. Blurred because of my indifference.

Is the fact that I don’t feel anything the reason why they want me?

Faces of local people offering aid. They are endangering themselves for me. It should not be this way; I have always been alone.

Why do I know that my cheeks are being wetted by tears and my words warped by sobs, even though I cannot feel nor hear them?

Why do I promise to never forget them and what they have done for me, even though I can not meet their eyes or ask for their names?

I move on.

I am running towards the end. I know that the edge is digging into the middle of my foot as I push off.

How many times have I done this? Pushing off to glide down stairs wrapped in darkness, to fall past banners and windows, to melt into the ground, or to continue on to a new world with the knowledge of a heaviness in my chest being the only temporary thread connecting me to the past.

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