Term 2 - 5 April
Matters of Principal
Whole School News
Announcements
END OF SCHOOL DAY TIMINGS
We would like to inform you that our end-of-the-day timings will change very slightly from August 2023. We have been working hard to align our timings for the Prep and Senior Activities. In doing so, we will be able to have more vertical groupings, specific sports training and coaching and also enable siblings to finish School at similar times.
RST CARD DESIGN COMPETITION
We received many entries from throughout the School, making the RST card design competition that took place over the past three weeks, a huge success. We are fortunate to have some talented and imaginative students, and we have selected a few of the best designs to share with you:
Reminders
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 200THB 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, 1st May from 08:00 – 10:00 with a Russian theme. If you have any questions, please email irbis2002@bk.ru
Senior News
Reminders
RST TRIP TO SPAIN – REMINDER TO SIGN UP BEFORE THE 1st MAY
Monday, 9th October – Thursday, 19th October
The trip is open to all Spanish learners and is particularly recommended to IGCSE students.
Trip fees include:
- Return flights and transfers
- Accommodation
- All meals
- Activities, including three days of Spanish lessons in Malaga
- Cultural visits to Madrid, Malaga, Granada and Seville
If you would like more information or if you have any questions please contact nfigueroa@rugbyschool.ac.th
Dates for your Diary
25th APRIL
Spanish IGCSE Exam
IGCSE English as a 2nd Language exam
26th APRIL: A Level Art Exam
27th APRIL
A Level Art Exam
GCSE Art Exam
16th JUNE: Launch of the Rugbeians Society
There will be an event for all XX (Year 13) students and two guests. More details to come
17th JUNE: Speech Day
All students are required to be present on Speech day and all parents are invited
Spring Gala
Following the great success of the Winter Gala last December, the first Spring Gala was another tour de force of amazing performances from students and staff alike!
We were treated to some incredibly talented soloists, including pianists, vocalists, violinists and a solo guzheng (Chinese traditional instrument) performance. All the ensembles were extremely strong as well, with stand-out performances from the Senior Orchestra, which grows ever larger each time, the Flute Ensemble, Concert Band, the Staff Choir and ending the evening off, 3 fabulous songs from VOICE.
Credit also goes to the wonderful Stage Crew, the Tech Team, and everyone who helped behind the scenes. I was immensely proud of all involved, and look forward to the next Gala!
Prep News
Announcements
AUTOMATED SCHOOL ACCESS SYSTEM
Thank you to all those parents who have had their RST ID cards activated for use on the new automated system, and for bearing with us with the teething problems of introducing a new system.
Activated cards do not grant unlimited access to School, access is predominantly provided to collect children at the end of the School day. Please can you complete the Google form to authorise the use of your child’s biometric data to grant them automatic access in the mornings to enter the site. RST is only using the data to open the gate, there is no tracking or storage of the data off-site; it is merely using a face as a key to open a door. We are planning to activate the new system after the Songkran break.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact Gareth Tebbutt, our COO on gtebbutt@rugbyschoolthailand.ac.th
TERM 2 REPORTS
Term 2 Reports are available to be viewed on the Parent Portal. This a reminder that Y3, 6 & 8 will have both Written Reports and Effort & Attainment Grades. Y4, 5 & 7 will only have Effort & Attainment Grades because we held parent evenings for those year groups this term. A reminder of our reporting schedule can be accessed here.
TRANSITION PRESENTATIONS
Next term, we will invite all of our parents to School to attend our transition presentations. During these presentations, you will meet the Form Tutors for the next academic year, you will learn about key events and trips for the year group and will have an opportunity to ask questions to our Senior Management Team and Form Tutors. The dates can be viewed in the calendar above and we hope that all of our parents will be able to attend.
KEY EVENTS IN TERM 3
Please click here for details of key events in Term 3.
UPDATED PARENT HANDBOOK
Please view the updated Parent Handbook here.
