Rugby School Thailand eNewsletter

Matters of Principal

This week Mr Grindlay reminds us that when we learn through experience, learning is much more memorable and enjoyable:

Whole School Reminders

YEARS 8 - XX BOARDING WEEK: 6^th – 10^th June
During the week of 6^th – 10^th June we will be hosting the inaugural 'RST Boarding Week'. It promises to be a week of boarding based fun, with opportunities for students who don't normally board to enjoy sleepovers in the boarding houses, there will be 'afternoon tea' for different year groups, a social media 'takeover' and an open house for RST parents on Friday, 10^th June when they pick up their children from School.

Whole School News

CHARITY GOLF DAY: SHREWSBURY BANGKOK
Last weekend, RST was invited to join Shrewsbury Bangkok for their Principal's Family Golf Day. Mr Grindlay played with his son, who is currently visiting Thailand, Mr Mann and Mr Large. Their team managed to 'beat the pro' on the 16^th hole at Suwan Golf and Country Club!

GOLF LESSON TRIAL
Thanks to the close relationship between RST and Siam Country Club, we are delighted to offer this free 20-minute trial golf lesson at Siam Country Club Old Course for any member of our community.

Simply call 086 506 0883 to book a trial lesson and show them this voucher when asked.

HOME CLOTHES DAY
We will have a non-uniform day on 16^th June to raise money for Childline Thailand. Please see below for more details on how you can support this great NGO:

RST SWIM SQUAD
Last weekend, 33 students from the RST swim squad endured two very long days (5am – 10pm) of swimming during the Chonburi Provincial Gala. However, their hard work paid off as the team finished 11^th out of 46 clubs.

Even more impressively, three of our students were crowned ‘overall champions’, one student came 3^rd overall, one student came 5^th overall, one student 9^th overall, and one student 13^th overall.

Congratulations to all on your excellent achievements!

The Whole Me Weekly

SCHOOL PHOTOS
Please find an outline below of how to order your child’s School photo:

Photo sample packs will be sent home with your child on 20^thJune;
Parents can either place their order in School from 20^th– 22^nd June (Admin Reception Area), alternatively orders can be placed online. The deadline for online orders is 27^th June;
Photos will be ready for collection in School from 18^thJuly onwards (Admin Reception Area), or
Photos can be delivered at home (there will be a small delivery charge to parents). Orders will be delivered from 18^th July onwards.

Senior News

Announcements and Reminders

POSITIVE EDUCATION
We are very pleased to announce that we will be supplementing the ‘Whole Me Programme’ with the addition of the ‘Positive Education’ curriculum in Senior.

Positive Education was developed by a leading Australian School, Geelong Grammar, and will function as an integral part of our broader wellbeing programme, which aims to help create opportunities for the whole School community to experience good health, frequent positive emotions, supportive relationships, and a sense of purpose and meaning.

We look forward to seeing how this new approach will help us all flourish post-covid!

SENIOR ART EXHIBITION
We invite visitors to our joint Art exhibition of Prep and Senior Art.

Senior art will be exhibited by our 13 GCSE and 5 A-Level students and can be viewed throughout Speech Day on Saturday, 18^th June.

SENIOR MARKING WELL UNDER WAY
With exam week finally coming to a close today for E and F block students, our Senior teachers will now have their work cut out for them to mark all of the scripts! We wish all our students a restful long weekend, and hope that they are able to use the break to connect with family and friends.

Boarding Week: Senior

Between Monday, 6^th and Friday, 10^th June, RST is holding its first ‘RST Boarding Week’. This is a celebration of our award winning boarding and a chance for students who currently aren’t boarding to enjoy a sleepover night, free of charge!

Your son/daughter will enjoy supper, plenty of fun activities, a chance to relax with their friends, and the chance to experience the boarding routine for themselves. All they need to do is pack for one night and enjoy! They would join us immediately after the end of the School day and stay overnight in our care.

We would also love you to drop into the boarding houses yourselves, to meet with boarding staff and to enjoy some refreshments, on Friday, 10^th June at 3pm. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about boarding, to enjoy a tour of the houses and to ask any questions you may have of the staff and also the boarders themselves too.

Monday 6^th, June: F Block (Year 9) Sleepover (6pm onwards)
Tuesday 7^th June: E Block (Year 10) Sleepover (6pm onwards)
Thursday 9^th June: LXX (Year 12) Sleepover (6pm onwards)
Friday 10^th June: Parents’ Open House (3 – 4pm)

Learning

DRAMA
As part of their End-of-Year exam, F Block students recently performed a series of scenes from the play ‘Face’ by Benjamin Zephaniah. They worked very hard to develop their characters and we were treated to some fantastic performances! Here they are in action.

The challenge was all about the use of colour, and students learned how to mix tints and shades. They were limited to using three techniques including stencils, templates and Q tips, but chose how much to use them. Here are their results which will form a wall of colour as a collaborative mural:

PHYSICS
The LXX are starting their first A2 level physics topic on electric fields. Here they are observing the shape of electric fields around differently charged conductors, using semolina flour floating on castor oil. The semolina flour is affected by the electric fields, and so the electric field lines around and between the conductors, can be observed.

HISTORY
F Block History students have been working on their ‘Personal History Projects’ that have a specific focus on 'Significance', by for example, demonstrating the after effects of the actions of key individuals in the past, or the changes brought about by a particular event or invention.

Three examples of work recently submitted:

Prep News

Announcements & Reminders

HATS, WATER BOTTLES AND EARPHONES
A reminder that students should bring in their hats, water bottles and earphones every day, please.

YEAR 4 TO 5 TRANSITION PRESENTATION
This week our Year 4 parents come into School to meet the new team for the next academic year. If you were not able to attend the presentation, you can access the PowerPoint presentation here

Dates for your Diary

TRANSITION PRESENTATION TO PARENTS IN THE VEERAPHAN THEATRE (17:00 – 17:30)
31^st May: Y4 to Y5
8^th June: Y5 to Y6
9^th June: Y6 to Y7
15^th June: Y2 to Y3
16^th June: Y7 to Y8

11^th JUNE – SATURDAY ENRICHMENT (09:45 - 12:00)
Y3-6 Gardening Club
Y3-4 DIY Papier Maché
Y6-7 STEAM Light-up Challenge
Y6-8 Obstacle Course Challenge
Y5-8 Watersports

Please sign-up on SOCS by Tuesday

15^th JUNE: YEAR 8 EXPERIENCE SENIOR BOARDING EVENT

17^th JUNE – ART EXHIBITION AT THE COLLINGWOOD CENTRE
09:45 – 10:45 Y3-5 Parents may attend
11:45 – 12:45 Y6-8 Parents may attend

17^th JUNE – PREP CONCERT IN THE WEBB ELLIS CENTRE
10:45-11:45 All parents may attend

23^rd JUNE PREP SPEECH DAY IN THE WEBB ELLIS CENTRE
10:30-12:00 All parents may attend

23^rd JUNE YEAR 8 LEAVERS' LUNCH WITH FAMILIES
12:00-13:30 Year 8 students with their parents and siblings may attend

23^rd JUNE – END OF TERM
12:00 End of Term for Y3-7
13:30 End of term for Y8

Year 2 to 3 Transition

Over the last few weeks, we have been introducing the Year 2 students to Prep. On Wednesday, they came to play in the Prep playground with their Year 3 buddy. All of the students had lots of fun, and they are looking forward to break times next year.

Year 3 Maths

Year 3 students have been using flags to help them learn about vertical, horizontal, parallel and perpendicular lines. Some children were able to use Venn diagrams to sort them which was really impressive!

Year 5 PSHE Reflections

In PSHE this week Year 5 have been reflective learners. They have thought about their goals, favourite memories and shared their thoughts on going into Year 6.

Year 6: Coral Reef Lecture

Last Friday, the Year 6 students were very fortunate to have a well-known marine biologist, Piers Baillie, who lives and works in Koh Tao, come into School to talk about coral and the reefs they form. He is a specialist in the field of coral reef conservation, having written several books on this subject. The lecture was designed to support the topic of ‘Fragile Environments’ that they have been studying this term.

The day was a great success and the students learnt a huge amount from Piers. The next exciting step is to get Piers to lead coral reef trips to Koh Larn and Koh Tao in the next few years. These will be fantastic opportunities to learn to snorkel and scuba dive, whilst helping protect the coral reefs of Thailand.

Design and Technology (D&T)

YEAR 4 D&T
The Prep Design and Technology department is very pleased to announce the successful completion of a new test project that some Year 4 classes have been working on. As the department continues to find ways to develop and challenge students, we created a new extension to an existing project, in the hope of adapting and applying it to other year group projects in the future.

Students learnt how machinery could facilitate the accuracy of their work and focused on designing custom sized packaging for their products. Students tested new resin pouring techniques, a first for the Prep department, and how to laminate wood in an effort to be more sustainable.

With a new step by step section on our DT website, students can now follow sets of instructions independently, and work at their own pace! By doing so, they have made an amazing set of luxury boxes that show off their laser cut mazes.

YEAR 8 D&T
Year 8 students have been working hard on their lamp project and our first student to have finished is Rin. Here is a picture of her completed lamp. We cannot wait to see the rest of the year group complete their lamps as well.

House Music Rehearsals

The House Music rehearsals are in full swing! Every House will sing ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’ from ‘Les Misérables’ and each House has also chosen their own song, with the theme of ‘Musicals’.

All students in every House will participate, and they are working collaboratively to win this year's House Music Trophy. Students are encouraged to continue to learn and rehearse both the lyrics and the dance moves at home, through their House Google Classroom. Good luck to all involved.

Pre-Prep News

Announcements and Reminders

COVID VACCINATION RECORDS
If your child has had a COVID vaccination, please inform Nurse@rugbyschool.ac.th so that we can ensure our records are up to date. Please include your child’s name, the date of the vaccination, and the type of vaccination.

SELFIE ART DAY
We are excited to invite all of you (2 parents/caretakers per child) to our ‘Pre-Prep Art Exhibition’ on Friday 17^th June.

Your child(ren) will guide you around our Oval to show each Year's group 'Selfie Art' piece. In total, we will have 5 selfie art pieces you can admire and take pictures of, and with, during the exhibition. We have 2 times slots available for you on that Friday: in the morning between 8:00-8:30 and the afternoon between 3:00-3:30.

We hope you can all make it!

Dates for Your Diary

2^nd JUNE – SCHOOL FINISHES at 3:15pm

3^rd JUNE – SCHOOL CLOSED

6^th JUNE PHOTO DAY
Ants, Parrots, Monkeys, Hedgehogs, Starfish, Turtles, Frogs and Cheetahs

Nursery children: please wear your grey shorts, blue shirts, yellow socks.
Reception children upwards: please wear PE kit with yellow socks and trainers

7^th JUNE PHOTO DAY
Elephants, Owls, Fish, Rabbits, Giraffes, Bears, Pandas, Butterflies

Pre-Nursery and Nursery children: please wear your grey shorts, blue shirts, yellow socks.
Reception children upwards: please wear PE kit with yellow socks and trainers

8^th JUNE – PARENT WORKSHOP FOR NURSERY PARENTS
Transitioning from Nursery to Reception

10^th JUNE
Year 2 Tour of Pre-Prep (Transition Journey)

14^th JUNE – PARENT WORKSHOP FOR RECEPTION PARENTS
Transitioning from Reception to Year 1

Pre-Nursery Rabbits

This week was only the Rabbits’ third swimming lesson and they had lots of fun! They started by learning to kick and splash with their legs. Then they blew bubbles in the water to improve their confidence and splashed each other and the teachers. The Rabbits played with the toys in the water and really enjoyed the splash zone with all the fountains and sprinklers!

Well done Rabbits, keep on swimming!

Ruby had some new friends arrive this week- three baby tortoises joined her!

These are not her babies but they have been reared by Khun Eve and have now been rehomed at Pre-Prep. Their names are Rick, Morty and Turbo. They need careful handling and looking after as they are still small.

Nursery Parrots

This week, the Parrot class used their knowledge of prepositions to play a game of ‘Troll Hide and Seek’. During the game they practised using the language of ‘in’, ‘on’, ‘under’, ‘next to’, ‘behind’ and ‘in front’ to tell us where they were hiding. They were all very good at hiding, and excellent at using their prepositions.

We have been celebrating, cheering and working very hard this week! We had so much fun at the recent swimming gala cheering our classmates in the swimming pool; there were plenty of ‘Go for it Gorillas’ amongst us!

