Term 1 - 14 November 2024

Matters of Principal

Whole School

PARENT LANYARDS - A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

As the School now has so many adults around for many different reasons and at many different times of the day, we need to revisit our parent lanyard identification so that everyone on site can be recognised for who they are.

Therefore, please can I ask that the (very nice) lanyard on the left (that used to be available from the School Shop) is no longer worn by parents and that ALL non-staff parents return to wearing the grey lanyard (furthest right)? If you no longer have the grey, parent lanyard please do pick up a new one from the School reception areas.  The School Shop "fun-script lanyard" has been purchased by so many different people that it is hard to know who is staff, friends of RST, parents, alumni etc. so we need to address this.

For all adults living on site (but not teaching in the School), we are moving to the yellow lanyard (in the centre) so we can identify you and understand that you will be on site at different times to the other parents (please pick up these yellow lanyards from the HR department). 

FINANCE DEPARTMENT APPRAISAL
In our desire to continually improve and refine how we work and to inform future decisions and our own professional development, we would like you to contribute to our Finance Department's appraisal this term.
Please use this link to fill out the Google Form by Monday, 25th November.

Thank you, as ever, for your help.

BLOOD DONATION DRIVE
The School Health Centre, in partnership with Banglamung Hospital, hosted its inaugural blood donation drive, a powerful display of generosity and community spirit. We are thrilled to announce that 55 donations were collected from both Thai and international staff, each contributing to a life-saving cause. The blood collected will be used by Banglamung Hospital and other nearby hospitals in Pattaya to support patients in urgent need.

Additionally, Banglamung Hospital, alongside the Sister Foundation, provided vital health screenings for Thai staff, enhancing the drive's impact on community health.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated. Your support and willingness to give has truly made a difference.

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WINTER GALA 
A much-anticipated event in the School music calendar, this beautiful winter showcase of musical talent at RST will take place on Wednesday, 11th December in the Veraphan Theatre. Please note, there is limited availability for tickets with an early release for families of performers on Thursday 28th and Friday 29th November. Tickets will be open for general release on Monday, 2nd December. 

US TENNIS CAMP AT RST
Come and learn from Ross Duncan, Head College tennis coach at UC Santa Barbara, University of Oregon, Irvine Valley College and Westcliff University.  Ross has also been the Camp Director at Nike Tennis Camps for the past 21 years.

CHRISTMAS CAMP 2024
There is still time to register your child for our Christmas Camp which takes place from 15th-21st December 2024 and is available for 7 to 12-year-olds. For more information and to ensure your child does not miss out on this fantastic opportunity, please head to our website.

BOOK DRIVE
Our 'Book Drive' remains open until Thursday, 12th December and we are collecting gently used or brand new books and stationery, with all donations going to local school libraries in Northern Thailand that have been affected by the recent floods. Drop off points are located at the Pre-Prep Library, Prep Library and Senior Reception. 

NOVEMBER OPEN DAY
Our Senior School Open Day will be held on Saturday, 30th November from 9-11:30am. The event is open to any families who would like to know more about our Senior School experience, but is particularly relevant to those with children currently in Years 7 and 8. It is a great opportunity to tour the facilities, meet current staff and students, and find out more about the transition up to Senior School.

RSTPA COOKING CLASS
Our next class will take place on Monday, 2nd December with delights from India. If you would like to attend, please reserve your place by scanning the QR or contact: irbis2002@bk.ru / Line: Helen Cool / 0907694661.

THE WHOLE JOURNEY
This week we sat down with our new Director of Sport, Richard Molloy, and got to know more about his journey and how he is finding life here so far at RST. 

Senior

FUTURE PATHWAYS LECTURE
This week, students had the opportunity to engage in a pathway lecture on Exercise and Sport Science with the University of Exeter, one of the UK’s top-ranked universities for research excellence in this field. Professor Dominic Harris, an Associate Professor in Biomechanics, delivered an insightful taster lecture, exploring the human body in motion and the ways in which scientific study can improve athletic performance. 

To read more about this lecture and how it benefitted our students, head to our latest blog post.

NOVEMBER HIGHER EDUCATION - NEW EVENTS ADDED
Our Higher Education team has compiled a list of the most relevant university events in November, including open days and webinars, which you can view here.