HOUSE TIES
We are delighted to announce that House ties have been awarded to the following students for their resilience, positive attitude and for generally being great role models in the School. Congratulations to the following:
- Arnold - Roberto, Isabelle and Koafang
- Hardy - Leo, Polina, Sieun
- Webb Ellis - Alice Y7, Kendo, Zulin and Nathawee
- Beauclerc - Taylor, Vasalisa, Ha Ha, Eli, Atom
SPORT IN TERM 2
At the end of term, we like to take a moment to think about all of the opportunities we have had throughout the term. In our assembly, we heard from Roberto, Rachel, Tomoko, Amanda, Eli and Ryan who talked about all of our successes and participation in sport. You can read their speech here.
We would like to thank all of the sports teachers for their dedication to and support with all of our sports lessons, fixtures, tournaments and trips, and congratulations to the many students who have been involved with teams throughout the term.
JUNIOR LIBRARIANS
Thank you to Nana & Guang for their leadership. They helped the Prep's Term 2 Junior Librarians stay on track with their many tasks.
Dates for your Diary
24th APRIL: School Resumes
24th – 28th APRIL: Year 7 Residential Week
- 24th – 26th APRIL: 7A & 7L Residential Trip
- 26th – 28th APRIL: 7B & 7O Residential Trip
A letter has been shared with parents
27th APRIL: Junior Maths Challenge (Y7 & 8)
28th APRIL: Cross-country trip to Khao Mai Kaew
29th APRIL:
U11 A & B, Boys & Girls Basketball @St Andrew's
U9 Girls Football @St Andrew's
30th APRIL: U9,11,13,15 Rugby @Bangkok Lions
Mandarin
YEAR 6
This term we have been learning about food and drink. The students made a menu and are role-playing ordering food from a restaurant.
YEAR 8
Students created presentations on families members’ personalities and occupations:
Year 7 Geography
This term, the Year 7 Geographers have learned about the causes and effects of global warming and the impact it will have on us all in the near future. This involved investigating the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and considering how we can be more Globally Minded to help look after our wonderful world.
More recently, the students have joined the Generation Earthshot movement, which invites students aged 10+ around the world to generate ideas to repair our planet. Generation Earthshot aims to inspire children and young people to join in this mission by nurturing the innate creativity of young people and channelling it toward solving our biggest environmental challenges.
Year 8: The Tempest
Students in Year 8 successfully staged Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' in March. Despite handling other commitments, they demonstrated impressive skills in physical movement, comedy, and acting. The production was student-led, with each member contributing significantly to the set, costume, music, and dance. The show received positive feedback from the audience, and the hard work of the students paid off.
We are proud of their achievements and cannot wait to see what they will accomplish in the future.
Congratulations to all involved!
House Bridge Competition
In our End of Term Assembly on Tuesday, we tested the strength of the four House bridges that were built from lollipop sticks by our House student teams. The bridges were marked on a range of categories, such as design, craftmanship, teamwork and the structural integrity but it was the strength test that proved the real winners. It was a very tense few minutes as they slowly started adding the weight to their bridges. Every bridge was able to support 20kg.
Hardy's bridge was the first to lose stability with small collapse on the side and they came in 4th place. In joint 3rd place was Arnold and Webb Ellis managing 20-24kg. Their bridges strained with the weight and then collapsed in the middle. In first place was awarded to Beauclerc. Their bridge also lost stability but lasted that little bit longer.
Congratulations to them for their win but also to all the teams. The bridges were incredibly well-designed.
Y7 & 8 House Rugby
On Monday, the inaugural Year 7 & 8 House touch rugby tournament took place, which was the culmination of several weeks of students learning touch rugby in their PE lessons. The tournament was a great success, with students showing significant progress in their touch rugby and a strong competitive spirit. There were some very close games which could have gone either way but congratulations to Arnold who came out winners.
House Swimming Gala
Earlier this week, we hosted our House Swimming Gala. The event was a great opportunity for students of all levels to participate and shine and to promote healthy competition and teamwork.
Students competed in various swimming events, including freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke. It was wonderful to see the hard work and dedication our students put into their training, and we were impressed by their level of sportsmanship and teamwork.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the students who participated, as well as the parents who came out to support them.
Year 3 & 4
Year 5 & 6
Pre-Prep News
Announcements
TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC
The Pre-Prep (Pre-Nursery to Year 2) are having a Teddy Bears’ Picnic day on Friday, 28th April. We would like all children (and teachers) to wear pyjamas (with shoes!) to School and to bring a favourite teddy bear. The teddy can be a cuddly toy of any animal type- it doesn’t have to just be a teddy bear.
Please click on the link below for more information:
This term seems to have gone by in a flash! Please click on the link below for an End-of-Term letter from our Head of Pre-Prep, Miss Sarah:
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.
KEY DATES IN TERM 3
Please click on the link below to view the key dates in Term 3
Dates for Your Diary
24th APRIL: School Resumes
28th APRIL: Teddy Bears’ picnic
Reception
Last week, Reception students had a wonderful day visiting the dinosaurs at Nong Nooch Garden. The morning started with a very exciting bus journey. Once we arrived, we walked in pairs with our buddies to the Dinosaur park. We kept our water bottles with us to keep us hydrated.
We were amazed by all the dinosaurs and enjoyed spotting the ones we knew and naming them. We also learnt lots of new names of dinosaurs and there were even lots of types of sharks in the dinosaur park. We walked quite a lot so we found a shady spot for a little rest whilst walking around the dinosaur park.
We then made our way to the air-conditioned room to eat lunch (chicken and sticky rice) before heading back to School on the bus.
We had such a fun day visiting the dinosaurs!
Makaton Signing
This week we have learned the signs for:
‘To work’, ‘to jump’ and ‘quick’
A huge thank you to the Chick class for their help in making the video.
Happy signing
Useful Links
Enrichment & Sport
Enrichment
PRE-PREP ENGLISH AND EXPLORE ACTIVITY
This week, the explorers headed to Mr Roger's classroom to complete the keyrings that they started last week. The students were really happy with their endeavours and send a big thank you to Mrs Douglas for inviting us to her classroom.
PREP CULINARY SKILLS ACTIVITY
We are pleased to report that our students displayed remarkable resilience during the final lesson of the cooking club in Term 2. The pizza-making activity was a great success on Monday, and our students showed great determination in learning new skills while having fun. From stretching the dough to adding their favourite toppings, our young chefs demonstrated their creativity and collaboration to end up with a delicious snack at home. Well done, all!
PREP AES ACTIVITY
After 10 weeks of learning new bushcraft and outdoor skills, our AES Activity students put all their new learning into practice with our end-of-term Mini Adventure hikes around the forests of Khao Mai Keao.
Working in small teams the students had to support themselves, carrying all their supplies and guiding themselves around the forest trails using their map and compass skills. They proved their resilience again tackling the steep and rocky sections and working together to get to the viewpoints where they took in the views over the school and Pattaya and Jomtien bays.
The highlight for them all though was the camp! We had prepared a secret camp in the middle of the forest that they had to navigate to. Once at camp they set up their shelters, prepared their campfires and then cooked their own lunch. As you'll see from the photos they had an amazing time and we are incredibly proud of them all for completing the Adventure.
Year 3 & 4
Year 5 & 6
Sport
Last weekend, RST had another exciting weekend of sports events. We hosted the U15 Boys and Girls FOBISIA Basketball Invitational Championships, which had a diverse mix of Thai local schools, British International Schools, Thai International schools, and a school from Laos and India visiting our campus. Our U11A and B, U13 A and B, and U15B Boys football teams also played against FC Planet football on our campus.
Additionally, RST made history by sending its first-ever U11 mixed A and B netball teams to represent the School at the BISA championships hosted by Shrewsbury Bangkok. They finished joint 1st on points but 3rd on goals scored. Lastly, our U18A boys and girls volleyball teams competed away at St Andrew's Bangkok. In total, we had nine teams competing across four age ranges, and we won two more trophies to add to our collection.
U15 FOBISIA BASKETBALL
USEFUL LINKS
For even more photos of our sporting events, please look on the SOCS sports website. Or follow us on our RST Instagram page: sport_rugbyschoolthailand
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 Mr Barnaby Groucott, Head of EAL, 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 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: