Rugby School Thailand eNewsletter

Matters of Principal

Whole School News

Announcements

ACCESSING SCHOOL REPORTS VIA THE SCHOOLZINE APP
Due to the SchoolZine App's built-in browser limitations, parents will not be able to download the School Reports by directly clicking on the Parent Portal tile.

If you are trying to access reports via the app, please click on the icon in the top right corner (the expansion button), which would then open the page in your mobile's default Internet browser.

You will then need to click on the link once again to be redirected to the parent portal login page.

Regrettably, this is the only possible solution at the moment.

PARENT COOKERY CLASSES COMING SOON!
The RSTPA warmly invite you to our new International Cooking Class, which will be held on the first Monday of every month during term time. During the lesson, you will learn some interesting facts about a particular country that will be hosting and you will make two or three traditional dishes from that country. Each month, we will explore a new country.

It will be a fantastic event for getting our community together and allow you to meet new people. Each session will have a maximum of 20 places, so if you are interested, please reserve your place via Line: Helen Cool or via 0907694661.

There will be a small fee of 200 THB per session to cover the costs of ingredients and you will need to bring some empty containers to take your food away. The first session will start on
Monday, 1^st May from 08:00 – 10:00 with a Russian theme. If you have any questions, please email irbis2002@bk.ru

Scholars' Talk

A TALK FROM THE HEAD OF THE ASTRONAUT OFFICE AT VIRGIN GALACTIC
This week, as part of our scholarship programme, we were privileged to hear Clare Pelly discuss what it takes to work for the first spaceline and why taking tourists to space matters to all of us.

In addition to the all-round and academic scholars from Prep and Senior, many potential space pioneers and curious students also chose to attend this remote lecture. They learnt about the origins of the company, the flight itself, the challenges of space travel and how Virgin Galactic's endeavours could impact our holidays of the future (London to Sydney in 4 hours ... just imagine!)

This was the second of our Scholars' Series talks, following on from Andy Bell's exploration of the conflict between democracy and dictatorship in the world today. We look forward to welcoming Tech entrepreneur, charity ambassador and founder of 'Beautiful Destinations' Jeremy Jauncey to speak next term.

Songkran Celebrations

On the final day of term, Wednesday 5^th April, the whole School will be celebrating Songkran. Students are invited to come to School dressed in a Songkran theme of Paakao Ma.

Please see more details below:

Examples of Phao Khao maa outfits:

Please click here for more information on how Prep will celebrate Songkran.

World Scholars' Cup

Over the weekend, RST sent its largest-ever delegation to the World Scholars' Cup Regional Round in Bangkok. Twenty-one students from Year 7 to E Block competed against over 400 hundred students in a range of academic challenges.

In the Junior Division, RST had three teams in the top ten. Rute, Si Eun and Don claimed the ultimate prize of best team overall whilst Andrey, Leo and Ming Jun came fourth. Arlie, Namtan and Melon combined well to finish ninth. Success was also found in the Senior Division with Daniel, Elliot and Ethan finishing eighth.

On an individual level, all students demonstrated great thinking, collaboration and resilience earning numerous silver and gold medals in the process. Special mention must go to Rute, Don and Daniel for standout performances. Rute was ranked second individually overall, Don earned an impressive six gold medals in the Scholar's Challenge and Daniel was selected for the Debate Showcase.

The students have been working hard over the course of the year in RST Union to prepare for this event. We are very fortunate to have a weekly slot where Prep and Senior students can work together and learn from each other. They have also been developing their skills with regular debate events against St. Andrews and Tara Pattana school.

It really was a tremendous effort and we couldn't be prouder of all those who took part.

Senior News

Dates for your Diary

3^rd APRIL
- Spring Gala Dress rehearsals during the day for performers
- Senior boys and girls (U15 - U18) 9 v 9 football v ISE at RST (16:00 - 18:00)

4^th APRIL
- Spring Gala Dress rehearsals during the day for performers
- RST Spring Gala (19:00)

5^th APRIL
- Songkran ceremony with visiting monks for selected F & E Block students
- House Drama screening for Senior students
- Songkran celebration assembly for Senior students
- Songkran water fun
- End of term two (16:00)

Library News

In anticipation of next week's screening of House Drama, the library has put together a list of (mostly) Young Adult Fantasy library fiction that celebrates the uniqueness, courage, creativity, and resilience of the protagonists. Please visit the senior library or our website for more information.

The borrowing period is also extended to the beginning of Term 3 so you can check (many) books out to read during the holiday. You can check our library catalogue online here

Prep News

Announcements & Reminders

PREP SONGKRAN CELEBRATIONS
Next week, we will be celebrating Songkran. Please read this letter to find out more.

SONGKRAN CELEBRATIONS

Dates for your Diary

1^st APRIL
U11 BISA Netball Tournamemt @Shrewsbury
U11A, U11B, U13A, U13B Boys Football v Planet Football (home)

3^rd APRIL
08:00-12:45: Y3 & 4 AES Expedition
13:00-17:45: Y5 & 6 AES Expedition
11:00-12:10: Y7 & 8 House Rugby - Parents may attend on the fields
15:15-18:00: Year 7 Parent Teacher Meetings in the Senior Dining Hall

4^th APRIL: House Swimming Gala
08:10-09:25: Y5 & 6
09:25-10:35: Y3&4
14:45-15:55: Y7&8

Parents may attend at the CGA pool

15:15-18:00: Year 7 Parent Teacher Meetings in the Senior Dining Hall

5^th APRIL: Songkran
Students to wear phaa-khao-maa or Songkran outfits and bring in their PE kit and a towel. They will get wet!
08:45-09:00: Buddhist Ceremony - parents may attend
11:00-12:00: Cultural Show - parents may attend
15:30: End of Term Dismissal

Songkran Cultural Activities

Get ready to celebrate Songkran Festival in the Prep School on Wednesday 5th April. This year, we are learning about traditional Thai clothes called Phaa-khao-maa in our Thai lessons, related to our Songkran’s theme. These clothes are not just garments, they represent Thai culture and how people live their lives. Students have even learned how to fold Phaa-khao-maa into cute teddy bears and elephants to have fun while learning about Thai culture.

Year 3 - 5 Teddy Bears

Yesterday, the Year 3 students practised many of our learner profile attributes at our fantastic Outdoor Education Centre. We couldn’t be prouder of these amazing children! Here’s a taste of their morning:

Pre-Prep News

Announcements and Reminders

ART COMPETITION
We run an annual art competition at the Pre-Prep each year with the winning piece of art framed and displayed in the School office.

The children are encouraged to enter a piece of work on the theme “Beach Fun” and the work must be completed at home. Children do not have to enter- only if they wish to do so.

All artworks must be:

The child’s own work (otherwise the piece won’t be entered)
A4 or A3 size (No larger than A3, no smaller than A4)
Landscape or portrait
Can be a painting, collage, crayon, drawing, or sketch using any medium

Please click on the link below for more details.

Art Competition - Beach Fun

KEY DATES IN TERM 3
Please click on the link below to view the key dates in Term 3

Key Dates

SONGKRAN ARRANGEMENTS – 5^th APRIL
8:30 – 8:55 Children and parents may offer food to nine Monks at The Oval.
9:00 – 9:20 All classes and parents are invited to watch various performances to celebrate Songkran.

After this, we say goodbye to the parents and the children will continue with Rod-Nam-Dam-Hua and Water Fun activities throughout the day.

Dates for Your Diary

3^rd APRIL: PHOTO DAY
Turtles, Owls, Fish, Pandas, Chicks, Hedgehogs, Dolphins, Chimpanzees, Foxes

4^th APRIL: PHOTO DAY
Geckos, Parrots, Bears, Rabbits, Ducks, Rhinos, Elephants, Toucans, Giraffes

5^th APRIL:
Songkran Day
School finishes at 3:15pm

24^th APRIL: First day of Term 3

Pre-Nursery Swimming

Pre Nursery children have transitioned well from light water play to having lots of fun in the Pre-Prep Splash pool. All of the children have gained more confidence with being around water and some already submerging in the water. They all look forward to their swimming class every week. Great work!

The year 1 children have had a fire-filled week with science! They visited a science laboratory in Senior, where they learnt all about bunsen burners and how to change the colour of a flame. They learnt all about being safe scientists and how not to try these experiments at home.

We also had a go at making fire using flint, steel wool, batteries, hairspray and a whoosh bottle!

Intensive English

In Mr. Roger's Intensive English Class, this term's focus has been on how to write good sentences. Learning about spelling patterns, word order and punctuation has enabled us to write some interesting and informative recounts of our weekends and holidays. Mr. Roger was particularly happy this week, as all of his students scored 12/12 in this week's spelling test and received a star!

EYFS Spring Show

It's been a busy time in Early Years, preparing for our Spring Concert. We have had to learn our songs, actions and stage directions. It's been lots of hard work but we enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you to all those families who were able to come and watch and show their support. The children were all so brave and performed exceptionally well, fabulous job Pre-Nursery, Nursery & Reception.

Makaton Signing

This week we have learned the signs for:

'To run', 'to dance' and 'to swim'

Thanks to the Turtle class for their help in making the video.

Happy signing!

Useful Links

Learner Profiles

Boarding Life

YEAR 6 SLEEPOVER
Last Friday night, Marshall House hosted the Y6 Sleepover. 40 students descended on the house for a night of fun and laughter. It was great to see the students mingling so well with each other and enjoying the activities put on by the duty staff who kindly gave up their Friday evening to help this event be such a success.

A great pool party was followed by a delicious barbeque, then a movie and time to play and relax in the house.

The experience wrapped up on Saturday morning with breakfast in the senior dining hall.

This was a great chance for our Y6 students to have a small taste of what boarding life is like here at RST.

BOARDERS' WEEKEND
Last weekend, our full boarders enjoyed a quieter Friday night with many guests in the house for the Y6 sleepover.

On Saturday afternoon we had a short walk down at Lake Maprachan followed by a nice cold drink.

Sunday was an early start with a day in Bangkok on the cards. A first visit to The Grand Palace was the first stop. Lots of photos and some fun filming took place. The next stop was Bounce where all of the boarders had a great time playing tag and hide and seek. A day to Bangkok wouldn't seem right without a quick trip to a mall for some shopping and food.

It was yet another fun weekend for the boarders who as usual displayed exemplary behaviour.

Enrichment & Sport

Enrichment

PRE-PREP ENGLISH AND EXPLORE ACTIVITY
This week, exploration took us into the Prep School's Design and Technology Department. The students were amazed at how big and well-equipped this facility was with lots of interesting machines and tools to investigate. Mrs Douglas provided us with the materials, tools and guidance to start making a keyring which we will paint and finish next week. The students all agreed that it was yet another exciting and engaging exploration.

PREP ADVENTURE EXPLORE SURVIVE (AES)
Our AES students have been very active outdoors over the past two weeks. They have been learning all about cardinal directions, orientation, maps, map reading and drawing maps.

They then put it all into practice with an excursion out of the School where they had to first orient themselves in the new setting, explore the area, and then draw a map of the area.
Awareness of your surroundings and learning to read the landscape are vital skills to learn and practise. Not only do the students enjoy the outdoors more, but they become more self-aware and ultimately safer outdoors.

We were delighted with the resilience shown by our students as they embraced these new skills and challenges.

Map Reading

SENIOR ECO GARDEN ACTIVITY
The Eco Garden Activity has been in full swing with the harvesting season spanning over the past and current week. The students have been diligently working on their products and are now ready to showcase them to the RST community. Additionally, students will persist in their fundraising efforts for the charity project benefiting sick students at the Pediatric department of Chonburi Hospital.

RST experienced another exceptional weekend of sport last weekend, when an amazing 140 students from across the School represented RST in 3 major sports in Bangkok and at Home: we hosted 39 football teams at U11 and U18 boys and girls, the swim squad was in action at the ‘Puppy Cup Gala’ hosted by Bangkok Prep on Saturday, and the ‘Harrow Invitational’ on Sunday, and the U9 boys and girls A and B played in our first ever BISA basketball tournament hosted by Shrewsbury Riverside.

Well done to all involved!

Student Achievements

Prep

Congratulations to Sunny who came first runner-up at the Point Avenue Thailand's Slam Poetry Contest 2023 - Elementary Level. Well done, Sunny!

RSTeam Spotlight

Get to know our dedicated team of teachers and support staff who make our School great a little better, by learning more about them and their roles.

This week we focus on Mrs Carolyn Pearce, Head of LXX and Geography Teacher, Senior:

Community Offers & Events

WISDOM FIT
We are thrilled to announce that Mr. Zarko Djalovic has joined Wisdom Fit as the gym manager who will be able to support you on your fitness journey. Please feel free to direct any questions you may have to him.

Please view our new membership packages, which are available to RST Parents, below:

HOLIDAY CAMPS
Are you a parent looking for a camp for your child during the April school holidays? If so, here are some sports camp options:

8^th- 12^th April: Sharpen your skills at a football or basketball camp;
17^th – 21^st April: Enhance your skills at a basketball, softball, or fitness camp.

The day camp option costs 7,500THB and includes lunch, dinner, and snacks. If you choose the boarding camp option, which includes accommodation at Rugby School Thailand, the cost is 17,500THB. There's even a special discount available for groups!

If you're interested in learning more or have any questions, please contact us via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wisdomacademythailand, call us at 099-289-6454, or email us at admin@wisdomacademythailand.com. We'll be happy to assist you further!

HOLIDAY INN- RST COMMUNITY DISCOUNTS
We’d like to thank our friends from the Holiday Inn, who are offering our RST Community preferential hotel rates and discounts in their restaurants for 2023:

Term 2 - 31 March