REGENTS’ NEWSLETTER

EDITION 14 TERM 3 2014/2015

SECONDARY

This week saw the start of the three-week period of IB examinations. Watching the students at work in the exam hall, some nervous and fidgety, others still and absorbed, powerless to intervene and help, made me reflect on the nature of this form of assessment. Is it right that the two year course, arguably the culmination of one’s whole educational career is condensed into a couple of examinations? The fairness of such a system is constantly up for debate but actually reflects the way much of the world operates. We measure and assess all things in this manner from musical proficiency to one’s ability to pilot a plane or drive a car. In fact, there are a number of similarities between learning to drive and our approach to education.

As a learner driver, you initially remain within the confines of the driving centre, unable to venture far. Everything is explained and drilled. Before long, you are allowed out onto the roads, but safe in the knowledge that the instructor has ultimate responsibility and can step in at any point. After a while, it becomes the norm to venture further afield and the instructor gradually relinquishes control. Step by step instructions change to general guidance and then merely a series of prompts or questions to elicit reflection until the instructor’s role is more that of a reassuring presence. Ultimately, it comes down to a specific skillset, understanding

and practice. However, one can never totally predict how things will run the day of the examination, no matter how thorough the preparation. Invariably, some parts go well and others not quite so smoothly, but is it the end of the world if things don’t go according to plan? Not at all; just ask Mrs. Mulford who failed her driving test three times and even crashed the car on one of those occasions. She passed her test on the fourth go and has never had an accident since – proving that we can all adjust and move forward, learning from life’s experiences.

However, that piece of paper, license or diploma, can undoubtedly change your life forever. Just having it

gives you options and a new found freedom, a passport to go wherever you want. Obviously, there is still a lot to learn and the first time you set out on your own, it all seems quite terrifying. However, the adventure is just beginning…

I would like to wish all those students sitting public examinations, the very best of luck. I hope they achieve the results they need to enable them to embark on the next stage of their exciting journey.

Rachel Batty

CALENDAR DATESMONDAY 11TH MAY IGCSE STUDY LEAVE BEGINS

TUESDAY 12TH MAY CFBT ISQM RE-ACCREDITATION VISIT BEGINS

THURSDAY 14TH MAY YEAR 10 GEOGRAPHY TRIP

FRIDAY 15TH MAY PATTAYA TO POKHARA EVENT

MONDAY 18TH MAY INTER-HOUSE FOOTBALL COMPETITION BEGINS

WEDNESDAY 20TH MAY - THURSDAY 21ST MAY YEAR 9 GEOGRAPHY TRIP

FRIDAY 22ND MAY IB EXAMINATIONS FINISH

SATURDAY 23RD MAY IB GRADUATION CEREMONY

THIS WEEK IN THE SECONDARY NEWSLETTER

RACHEL BATTY, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SECONDARY /

HEAD OF SIXTH FORM

READING MILLIONAIRES

JUILLIARD - NORD ANGLIA LAUNCH

NEPAL RELIEF ROUND-UP

“MAKE IT RIGHT CHALLENGE”

THE DRIVING TEST“

BY TAMARA MCKENNA, HEAD OF ENGLISH AND EAL

CONGRATULATIONS to our second wave of reading millionaires.

All these students have read over a million words since August. Year

8 dominated the Christmas Role of Honour, but Year 7 students are

catching up fast!

Accelerated Reader only counts the words if the book quiz has

been passed, so all these students have shown that they have a good

understanding of what they are reading too.

READING MILLIONAIRES

MILLIONAIRE READERS ROLE OF HONOUR :

YEAR MILLIONAIRE WORD COUNT

YEAR 7 ANDREW SUTTON 1,882,462

YEAR 7 PRANJALI TIWARI 1,614,320

YEAR 7 SOPHIA LOVICH 1,434,930

YEAR 9 CHETANA BISHT 1,430,436

YEAR 7 YUSEUNG KIM 1,415,314

YEAR 7 ANJA MANALASTAS 1,403,931

YEAR 7 NATHAN VELLA 1,331,371

YEAR 9 GABY MANURUNG 1,183,956

YEAR 8 GUN HYUNG KIM 1,180,891YEAR 7 JACK ELMS 1,024,938

HERE ARE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FROM SOME EAGER READERS IN YEAR 7:

ANDREW IN 7B RECOMMENDS … The Red Pyramid (Book Level: 4.5) is a great book; it has lots of adventures,

battles and mysteries. The main characters are the Kanes, a family which are descendants from great, ancient Egyptian

pharaohs. They go on great adventures to defeat old Egyptian enemies. The author is Rick Riordan, who is also famous

for his other series, Percy Jackson. I think this series is even better; a really good book!

OLIVER FROM 7G RECOMMENDS … I highly recommend the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (Book Level: 5.2) by

Jeff Kinney for people who like funny and relatable stories. The story follows a boy name Greg Hefley who is always

bored. He tries to entertain himself where ever he can. Every book in the series has something new, such as the 7th

book called The Third Wheel where Greg trying to get a valentine for the valentine’s disco.

CHRISTOPHER IN 7G RECOMMENDS … I loved the Alex Rider series (Book Level: 5.4) because of all the suspense

and thrill in all 10 books - including Russian Roulette - that made me want to read more. There was Storm Breaker

when Alex was being trained for MI6 and the training went terribly wrong. That was my first suspense in the series,

and I enjoyed everything about it. The series contains: Storm Breaker, Point Blanc, Skeleton Key, Eagle Strike, Scorpia,

Ark Angel, Snake Head, Crocodile Tears, Scorpia Rising and Russian Roulette – which is about Yassen Gregorovich. I

suggest this series as the best.

TYLER IN 7B RECOMMENDS … I highly recommend that people aged 12 and up should read a book called Slave

by Mende Nazer. This book is also based on a true story. It really gives you an idea about what it was like to be a slave.

I especially like this book because of the main character’s spirit and how it was never crushed; even when things

were looking at their darkest, she still kept her chin held high and eventually escaped her slave master. She’s a true

inspiration for any girl or boy in the world. You need to read this book!

On Wednesday 6th April, The Globe was a hive of activity in preparation for the Juilliard – Nord Anglia Performing Arts Partnership Announcement Event for Thailand. Students had been rehearsing to make their performance perfect for this prestigious event, when they were treated to a visit from the violinist Charles Yang, a Juilliard alumnus. Performers had the opportunity to sit in on his sound check in The Globe and were blown away by his skill on the violin; he was truly an inspiration to them.

As the evening approached, the excitement from our participants was uncontainable and this was certainly evident from all their performances. The audience were captivated right from that start with the Kings Anthem, followed by a stunning rendition of Feeling Good, onto a breath taking piano solo from Mary Park and finishing with a massed choir of both Primary and Secondary singers performing “Sing”.

The students were simply outstanding both onstage and off; words cannot describe how proud the music team were of them, a pleasure to work with! Each and every one of the performers should be congratulated for their commitment, focus and positive attitude, they were fantastic ambassadors for Music at Regents.

However, it was afterwards that really highlighted the impact of our visitors and the event when Charles was quite literally mobbed by excited Regents fans for his autograph and selfies and we truly thank him for giving all our wonderful Musicians his time. The whole event was an amazing experience and a great way to launch this exciting collaboration and celebrate the Performing Arts at Regents.

BY EMILY ANDREWS, HEAD OF SECONDARY MUSIC

REGENTS ROCKS!

JUILLIARD – NORD ANGLIA ANNOUNCEMENT EVENT!

Silently, slowly, dawn broke over Hell Fire Pass. Why am I sitting here on the stony dirt ground, waiting at the bottom of this pass, surrounded by crowds of patiently waiting adults and not-so patiently waiting children? This day, April 25th 2015, marks the 100th anniversary of ANZAC Day (ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp). 100 years ago on this day, ANZAC forces landed by sea at Gallipoli, in Turkey (then known as the Ottoman Empire). These brave soldiers from Australia and New Zealand (also some from Britain and

France), were tasked with taking control of this peninsula so that the Allied forces could control the surrounding waterways to give them an advantage over the enemy during World War 1.

ANZAC Day is a very important day of remembrance for all Australians and New Zealanders because of the bravery and perseverance of our soldiers, many of whom were just teenagers, who died for our freedom. It is particularly sad to remember this battle because of the hopelessness of the position of the ANZACs, given that the Turks were on the high ground, looking down over the Allies. Over 12,000 ANZACs died at Gallipoli and the beach where they landed is now called ANZAC Cove.

For me, one of the most moving parts of the early morning service was when one Australian war veteran in the waiting crowd at the Pass spontaneously started to sing an emotional song of war called, ‘And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda’. This song tells of the pointlessness of all the killing that took place on both sides during the Battle of Gallipoli. The lyrics of this song that say, ‘Well I wished I was dead, Never knew there was worse things than dyin’”, shows exactly how I feel about war.

BY TYLER ADAMS-BROWN, YEAR 7B

‘AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA’

“ONE OF THE MOST MOVING PARTS OF THE EARLY MORNING SERVICE WAS WHEN ONE AUSTRALIAN WAR VETERAN IN THE WAITING CROWD AT THE PASS SPONTANEOUSLY STARTED TO SING AN EMOTIONAL SONG OF WAR CALLED, ‘AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA’. ”

Spring has sprung at Regents for all the wild birds that call our school home. It’s nesting season and the baby birds are just reaching the age when it’s time to leave their nests. This time of year can be very exciting as the young birds explore a new and scary world, and our students can be privileged to see chicks of some very interesting species of birds.

When birds are old enough they will leave, or ‘fledge’, their nest. A bird of this age is called a ‘fledgling’. As they aren’t able to fly properly yet, it is completely normal for a fledgling to fall to a low branch in a tree or onto the ground. People who see a bird on the ground often think that it is hurt and pick it up to rescue it, but this may actually be harmful to the bird. Once a bird has fledged, the parents will continue to feed their chick until it can look after itself and if the fledgling is moved the parents may not be able to find it to feed it.

It is important not to put yourself in danger to rescue a bird. If you think a bird needs rescuing tell a teacher and they will help you.

In some cases it might be the right thing to do to rescue a bird, but always make sure to ask someone who knows about birds before you try to rescue them. Some species of birds might accidentally hurt you if you try to pick them up because they will think you are going to cause them

harm, especially if they are injured and want to protect themselves.

The photos show birds that have recently been rescued at school. The two Spotted Owlets are fledglings that fell from their nest onto the Primary playground. They needed to be rescued because they were in danger from the basketballs and footballs. They have been taken to a special centre where they will be released back into the wild when they are able to fly and hunt. The little chick is a Common Myna and is very young (called a ‘nestling’). It needed to be rescued because its nest was destroyed and it was too young to look after itself.

BY CHRISTINE PRESS

A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF REGENTS

On the 25th April, at 11.56 NST, a violent earthquake shook the Nepalese/Indian region. Its 7.8 magnitude caused major damage to the area but to Nepal most severely. At this moment, over 7,000 people have been killed by the earthquake but many more are missing as rescuers are still pulling survivors from the ruins. The avalanche which occurred on Mount Everest killed 19 people, which also makes it the deadliest day on the mountain. The Kathmandu, Patan and Bhakupus Durbar Squares which were some of UNESCO’s most prized heritage sites are completely destroyed, leaving the country in desolation.

Rescue help and donations have flown into the country but the majority of the funds have gone to huge organisations that seem to mostly focus on the towns and so most smaller villages have been left to fend for themselves.

When we received a message from Manoj Chapagain (Class of 2014), one of our alumni who comes from

Dhuninesi in Nepal, we knew we had to help. His village and his school, where a group of Secondary students and alumni volunteered to work last year, has been completely destroyed since the buildings were all made of dried mud. Crops and live cattle suffered the same fate.

Regents’ first initiative stemmed from Primary with a ‘No Uniform for Nepal’ day – simple but very effective. Thanks to all of you, the Secondary School raised an amazing 81,874THB that will go straight into the reconstruction of Manoj’s village; ‘Building Back Better’.

Our next initiative will be “Pattaya to Pokhara” which will involve walking, running or swimming the 3,614km between the 2 cities. This will be on the 15th May and will take place after school. More info will be sent out to you very soon so watch this space!

BY AINA RAKOTONIRINA, ROUND SQUARE COORDINATOR

NEPAL RELIEF ROUND-UP

BY SARAH TRAVIS-MULFORD, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SECONDARY

The NAE competition judges commended the students for their inclusivity and breadth:

All it leaves to say is a heartfelt Congratulations to all of the students who took part in the ‘Big Challenge’!

NAE/OXFAM ‘MAKE IT RIGHT’ CHALLENGE IS A HUGE SUCCESS

For this year’s Global Classroom ‘Big Challenge’, students across the NAE family were asked to ‘Make It Right’ by focusing their energies on applying a sustainable action to a Child Right issue. The UNO Rights of the Child are often ignored or not fully applied uniformly across the world. This is true of Thailand, where the incidence of Child Labour and Human Trafficking has reached worrying proportions in recent years.

Students in Years 8 and 9 were quick to take up the challenge, initially embarking upon their teamwork approach during PSHE lessons. The students all decided to focus upon two Child Rights: The Right To Education and the Right To Be Free From Harm. The students began the challenge by reflecting upon the humanitarian work of some of Regents’ Community Partners, in order to identify the issues encountered when trying to ensure that the two

chosen Child Rights are fully adhered to in the Pattaya area. These Community Partners make it their aim to improve the lives of many hundreds of children in our wider community, included The Father Ray Foundation, The Sotpatana School for the Deaf, The Mercy Centre, The Hand To Hand Foundation and Maggie’s Milk Charity, to name a few.

By the deadline date of March 6th, four groups of students had completed the ‘Big

Challenge’ fully. These groups’ work was combined into a 10 minute video in order to make a single Regents’ entry to the NAE/Oxfam ‘Make It Right’ Challenge.

Although the Regents entry did not win the challenge in the end, the impact of all of the activities of the students, both within the school and on the wider community, has been impressive, demonstrating that Regents students are caring, thoughtful and passionate Global Citizens. The activities undertaken across the school to support the Regents ‘Big Challenge’ entry included a Mufti Day, a Stationary Collection, Bake Sales, a 650km bike ride from Ayutthaya to Vientiane, an SOS Rice Collection, and International Day Hand To Hand country parade, many visits to Community Partners and over 150,000 Baht raised for our Community Partners to help them to continue their necessary work.

‘THE BREADTH AND REACH OF YOUR PROJECT WAS IMPRESSIVE. YOU FOCUSED ON A NUMBER OF KEY WAYS TO HELP AS MANY COMMUNITIES AS POSSIBLE. THE AMOUNT OF ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN WOULD HAVE ENSURED YOUR WHOLE SCHOOL COMMUNITY WERE AWARE OF THE ISSUES FACING CHILDREN, CHARITIES AVAILABLE TO HELP AS WELL AS WHAT CAN BE DONE IN YOUR LOCAL AREA. YOUR USE OF TECHNOLOGY, SOCIAL MEDIA AND PRESS WAS GREAT AND THIS ADDED TO THE SCOPE. WELL DONE!’

BY JASMIN LESTELIN, ROUND SQUARE ASSISTANT

The Inter-House Football Competition is coming up on the 18th of May to the 22nd of May. Junior, Senior and Staff teams from each House will be playing for crucial House points as this is the penultimate House event before the end of the school year. Therefore, every point counts!

So! House captains get your teams ready and students come and support your Houses!

CURRENTLY, THE HOUSE TOTALS STAND AT:

INTER-HOUSE FOOTBALL COMPETITION

CALLING ALL FOOTBALLERS!

1ST PLACE AYUTTHAYA

1452 POINTS

2ND PLACE KRUNGTHEP

1436 POINTS

3RD PLACE SUKHOTHAI

1421 POINTS

4TH PLACE THONBURI

1320 POINTS

BY ANDREW CRUSH, IB SEHS COORDINATOR

Throughout the year, students from the IB Sport, Exercise and Health Science course have been studying a range of topics and relating these to practical scenarios in Sport. During this lesson, the class took an hour long bike ride covering over 20Km around Mapbrachan Lake. During the lesson they stopped to discuss Ergogenic Aids and the placebo effect of sports drinks. Their next practical lesson will look to test if Isotonic sports drinks really work for endurance athletes and if so, what drinks benefit sports performance the most.

BY ANDREW CRUSH, IB SEHS COORDINATOR

We would like to congratulate and celebrate some of our younger sporting stars as they take part in a busy year of sports outside of their normal day to day school life. Oak in Year 7 and Six and Sense in Year 4 are currently competing in the G-Shock Jet Ski Pro Tour 2015 in Thailand. The competition takes place over 4 rounds throughout the summer months and so far they are 2 rounds into the tour. They are competing in two disciplines; The Beginner Ski 2 Stroke and the Junior Slalom Ski 2 Stroke. Current standings for the Junior slalom show Oak in 1st and Six in 2nd position with Sense not too far behind in 4th. The beginner ski is also very close but they have some work to do to catch the rider in 1st position. The picture shows the boys winning their trophies in Round 2 at Phetchaburi. The next 2 rounds are as follows. Round 3 on the 6-7th June in Prachuap and Round 4 on the 11-12th July in Kanchanaburi. We wish all the Jet ski riders the best of luck in the coming rounds.

PRACTICALLY LEARNING

JET SKI RACING

SUMMER SCHOOL IS BACK AT REGENTS!

ARE YOUR CHILDREN READY TO BECOME EXPLORERS, VOYAGERS AND PIONEERS?

Split into three age groups, Explorer (ages 3-5), Voyager (ages 6-8) and Pioneer (ages 9+) - your children will have the opportunity to participate in a huge range of activities designed to stimulate body and mind. From arts and crafts for the little ones to sailing and snorkelling for the older children, Regents has a jam-packed itinerary that you should take advantage of over the summer break.

Children who only have a basic understanding of English – or who are complete beginners – have the option of choosing specialist English as an Additional Language (EAL) tuition alongside the other activities, so that having fun goes hand-in-hand with learning English! Each day, students will enjoy up to three hours of expert EAL tuition in the mornings and then join their fellow students for activities in the afternoon.

For three weeks, your son or daughter will enjoy everything the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand has to offer as well as make loads of new friends and continue to learn from our professional committed team – boredom is not an option!

PLEASE CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS, PRICES AND SIGN-UP FORM

Conference - The theme is based on the importance of working together and making connections with others, as 'no-one's an island'. The conference will celebrate and explore the IDEALS incorporating environmental challenges and service opportunities. There will be learning experiences in both urban and rural settings. The Education Outdoors facilities of Scotch Oakburn College's Valley Campus in the Fingal Valley will host a significant part of the conference and will be the base for these 'rural' learning adventures. The Elphin and Penquite Campuses will be the central 'urban' learning environments for the delegation; accommodation in Launceston will be at their Boarding House.

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YOUNG ROUND SQUARE CONFERENCE, TASMANIA

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Pre Conference - Hosted by Scotch Oakburn staff, the tour will be 2 nights. Starting on the Friday afternoon, it will finish at Scotch Oakburn College in Launceston on Sunday evening in time to meet other delegates arriving for the conference.

Are you in Year 6, 7 or 8 next academic year? This is a fantastic opportunity for just 6 students! Obtain and return a letter and application form from Mr. Mulford or Ms. Aina. .

Young Round Square Conference Scotch Oakburn School Tasmania

Theme: 'No-One's An Island'

Dates: Thurs 1st October - Sat 10th October 2015

Delegation Size: 6 students with Mr. Nathaniel

Mulford and Ms. Aina Rakotonirina

Cost: Estimated between B76,000 per delegate

FOCUSON

IDEALS

THE

ROUND SQUARE

ROUND SQUARE WEEK LOCAL & ON-CAMPUS ACTIVITY BOOKLET

AVAILABLE NOW!MOODLE & REGENTS’ FACEBOOK

- Choices need to be made on Moodle next week -First come, first served!

15th - 19th June 2015

“Our IDEALS are our better selves.” Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888)

W E E K 2 0 1 5

FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL: AINA.RAKOTONIRINA@REGENTS-PATTAYA.CO.TH

Any Questions, please contact:

Maggie Elms PRG_Chairman@regents-pattaya.co.th

Sarah Collie PRG_Secretary@regents-pattaya.co.th .

PARENT INFORMATION:

Stay Informed, Get Connected, Show Support

Join the PRG! Parent Representative Group for Regents International School Pattaya

Monthly meetings held in the Early Years building at 9am

All Welcome

Next Meeting: May 21st

Read about the band at www.desfordcollieryband.co.uk