Rugby School Thailand eNewsletter

Matters of Principal

Whole School News

RST CHRISTMAS FAIR
We are delighted to let you know that the RST Christmas Fair is back again this year and will take place on Saturday 26th November, from 4-9pm at Wisdom Valley. The Fair will feature games, rides, a marketplace and entertainment, all with the backdrop of beautiful lighting, our Christmas tree and Wisdom Lake. A donation from the profits will go to our local charity partner.

If you would like to register as a vendor, please click on the link for more information, and to put forward your request while we are offering the ‘early bird’ discount: https://forms.gle/WvxqCsMB4TXhd5gT8

EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT TRUST
RST will be inspected by the Education Development Trust against the British Schools Overseas (BSO) standards soon, and they have requested your views.

They are important because they will form part of the evidence they gather in the inspection. The questions are likely to take you around 10 minutes to answer. Please answer each one honestly – your views can help us improve. Please select each statement that best fits your experience of the School.

If you have more than one child at the School, please think of the eldest child as you answer the questions. If you wish to make comments about other children you have at the School, please use the space provided after the questions.

This survey is anonymous, and your answers are confidential to Education Development Trust unless they raise serious specific concerns, such as those relating to the protection of children in the School. If you require further information or help with answering the questions call or email: usa@rugbyschool.ac.th.

Parent Survey - https://forms.office.com/r/NSei7ibY4v

HEALTHY EATING WEEK
Next week is our RST Healthy Eating Week, a time when we will raise further awareness about the importance of a balanced diet and look to increase understanding of nutrition and its impact on our day-to-day lives. Through our Health Centre staff, Catering Team, Sports Department and Whole Me Programme, students will see and hear about how they can help themselves to eat better, feel better and grow towards a healthier lifestyle.

TRAIL MASTERS
Discover 'The Trail Masters': the strongest and the fastest men and women of 10k, 30k, and 50k, with winners for each age and gender group in each trail.

At the end of it all, enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Wisdom Valley. There will be chill out music from a famous DJ, a variety of delicious food and drink from restaurants, and shops to pick up running and trail equipment for your next race. There will also be medical support on-site at the event.

Rugby School Thailand special rates are available for registration NOW until 31 October 2022!

Register here

Race Date: Sunday 8 January 2023

Whole School Reminders

BOARDING OVER EXEAT WEEKENDS AND HALF TERMS
As a reminder, boarders have the option to remain on campus over any of our Exeat weekends or half-term holidays, if they would like to do so. This is another way we are improving and developing our boarding provision to offer flexibility and support for boarding families' different needs. If you would like to find out more please contact the Director of Boarding, Mr David Ennis-Billing.

To sign up for a boarding trial, or discover more about our boarding options and how they can help your child, please get in touch with the Admissions Department.

SPEECH THERAPY
We will soon be hosting a Speech Therapist on campus once a week. Her name is Tanya Prettapapop, and she is a bilingual Thai speech and language pathologist certified/licenced in both the USA and Thailand. She is a consultant and billing will be from her directly, not RST.

If you are interested in finding out more, please email our Whole School SENCo, Lissa Mason, or you may fill in this form

Khun Tanya's qualifications and website:
Tanya Prettapapop, M.S., CCC-SLP, License SP 24219
Certified Speech and Language Pathologist by The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) & Thai Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ThaiSHA), License ผ.ส. 324
Master's Degree in Communicative Disorders and Sciences Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology www.speechtherapybangkok.com

Senior News

Announcements and Reminders

In Assembly, I was delighted to present a number of musical awards to students:

(Ethan) Gangwon Lee was presented the Silver Award: Grade 6 category in the 2nd Bangkok International Performing Arts Piano competition 2022
(Mario) Noph Charoenpanichsunti achieved Grade 4 Drums: Trinity College London Rock and Pop examination with distinction

We also had notable successs in the ABRSM examinations with:

(Pair) Lapasrada Phidech being awarded Grade 3 Piano with distinction and Grade 3 Violin with Merit
Andrie Oca being awrded Grade 4 Violin
(Pleng) Plengpairoh Saeheng being awarded Grade 4 violin with distinction
(Pam) Pornnapat Klipbua being awarded Grade 4 flute with distinction AND Grade 5 piano with distinction
Alexander Morrissey being awarded Grade 6 piano with distinction
Si Eun Lee being awarded Grade 6 violin with distinction

Well done to these students for their musical achievements!

ART COMPETITION
Students are welcome to enter the annual COBIS art competition under the theme of "Who am I?". It is not required to be a portrait. Think outside the box!

Art Sixths and Art Scholars are strongly encouraged to display their artistic skills by submitting an entry. Please see Ms Pardoe if you have any questions.