Last week, we celebrated Yuno's birthday party and enjoyed some delicious cake:

Although we are in the final stretch of Year 2, we are still working extremely hard to get ready for Year 3. We have some super ‘Concentrating Crocodiles’ within the group:

Year 2 Swimming Gala

It was great to see so many parents at our Year 2 Swimming Gala, last Friday.

Over the last couple of weeks, Mr Ryan and his team have been working with Year 2 students to build their confidence to swim in the 25m CGA pool, and it was wonderful to see them ALL be "Go for it Gorillas" and have a go. There was lots of splashing, cheering and superb effort as they raced each other in good team spirit.

The big mat race at the end was everyone's favourite, but the whole event was enjoyed by all. It was so nice to welcome parents back on site for what was our first event of the year!

Congratulations to all of Year 2 students, and a big thank you to Mr Ryan and his coaching team.

In Mandarin lessons, Year 1 students have been learning the names of different fruit and vegetables:

Whilst Year 2 students have been making ‘Zongzi’ to celebrate the ‘Dragon Boat Festival’ on 3^rd June. They also learnt to write basic Chinese characters:

Intensive English

In Intensive English, the children have been learning vocabulary linked to homes, the rooms in a home, and the furniture you might find in the rooms. The children really enjoyed designing, making and labelling, their own homes.

Year 2 Intensive English students learnt all about food, and we made South-African pancakes! We learned how to read a recipe and follow instructions, and we worked together as a team to make very yummy pancakes!

We also played various flashcard games, our favourite was making our own man-size board-game with a big dice, and sliding off the slide at the finish line!

Useful Links

Learner Profiles

Enrichment and Sport

ART & CRAFT ACTIVITY
Castles, kings and queens, dragons and knights, and witches and wizards, were our key words of focus! The Year 2 students really enjoyed individualising their castles and dancing to the medieval music with Mr Roger.

DRONE FLYING AND INVENTING MACHINES
Last week saw our mini drone piloting league take place during Saturday morning Enrichment, alongside our ‘LittleBits’ inventing machines.

Students from Year 5 and 6 took to the stage to begin working together on inventing a machine of their choice; everything from electric cars to ball slingers.

At the same time, the competitiveness took to the skies as the students mastered their coordination and fine motor skills in racing our iPad controlled drones around the Theatre’s race course.

Congratulations to all the students who both lost and won graciously with an exuberant amount of support show from all!

GARDENING CLUB

Year 5 and 6 students have enjoyed making butterfly pea with the flowers from the garden:

FIXTURE RESULTS

Boarding Life

We had a wonderful Year 6 sleepover last weekend. Sadly, a storm interrupted plans to visit the Outdoor Education Centre, but luckily Mr Stoker and the duty staff filled the time with lots of fun games in the CGA, which was a great way to work up an appetite for the (indoor!) barbecue feast that followed.

The house had a great buzz to it as our trial boarders spent the evening playing games of pool, table football and table tennis; they built Lego creations, drew pictures, got stuck into 'The Mind' and even tinkled on the piano. Finally, everyone settled down for a movie with popcorn, before heading to bed.

It's examination season in the boarding houses with all year groups gaining benefit from the structured work/revision times with academic staff support that boarding offers, but our boarders need some time off between revision too!

Full boarders got together for breakfast on Sunday morning to watch the Liverpool vs Real Madrid Champions League Final in School House. Despite the result not being as we hoped, we had great fun watching the match together!

Last week, School House boys ended an action packed day of sports, shopping and revision with a relaxing evening making ice-creams:

School House F Block celebrated finishing their exams with smores, brownies and free time together, playing ‘Werewolf’.

Meanwhile, the Marshall House boarders have been doing some revision in the house this week, as they prepare for their exam week. It's been excellent to see them all being so conscientious.

On Tuesday, Rupert Brooke enjoyed a house session that was all about 'Paying it Forward'. Mrs Robinson, our sixth form tutor, delivered the session during which we discussed the importance of being kind and how small acts of kindness can make a really big difference to someone’s day!

Some of the LXX Rupert Brooke girls gave short presentations and an entertaining Kahoot quiz to the house last night after callover, to share their visions and goals for the future!