15th NOVEMBER:
School closed for Exeat

26th NOVEMBER:
LXX (Year 12) Residential 

29th NOVEMBER:
Parent Teacher Meeting - LXX (Year 12) 

FUTURE PATHWAYS - THAI UNIVERSITIES FAIR 
Last week, 15 of our LXX (Year 12) students embarked on an informative visit to the RIS Thai Universities Fair, where they met with Thailand’s top universities. This event, which featured prestigious institutions like Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) amongst many others, provided our students with firsthand insights into higher education in Thailand.

Throughout the fair, students connected with university representatives and current students, gathering detailed information on admission processes, application timelines and the variety of programmes available to them. These interactions offered valuable perspectives on campus life, with current students sharing their academic experiences and offering advice on what it takes to succeed at Thailand’s leading universities.

The RIS Thai Universities Fair was a fantastic opportunity for our students to explore future academic pathways, equipping them with the information they need to make confident, informed choices about their futures. We are proud to support our students on their journeys toward higher education and to see them inspired by the possibilities ahead.

F BLOCK (YEAR 9) RESIDENTIAL
A total of 74 students and 7 teachers attended the annual F Block residential to Khao Yai - a fantastic opportunity for our students to push themselves beyond their comfort zones, demonstrate resilience and work collaboratively with peers they might not have worked with before.

Throughout the trip, the students maintained a positive and determined attitude, fully engaging in each activity, from kayaking and archery, to bushcraft and high ropes. The itinerary was packed with challenges, including treks to the campsite and a variety of outdoor pursuits, which allowed the students to develop new skills, build confidence and strengthen their teamwork.

All of our students were excellent ambassadors for the School and supported one another in every activity, whether it was navigating a climbing wall or working together to build fires to cook noodles. Evenings were spent looking for wild and wonderful insects, relaxing around campfires, eating toasted marshmallows, stargazing and reflecting on the day’s adventures. Overall, the residential was an invaluable experience that highlighted the students' ability to embrace challenges, support their peers and represent the School with pride.

A Google photos gallery has been created for parents to view photos from the trip. The gallery will expire on Wednesday, 27th November - after this date they will no longer be available. You may access the photos here. 

Prep

SCHOOL FINISHING TIMES AND PICK UP
We would like to remind all parents to be on time to pick up your children. School finishes at 17:45 Monday-Thursday and at 15:30 on Fridays. From 6pm Monday-Thursday and from 5pm on Friday, there are no staff on site to supervise your children so it is important they are collected on time. 

RSTPA BOOK CLUB
We have now scheduled dates throughout the year for our RSTPA Book Club. Please see below for more information. 

INSTRUMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAMME (IOP)
If your child has shown an interest or if you would like them to try learning an instrument, then the IOP is a fantastic way to start. To find out more, please register here to attend the discovery session on Tuesday, 3rd December.

RST FACTOR
It's time to get ready for this year's RST Factor - our music House competition for individuals and small groups of performers. Please see below for the rules and entry guidelines. 

• Only one solo entry per student
• You can either play by yourself or as part of a band / ensemble
• You may enter as part of an ensemble and also as a soloist
• No adults / teachers are allowed to be part of your performance
• You may use a backing track
• Your performance will be no longer than 4:00 minutes in duration

Entries must be submitted by 23:59 on Friday, 7th February 2025. Late submissions will not be accepted. To upload your entry please click here.

Students successfully auditioning and making it into the grand final will be announced on Monday, 17th February. All students who audition will receive points for their House.

15th NOVEMBER:
School closed for Exeat

16th NOVEMBER:
No Saturday Enrichment Programme due to Exeat
U9 Basketball at Shrewsbury
U11 BISA Basketball Tournament  at STA
Bangkok U13 Football Harrow Youth Cup

19th NOVEMBER:
14:30-18:00: Year 8 Parent Teacher Meeting in the Senior Dining Hall

22nd NOVEMBER:
14:30-18:00: Year 8 Parent Teacher Meeting in the Senior Dining Hall

23rd NOVEMBER:
Saturday Enrichment & Sport Programme can be viewed on SOCS
BMAC Swimming Championships at ISB
Year 6 Madagascar Rehearsal

24th NOVEMBER:
BMAC Swimming Championships  at ISB

YEAR 5 AND 6 SPORTS LEADERS 
Our amazing Sports Leaders kicked off a fantastic initiative today, leading fun-filled sports sessions for the children in Year 2. They started with a shared lunch, giving the older and younger students a chance to get to know each other before our Sports Leaders took charge, showcasing their impressive organisation and leadership skills. They set up and ran a variety of exciting activities, including football, relay races and the popular octopus tag.