Dates for Your Diary

23^rd – 25^th SEPTEMBER
Year 11 (D Block) Geography Field trip to Rayong

24^th SEPTEMBER
U15 volleyball Vs. Pattaya Inter at home

26^th – 30^th SEPTEMBER
Year 9 (F Block) Residential to Khao Yai National Park

26^th – 30^th SEPTEMBER
Healthy Eating Week

4^th OCTOBER
UKMT Senior Mathematical Challenge

12^th OCTOBER
House Music

Wai Kru

On Thursday, we celebrated Wai Kru where our students showed respect for the learning and knowledge gained from their teachers.

Preparations for our Senior Production, Pride and Prejudice, continue with students getting measured for costumes:

Equity Partnership

Last Saturday, sixth form students took part in an enterprise scheme that partnered them with a Thai school near Korat. Using the international business skill that they have learnt at RST, they helped Thai students to redesign, brand and market a local product.

A huge thank you to Shrewsbury School for organising and hosting.

Head's Assembly

Our theme in Assembly this week was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s quote on the Senior building: 'Be yourself for everyone else is taken'.

I asked students to reflect on their start of term: have they made the most of the opportunities in front of them? If not, why not? Sometimes we are held back by trying to 'fit in' or trying to be someone else. When in fact we should celebrate difference and embrace diversity in our community. We do not need or want a School where everyone does the same thing, but instead a School where everyone strives to be the best version of themselves.

I reflected on an experience I had this summer when watching the live musical ‘Frozen’ at the Theatre Royal in London. This was my first time watching ‘Frozen’ and I learnt it is ultimately a story about a girl embracing who she is and being accepted by the community. She put aside her fears of not being accepted and, as the song goes, she 'Let it go’.

I am thankful to Nina for providing the musical accompaniment by providing us with a superb live rendition of the lead song for students to sing along with.

The Whole Me Programme

D Block students continued to explore evidence-based study skills during their ‘Whole Me’ session this week. The information presented to them was taken from several studies over the past 14 years which looked into the common traits and skills of top achieving students in the UK, Australia, Singapore, Canada and the USA.

Learning

PSYCHOLOGY
LXX Psychology students practised their teamwork and listening skills last week to explain models of memory to their peers, who had to replicate the models only using the verbal instructions given! This will, hopefully, help them to remember the models of memory:

DRAMA
E Block IGCSE Drama students took inspiration from Gecko theatre company to an abstract piece of physical theatre entitled, The Whole Person, The Whole Point. Their movement was accompanied by a verbatim soundtrack and their final piece was performed with excellent focus and control. They should be very proud of their work and the effort they applied to make the performance such a success:

Announcements & Reminders

ART COMPETITION
The COBIS art theme has arrived and this year it is "Who am I?". The deadline is the 11th of November.

Please hand in your artwork to your art teacher, with your name and year group on the back (not the front). Miss Barnes looks forward to receiving your entries.

Dates for your Diary

SATURDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER
(06:45 – 13:00)
U11 Basketball @ American School Bangkok

(09:00 – 11:00)
U13 Girls 7 v 7 vs Piing @ RST
U13 Boys 7 v 7 vs Pattaya Inter FC

Team players have already been notified by email

SATURDAY, 1 OCTOBER
U11 Girls & Boys Football Tournament @ BKK Prep - team players have been notified by email
Year 3-6 Piing Girls Football Festival - email to be sent shortly

SUNDAY, 2 OCTOBER
RST v Bangkok Lions @ Bangkok Patana - team players have been notified by email

TUESDAY, 4 OCTOBER
Prep School Lunchtime Concert

FRIDAY, 7 OCTOBER (08:15 – 08:45)
Reading at RST: Parent Information Session for Years 3 & 4

This parent information session will give an overview of the reading initiatives at RST designed to support your child's reading enjoyment and success. We will explain the launch of our home reading programme in Prep (such as Reading Eggs and the RST Reading Record booklet) and offer tips and strategies for parents. Together, we will support the children to become confident, engaged readers.

Wai Kru

On Thursday, we celebrated Wai Kru where our students showed respect for the learning and knowledge gained from their teachers. We heard poems of thanks in different languages and appreciated the global nature of our education. Every teacher received a plant with a personalised message, which gave an intimate feel to a cultural community event.

Year 5 students have been learning about habitats in Science. Last week, they went pond dipping, finding many creatures and plants living in a pond nearby:

Announcements and Reminders

MUCH MORE SETTLED
It is so nice to see so many smiling faces at the gate each morning. There are a lot fewer tears now as the children are settling into their new classes and routines. I have been really impressed with the number of children who say "Good morning" and give a wave. Usually, you may see me (Miss Sarah), Miss Bui, Miss Kirsty and Miss Kathy at the gate, and we are always happy to say hello or give a high-five.

If your child needs a little help settling or support getting into their class we are more than happy to help. Well done to all the Year 1 and 2 children who are going to class by themselves – you are real 'Go for it Gorillas' !

THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD's FIRST LANGUAGE
Here at RST our language of instruction is English, and we encourage the use of English in all areas including the lunch hall and playground. However, this does not mean that we never allow a child to speak in their mother tongue (their first language or the language they use at home.) A child's mother tongue is a huge part of their identity and if we do not allow them to bring it into School, we will find it very difficult to get to know the whole person – which is after all the whole point.

Please read the letter below for more information:

First Language Development

COBIS ART COMPETITION
We are excited to invite your child to enter the COBIS Art Competition 2022. Entries will be accepted from 24^th October, through to 11^th November. We can submit three entries from the Pre-Prep age group so selection from entries will take place on the 14^th November with the three chosen entries being submitted to COBIS by the 16^th November 2022.

Please click below for more information:

COBIS ART COMPETITION

LOST PROPERTY
Please remember to name all your child's items. We do have a lost property box in the School Office which we put out every Friday. You are welcome to check this daily. All named items will be returned to their owners.

Dates for Your Diary

26 SEPTEMBER
Year 1 Bikes to School (with helmets)

4 OCTOBER
Parent Workshop- Independence and Routines - EYFS (although anyone welcome)

7 OCTOBER (3:00pm to 6:15pm)
Parent Teacher Settling in meetings. Booking form will be sent out next week.

10 OCTOBER
Caring Koala Day

13 OCTOBER
Half Term Holiday begins

24 OCTOBER
Return to School

Wai Kru

Kru Mui and Kru Kook organised two wonderful Wai Kru ceremonies for us on Thursday. One for the EYFS and one for KS1. The children got to say a special thank you to their teachers and learnt all about the reason for WAI KRU Day.

This year, we went eco-friendly and had little plants as gifts and we learnt the meaning behind the plants that we received. In KS1 some of the children talked about their teachers and we had messages in English, Thai and Spanish.

Thank you to our Thai team for their hard work too and for making it a lovely Wai Kru Day.

Pre-Nursery Rabbits

This week, we have been able to open up our classroom and play in our special Pre-Nursery outdoor learning space. Rabbit class loves playing here as we can be as messy as we like with the water and sand.

We have so much space we can also ride on our vehicles and chase bubbles:

With the rainy weather beginning to reduce, the Fish Class has absolutely adored getting out and about to explore all the exciting things in our playground. When outside we can climb on our climbing frames, whizz down the slides, bounce on our bouncy animals, explore our senses in the water trays, dig in the sandpit and so much more.

No wonder we love our playtime so much!

Year 1 Ducks

In Ducks class we have been learning all about plants and their different parts. We decided to use this newfound knowledge and combine it with the art of photography, by taking photographs outside.

After having taken a fair few of various plant parts, we each decided on our favourite ones. We got some beautiful shots and can't wait to display them. Future photographers in the making!

In these pictures, the Hedgehogs are making a range of addition and subtraction problem combinations using only 4 numbers to help secure their Maths skills:

Makaton Signing

This week's Makaton signs are for our Reception class animals: fox, gecko, giraffe, and toucan.

Thanks to the Chimpanzee class for their help.

Useful Links

Learner Profiles

Enrichment and Sport

BASKETBALL
RST hosted the first ever basketball invitational this Saturday for U12 and U14 boys and girls with ICS, NIST and ISB.

16 teams, a fantastic atmosphere and some amazing basketball action.

PRE-PREP DRAMA CLUB
The Year 2 drama club with Miss Lurica are having loads of fun learning about the elements of drama. They make silly tongue twisters, form their own freeze frames, and get very creative expressing themselves through charades:

PREP ART AND CRAFTS
Year 5 and 6 students have been working on a unique project in their Art and Craft activity over the past two weeks. They decorated a rock with their own design which was then turned into a photo holder using wire.

They were really excited to take these home!

PREP ADVENTURE EXPLORE SURVIVE (AES) ACTIVITY
This week's exercise was map reading and hiking. We took the students 3km from the School and they had to study their maps, work out where they were and then how to get back to School. They had to record their exact route and identify suitable places to camp, water, food and fuel resources as well as discuss their surrounding environment. The students grasped the opportunity working individually and collaboratively right from the start showing great versatility and adaptability to successfully accomplish the hike.

PREP CERAMICS
This week, our Year 3 and 4 ceramicists have been decorating their two latest projects which have been bisque fired in our kiln. They’ve been working diligently on their designs and will finish their work next week. Before we reveal what they’ve been making, can you guess what the objects are from the photos?

Boarding Life

Marshall House invited all the boarders and their parents for a pre-exeat barbeque last Friday. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the first few weeks of term and give staff an opportunity to catch up with parents and let them know how their child has been getting on. We even welcomed some old Marshall House boarders (now in Rupert Brooke) who nominated themselves to look after Miss Amanda's twins during the meal:

Prefect Team Dodgeball is a highly anticipated, annual event in School House and this year's competition did not disappoint! Teamwork and resilience were the recipe for success as the boys ducked and dived their way through the tournament.

Ultimately, Team Charlie were the winners, but everyone had great fun: