Rugby School Thailand eNewsletter

Matters of Principal

This week Mr Grindlay reminds us that you can only achieve greatness through hard work.

Whole School Reminders

SCHOOL PARENT CARD
Can all parents please ensure they wear their School Parent Card at all times, and that it is clearly displayed when you are on the School premises. If you forget your School Parent Card, please exchange your ID card/passport at Reception, and we will issue you a Visitor Card for temporary use.

COVID-19
A reminder that it is vital to help us prevent the spread of COVID-19 that you do not send your child into School if they have any symptoms. Our experience tells us that children tend to exhibit symptoms for 1 or 2 days before testing positive. Thank you for your understanding in these challenging times.

FOBISIA ACCREDITATION
RST will be visited by the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) at the end of April, to be accredited to join the organisation. There are numerous benefits of membership, including access to FOBISIA sports competitions, artistic and cultural collaborative events and high quality CPD opportunities for staff.

As part of the accreditation process, FOBISIA would like to hear from RST parents. Please complete this short survey before the end of term:

School Membership Application Survey (Parent)

RST MAD TOILETRIES APPEAL
This term's appeal is in support of Tamar Center, a non-profit organisation which aims to help
women working as bar girls in Thailand and their children by providing them with a safe place to
live, education, skills, and jobs in hairdressing, cooking, baking, sewing and more.

ATK TEST RESULTS
A reminder to submit your ATK test result every Sunday and Wednesday. Please submit your results using the following links:

Pre-Prep ATK Google Form
Prep & Senior School ATK Google Form

Whole School News

Songkran Festival

We will celebrate the Songkran Festival on Friday 1 April across the School.

The theme for this year is ‘Amazing (Thai) Tie Dye’ and we encourage students to wear a tie-dyed outfit.

As part of the festivities, students will learn about the art of tie-dying, including how to use herbs, spices and plants in dyes, and there will be an afternoon of water play activity.

Watch this space for more information!

Senior News

Announcements & Reminders

UKMT INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE
Mr Miller organised and ran the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge for students from F, E and D Blocks. Although it was not compulsory there was a very good uptake from the students in each year group. The challenge contained 25 questions which started out fairly difficult, and quickly grew in complexity.

Overall RST students achieved 10 Gold, 14 Silver and 18 Bronze awards. A special shout out to the top students in each year group:

F Block - Petepat Apichonkit - Best in Year and Best in School!
E Block - Kazuaki Iwaki - Best in Year
D Block - Ross Luo - Best in Year

Congratulations to Petepat Apichonkit for getting the highest score in the School, a very impressive achievement.

SIXTH FORM EXAM PREPARATION
As with all students around the world, RST sixth formers have faced disruption to their studies due to Covid-19. To ensure they have everything they need to succeed, we are delivering a practical course on how to best prepare for exams. The strategies students will learn are based on the very latest educational research from professionals around the world.

Whilst the course will help with exam grades, it will also help build emotional resilience by giving our students the tools they need to take control of their learning. A successful student is a happy student! We made a wonderful and energetic start to the 5-hour course this week.

Important Dates

21st March: RST Make A Difference Senior students Baan Jing Jaa visit

22nd March: Senior Sports Day

23rd March: F Block boarders' social

23rd March: House Art Exhibition

Learning

We have had another busy week of learning in the Senior School, here are some highlights:

BIOLOGY
The LXX students have been learning about the different body systems in the human body. To aid their understanding they carried out dissections on the skeletal muscular system, and also looked at the cardiovascular system and the heart.

Last week they investigated the lungs: what they look like, how they float if a section is put into water and how much the lungs can inflate when blown into, just like when we inhale. These features all link into the functions of the lungs and how they work with other body systems of the human body.

F block have been looking at the topic of plants and photosynthesis and, using a microscope, studied the cross sections of the leaf, stem and root.

They learnt how to use a microscope correctly and applied those skills to draw accurate images; they then used their devices to capture images of what they saw under the microscope.

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

As part of their USB Lantern project, F Block students used iPad Pros and the Procreate app to digitally prepare their Zentangle designs for printing and laser engraving onto acrylic.

This term, F block historians have focused on a comparative study of genocide by looking at both the Holocaust in Europe during World War II and the Cambodian Genocide 1975-79, under the Khmer Rouge. As part of their studies, students were given the opportunity to choose a way to express and portray their thoughts and feelings on what they have learnt.

Some examples of student work:

THE WHOLE ME PROGRAMME

We had an amazing session within The Whole Me Programme earlier this week when we hosted Khun Suwat and his team from A21.

A21 campaigns to end modern-day slavery, child trafficking and helps to ensure the voice of the child is heard. The presentation was very thought-provoking and powerful, and we all left wondering how we could help in the future.

Drama
Our E block IGCSE Drama students took part in a practical workshop called 'Learning to Fly' by Frantic Assembly. During the session, they practised how to safely perform a variety of theatre lifts. Here they are using what they learned in a devised piece about space!

In preparation for the Component 2: Group Devised Performance, E Block IGCSE Drama students have been practically exploring the work of theatre company, Frantic Assembly. Using The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time as a stimulus, they developed a series of chair duets and an ensemble movement piece which created the atmosphere of a busy train station.

Announcements & Reminders

EDUCATION PERFECT (EP) AND HOUSE LANGUAGES CHAMPIONSHIPS
What an exciting week it has been for our students from Year 5 up to Year 8 taking part in our yearly EP and House Languages Championships 2022. We answered over 130 thousand questions and achieved 148th global ranking out of 2,824 schools. With a total of 25 awards, huge congratulations to Si Hyun and Si Eun Lee who acquired Emerald awards. Many other students also got Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. Over 200 pupils took part in these Championships. Congratulations to Webb-Ellis as the overall winner for this year.

HEADPHONES
Can all students remember to bring headphones into school please - many lessons require them.

SATURDAY ENRICHMENT PROGRAMME
On Saturday 26 March, we will be offering the following activities for our Saturday Enrichment Programme:

Y3 Maths Art,
Y4 Coding,
Y5&6 Lasertag,
Y7 Fusion Cooking or Scratch Art,
Y8 Drama Workshop.

Please sign up using SOCS by Tuesday.

LIBRARY BOOKS
Please return any long overdue books to the Prep library by the end of term. In Term 3, our librarian (Mrs White) will send out emails with any unreturned or damaged book fines.

BOOK SALE
Want to find a new home for the children's books you no longer use?

Please bring them into School and leave them in the 'Book Box' in the library. Our Year 8 students will then host a book sale at the start of next term, with all proceeds going to 'Take care Kids' charity.

We look forward to receiving your donations!

Important Dates

19 March (07:15-15:00) - U11 A/B Boys & U11 Girls Football Tournament @Bangkok Patana

Tech Team News

Last week we saw the completion of the recruitment process of RST's first ever ‘Tech Team’. The Tech Team aims to:

Help other students by creating and managing a Support Google Classroom complete with tutorial videos;
Increase student productivity within our 1:1 iPad programme;
Assist our I.T. Support team in responding to teacher support requests;
Support teachers with technical issues in lessons;
Receive photography, lighting and audio training to allow the team to help at school events;
Host technology events and activities for other year groups and schools.

After an initial application round, shortlisted Year 6 – 8 students presented to a panel on why they should be chosen to be part of the team. The students did an incredible job of showing leadership qualities, resilience and a globally minded perspective, and made some excellent real-world computing links.

The team will host their 1^st Boardroom meeting at the end of month and we will look forward to keeping you updated.

Team Building

The ultimate team-building experience: turning a few sticks and a bit of rope into a fully functioning bridge.

Our Year 6, 7 & 8 Prep students had to work closely with one another showing great communication, planning, patience, and of course, engineering skills to complete such an activity. We are so fortunate to have the Outdoor Education Centre as part of our School to create these valuable life experiences for our students.

Tommy, 3VK's councillor, lead a session this week where students shared their ideas about what's working well and what they would like to see change. Here students are putting their ideas forward.

House General Knowledge

Last Friday, as part of our Thinkers' Day celebrations, saw the return of House General Knowledge. After the success of last year, we added a third final, so even more students could take part.

Each final was incredibly close - each quiz came down to the final question and there was even a tie in the Year 7 and Year 8 quiz. The finalists showed remarkable resilience, communication and collaboration skills and, of course, knowledge! The scores were as follows:

Year 3 & 4
Webb Ellis - 153
Beauclerc - 150
Hardy - 139
Arnold - 137

Years 5 & 6
Arnold - 163
Beauclerc - 161
Webb Ellis- 157
Hardy - 144

Years 7 & 8
Webb Ellis- 176
Arnold - 175
Hardy - 164
Beauclerc - 159

Macbeth in Drama

Year 5 students extended their learning from World Book Day by creating the spooky forest where Macbeth meets the three witches. Led by Ms Keane, Head of Drama, students used their physicality and sound to imaginatively create soundscape tableaux.

Sailing Regatta

Last month Poohpha participated in the Admiral Cup 2022 which was held in Pattaya. Poohpha won 1^st place in the division for children aged 10 years and lower – what an incredible achievement! Well done!

Pre-Prep News

Announcements & Reminders

COVID PROTOCOLS - EATING SEATING PLAN
Many of you have expressed frustration when we have been sending home class bubbles due to Primary contacts and we acknowledge that this is not ideal. In order to reduce the number of Primary Contacts needing to miss School to isolate we have reviewed our plans and protocols. Mask wearing remains compulsory and is enforced in the classrooms and in lesson times.

The main high risk times are when masks are off, and children are eating so during snack and lunch times. To help us identify key primary contacts at these high risk times we have changed the way we operate the snack and lunch times. Please read the letter below for more information:

Eating Seating Plan Protocols

COVID VACCINATIONS: 5 - 11 YEAR OLDS
The COVID vaccine for 5-11 year olds is scheduled for Pre-Prep aged children on Thursday 24th March. If you have registered your child, please find more information below.

Please also complete the 'Parents' Consent Form' and show this document to the vaccination officer on the vaccination day.

Vaccination Letter

Parents' Consent Form

EYFS sheep and goat visit

Last week the EYFS children had some very special guests...sheep and goats from Pattaya Sheep Farm!

The Nursery classes continued to find out who helps us at School this week, with a visit to the Eco Garden. The gardeners told us about the work they do to take care of our beautiful gardens, fields and lakes, as well as Ruby the tortoise and the chickens. The gardeners took us for an exciting tour around the fields in the tractor/trailer. Thank you to our wonderful team of gardeners.

This week Reception started a new topic, ‘In the Past’. At the start of the week we found a mysterious nest with eggs in the garden. We took our magnifying glasses and went to explore the eggs to look for clues. The students loved discussing the eggs and what was inside; we then looked for foot prints and other clues, and found some string (which must have been tied to the dinosaur’s leg!). The students were all hooked after exploring the area and have talked about nothing but Dinosaurs, since.

Year 1 & Year 2: Spanish

In Spanish this week Year 1 has been learning about pets and the adjectives to describe them.

Year 2 has been learning about family members and how to introduce them. They did an amazing job and have been superb "go for it gorillas" by having a go at the spellings of most of the words.

Year 2: Butterflies

Practical learning is a key part of our lessons in Year 2; it allows students to explore their ideas, share their thoughts and establish a strong understanding of the skills they need.

Butterfly class have been busy using practical skills in their maths, art and science lessons - learning about the forces on rockets, how to create art from just a single dot, and how to use money in the real world.

Boarding Life

F Block boarders in School House and Rupert Brooke had their first social in Scrummy Café this week, where they enjoyed delicious snacks and drinks whilst playing games and chatting.

The Marshall House boarders have been enjoying their usual evening games in the house, alongside a bit of revision!

Enrichment and Sport

Chopstick painting CCA

As part of their CCA activities, Year 3s made and painted their own chopstick holders this week.

Minecraft E-Sport CCA

Students participating in our Minecraft E-Sport CCA work in teams to build an object around a given theme. There are 8 rounds in total; this week we had Round 5 “Splat Race” where our Green Team built a working race track with erupting volcano, and the Yellow Team built a monster truck and erupting volcano. Teams are up against the clock and 5 points are awarded for a basic static build, and 10 points for a working interactive build!

MTB CCA

The students love exploring the mountain bike trails around our School, as part of the MTB CCA.

This term, in Years 5 and 6 S.T.E.A.M. Challenges, we have been learning about historical letter-locking, optical illusions and memory-improving brain training!

S.T.E.A.M. stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths. Our challenges promote problem solving, team work, creativity and perseverance. The students get to see how each of these fields of learning are interconnected and essential for working in the world that they will one day lead.

Recently, students have been learning about the anatomy of hands and building working models. High five to these artistic engineers!

Eco Garden Activities

Year 3 – 6 students are helping to look after the plants in our eco garden by doing some weeding and planting. They also decorated the garden by painting stones to look like insects and drew pictures inspired by the plants and animals.

Senior Cross Country

On Monday, the Sports department hosted the annual Senior inter-House cross country competition at Wisdom Valley. Senior students tackled a challenging 4km off-road course including a fiendishly steep hill leading up from the lake towards the School. Despite the heat and uneven surface, students ran a series of highly impressive times and more importantly, almost everyone completed the course. Thank you to the sports department for organising such a great event and well done to all participants. Winners deserve a special mention:

GIRLS
Sophie (F Block) Southfield
Victoria (E Block) Southfield
Buggy (D Block) Southfield
Babe (LXX) Rupert Brooke
Milly (XX) Rupert Brooke

BOYS
Carlos (F Block) Town House
Leo (E Block) Sheriff
Kei (D Block) Town House
Tank (LXX) Sheriff
Cane (XX) Sheriff

We had an amazing morning of youth football hosted by Patana with NIST and St Andrew’s last Saturday where 14 teams of 5-a-side in 3 abilities leagues, played in friendly round robin games.

In total our 4 teams won 5 games, drew 8 games and lost 8 games; a very competitive day against some tough opposition!

Please click here to see more action shots and sporting highlights.

8K vs 8E Basketball Final

During break time on Friday, 8E and 8K students battled it out in the Year 8 Basketball Tournament. It was a fiercely competitive game that ended with extra time for the deciding hoop. Both teams played amazingly well and were well-supported by their peers, but 8K had the competitive edge and were crowned champions. Well done!