The Year 2 children had an absolute blast, and it was wonderful to see their enthusiasm and enjoyment. This fantastic programme will continue for the next four weeks, giving our Sports Leaders valuable experience in providing younger students with fun and engaging physical activity sessions. Thank you to everyone involved - we love to see your School spirit shining through. 

Pre-Prep

COBIS ART COMPETITION
Congratulations to our talented young artists who recently excelled in the COBIS Art Competition. These artists impressed the Prep School judges with their expressive, imaginative and skillfully crafted pieces, showcasing a wonderful range of techniques.

The first prize winning pieces are uploaded to the COBIS website and might even be displayed at the annual conference in May.

MAD JUNIORS ODD SOCKS VIDEO
Well done to our MAD Juniors for creating such a fantastic video for Odd Socks Day. In fact, the video was so good that it even caught the attention of CBBC's Andy and the Odd Socks who is the face behind Odd Socks Day! In case you missed it, you can watch their video and see the lovely comment he left on our Instagram page. 

PHOTOGRAPHING CHILDREN IN SCHOOL
We would like to remind you that taking photos of children during the School day is not permitted for safeguarding reasons. During special events we do allow parents to take photographs and videos, however at other times this is not acceptable. Our policies are designed to keep children safe and parents are expected to follow these policies.

KINDNESS MONTH
Below is our kindness calendar to keep up to date with our MAD Juniors Kindness Month challenge. 

15th NOVEMBER:
School closed for Exeat 

20th NOVEMBER:
Little Talk - Korean coffee morning (Phonics focus)

22nd NOVEMBER:
Little Talk - Chinese coffee morning (Phonics focus)

27th NOVEMBER:
8:00-8:45am - Come and See - parents can join in Wake and Shake

29th NOVEMBER:
14:50-15:10 - Native Reading Session 14:50-15:10pm

4th DECEMBER:
Father's Day Breakfast - Dads (or a family member) welcome to join between 8:00 and 8:45am for breakfast

5th DECEMBER:
School closed 

NURSERY BUS TRIP
Our Nursery children have been learning all about different modes of transport and last week they went on a bus trip around campus. We are so grateful and would like to say a huge thank you to the kind bus drivers who made the trip so fun and were so patient with all of us, ensuring that everyone was safe at all times. 

YEAR 2 ASSEMBLY
Our Year 2 children put on some wonderful assemblies for their mums and dads this week, as they showcased their alliteration and onomatopoeia poems from Term One. The children enjoyed acting out the poems, creating their own lines and dancing for their mums and dads. It was great to see the grown ups get up and dance along too!

Sport and Enrichment

SPORTS ROUNDUP
It was another mammoth weekend of sport and thank you to the whole School community for making the U15 FOBISIA Basketball such a success. The atmosphere in the WEC was extraordinary and the feedback on both the event and the School has been wonderfully positive. 

Congratulations to our basketballers of course, who played their hearts out. Both teams made the semi final before narrowly missing out on the Gold medal match ups. The boys managed to get the win in their Bronze medal game and the girls finished fourth. Well done to Mr Chisholm and Coach Bo for their work with the teams. 

In the midst of the Basketball action, we also hosted nine teams for the RST Varsity Football Invitational. A brilliant morning of 11-a-side (boys) and 9-a-side (girls) action, which finished with the boys winning on penalties over Siracha FC Academy and the girls taking 3rd place. 

Also in action were the U11 and U15 footballers at NIST, playing as part of the Siam Schools League. We saw some great performances in very hot conditions. 

As we grow as a department, we are also seeking opportunities for a more diverse range of sports and over the weekend, our students played in two tennis events in Bangkok at BPS and RIS. This was the first time our School has committed to tennis events and we are excited that our students performed so well. There will hopefully be lots more tournaments to come.

In swimming news, we had over 30 young swimmers attend the ISB Swim Fest in another long weekend for our team. There were lots of new PBs and many new events that were participated in but the best part was for us to see the smiles on our swimmers' faces. Well done RST Swim Team!

Congratulations to everyone involved over this very busy weekend.

Boarding Life

Our boarding barbecues are always an excellent way to round off the week before a School break. Here are some photos of last night. Happy Exeat everyone!

Community Events

WISDOM SPORTS CAMPS
If you are looking for a fun and active way to spend your winter break, our December Sports Camp offers expert coaching, exciting drills and friendly competition for all skill levels. Please see below for more information.

Line: https://lin.ee/YvqXGC0 or @wisdomsports
Tel: 099-289-6454

Social Media and More

Keep up to date with all that's happening at RST via our social media channels and our website blog section.