Term 3 - 11 May
Matters of Principal
Whole School News
Announcements & Reminders
LAUNCH OF LITPOD
Salutations! The Senior Tech Team proudly presents LitPod, a podcast series discussing the wonderful world of literature. In the three episodes, we explore diverse topics with a range of guests with hopes to spark curiosity, critical thinking, and a love of learning. We are excited to announce that the first episode is now available for viewing/listening.
In this episode, Literature and the Path of History, your gracious hosts are joined by the radical Mr Maurice, our resident Senior School English teacher and Head of the Whole Me Programme, and the transcendent Mrs Donaldson, who is Head of Reading and teaches English and Support for Learning in Prep and Pre-Prep. In a conversation that could have lasted for hours (alas, all good things must come to an end), they discuss history, linguistics, nostalgia, and more!
In Episode Two: From Book to Screen, Pun is joined by senior school students Grahame and Delilah to discuss how our experience with books is influenced by social media, thoughts on movie adaptations, and much more.
Stay tuned for the release on Wednesday, 17th May on the RST YouTube Channel.
MARSHALL HOUSE HOUSEPARENTS
Mr and Mrs Stoker will be taking over Marshall House as Houseparents this August. They have been living in Marshall as Assistant Houseparents since January 2022 and are looking forward to the challenge of caring for all the boarders and guiding the growth of the house.
Marshall is flourishing; its safe, secure, nurturing support network helps students grow into more independent, resilient and confident individuals. The Stokers and their children, Marnie and Inigo, are excited to lead from Term 1.
If you are interested in boarding for your child, please contact the Director of Boarding Mr Ennis-Billing, dennisbilling@rugbyschool.ac.th or the Admissions department, admissions@rugbyschool.ac.th.
From August, Marshall House will be for girls and boys in Year 6-8.
RST COMMUNITY CHOIR
The Staff Choir, which has been running here at RST for many years, would now like to open its membership to any parent who enjoys singing and having fun. You don't need to be able to read music or sing particularly well, you just need to have enthusiasm and a sense of fun.
The Choir rehearses with the Principal every Thursday in term time from 18:15 – 19:15 in the Pre-Prep Assembly Hall. If you would like to join us, please can you email the Principal's PA: usa@rugbyschool.ac.th.
Hope to see (and hear) you soon!
Mr Grindlay
Principal
PARENT COOKING CLASS
The RSTPA warmly invite you to our Japanese Cooking Class. We 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 session will be on Monday, 12th June from 08:00 – 10:00. If you have any questions, please email irbis2002@bk.ru
Dates for Your Diary
12th MAY: School closed for exeat
Senior News
Announcements & Reminders
PARENT COFFEE MORNING
Tuesday, 16th May in the Senior Dining Hall at 8am. All welcome.
ART EXHIBITION
The Senior Art and Design department cordially invites you to our annual GCSE and A Level art exhibition. This year we are excited to have a formal opening on the afternoon of Wednesday,
14th June at 5 pm in The Collingwood Centre.
We look forward to displaying our students' work who are working through their courses (E Block and LXX) as well as those who have now completed their qualification (D Block and XX) and are awaiting their grades to be awarded this August.
This is a fantastic opportunity for students to celebrate their hard work with their family and friends and for the art to be showcased in such a beautiful space.
The exhibition is open from Wednesday, 14th June 5pm through until Speech Day on Saturday,
17th June, when students and parents can view the art if unable to make the opening.
We look forward to seeing you there.
KANGAROO MATHS THAILAND
In March, Sua (F block) took part in the Kangaroo Math Thailand competition. This is a world-renowned competition that takes place every year with over 6,000,000 students from around 80 countries.
Sua showed great initiative by signing up for this competition and attending independently and we are delighted that out of 115 students in her age category in Thailand, she came 13th, earning a silver award. Well done Sua!
Dates for your Diary
15th – 17th MAY: E Block virtual parent-teacher meetings
Please sign up following the instructions in the letter
18th MAY: F and E Block Debating competition
19th MAY: E block in-person student-parent-teacher meetings
Please sign up following the instructions in the letter
Head's Distinction
I was delighted to welcome Pat, Peace, Deepshikha, and Simon for chocolate milk and cake to congratulate them on their endeavours. Simon came second in a Global Chinese Writing competition, Pat was awarded a distinction in the UKMT Olympiad paper, and Peace was the second runner-up with a high score of 76.4. All of these are fantastic individual achievements!
Deepshikha was nominated by her Head of Year for being awarded over 75 credits this year which is an outstanding achievement and demonstrates consistently high effort across all her subjects. Well done Pat, Peace, Deepshikha, and Simon.
Learning
DRAMA
F Block continued studying how to create a design concept for Face by Benjamin Zephaniah, through learning about staging and creating effective set designs.
E Block IGCSE Drama students are in the midst of their final rehearsals before their performances of their devised pieces next week. They will be performing on Tuesday, 16th May at 5pm in Black Box - all welcome!
Prep News
Announcements & Reminders
TRANSITION PRESENTATIONS
This term, we will hold our Transition Presentations to inform you about any changes moving from one year group to another. If you would like to hear about our new staff, about what events we will run and other crucial information about next year, please come along. Our first one will be on Wednesday, 17th May 17:00-17:30 for our Year 3 parents with students moving into Year 4 in August 2023.
SAVE THE DATE
- Prep Speech & House Music Final: Friday, 30th June 10:30-12:00 (all Prep School parents invited)
- Year 8 Leavers' Lunch: Friday, 30th June 12:00 – 13:30 (Year 8 Students, Parents and Siblings)
Dates for your Diary
12th MAY: School Closed for Exeat
15th MAY:
House ProCreate Championship Final
16:15 – 17:45: U13 Boys (A) & Girls (B) Basketball v GIS @RST
18:15 – 19:45: U10 & U12 Boys Basketball Session @WEC
16th MAY: 18:15 – 19:45: U14 Boys Basketball Session @WEC
17th MAY:
16:15 – 17:45: U14 Boys Basketball v MIS @RST
17:00 – 17:30: Year 3 to Year 4 Transition Presentation in the Veraphan Theatre (For Parents in Y3)
18:15 – 19:45: U10 & U12 Girls Basketball Session
18th MAY:
17:00-17:30: Prep Music Recital in the Veraphan Theatre (all welcome)
18th MAY:
18:15 – 19:45: U14 Girls Basketball Session @WEC
19th – 20th MAY:
U12 FOBISIA Football Tournament @Bangkok Patana School
20th MAY:
08:00 – 09:15: U10 & U12 Boys Basketball Training in the WEC - please sign-up with Mr Chisholm
08:30 – 10:00: Saturday Enrichment Programme Session 1 - please sign-up on SOCS
09:15 – 10:30: U10 & U12 Girls Basketball Training in the WEC - please sign-up with Mr Chisholm
10:15 – 11:45: Saturday Enrichment Programme Session 2 - please sign-up on SOCS
Year 3 Maths
Our topic in maths has been mass and capacity. This week, we’ve been using various containers to get a sense of litres and millimetres. Contextualising learning is a powerful tool - not to mention fun when water is involved!
Year 4
4F students have been exploring the world of Sci-Fi creating their own futuristic cities! We have learnt exciting new vocabulary that we can now include in our writing.
Year 5 Residential
The year 5 students are having such a fun time enjoying their residential trip. They have done lots of activities including pottery, painting, cooking, outdoor adventure course, swimming and karaoke.
Thai
In Thai lessons, students relish learning the language and engaging in cultural activities that foster the development of their language skills and learner profile traits. Here are a few examples of the activities we've undertaken:
YEAR 3 THAI CLASS
To improve their writing abilities, students participate in collaborative group activities, including a task that requires them to scan a QR code to listen to a word and then use colourful cards to construct that word. Through challenging and varied assignments, students are motivated to think critically, communicate effectively with their peers, and learn from their errors. It is a joy to witness their enthusiastic engagement in the learning process.
YEAR 3 THAI CULTURE CLASS
Students acquired the ability to express possession using "I have.../I do not have..." in Thai. To reinforce this lesson, we first covered the vocabulary and grammar rules and then engaged in a game of "Pass the ball". This kind of activity fosters students' self-assurance in speaking Thai, encourages collaboration among their classmates, and motivates them to continue practising and enhancing their language abilities.
YEAR 6
Throughout the term, students have been studying Thai wisdom, rice, and its transformation into various products. However, the most exciting part was when they had the opportunity to make the famous Thai snack, "ขนมนางเล็ด". In groups, they documented the cooking process and created presentations about their experiences, fostering collaboration and communication skills. This hands-on experience not only enabled our students to learn the language but also gave them a more profound appreciation and understanding of Thai culture. We are thrilled to see our students' enthusiasm for learning.
YEAR 8
Students persisted in writing their opinion essays to convey their thoughts on the assigned topic. Initially, they acquired knowledge on differentiating between opinions and facts. Subsequently, they were introduced to new writing techniques for constructing an engaging introduction and conclusion that would captivate readers. Working collaboratively, they brainstormed ideas, developed an outline, conducted research, and gathered references to reinforce their arguments in their first opinion essay. With enhanced writing skills, students progressed to compose their own individual opinion essays on the given topic.
House Bake-Off Competition
In a thrilling competition on Tuesday, 9 teams competed in the Great RST Bake-off House Competition to create a mouth-watering chocolate lava cake with only basic instructions to guide them.
Despite the challenge, everyone had great fun and two cakes stood out for their impeccable baking skills, making the scoring incredibly close. In the end, the winner was chosen by just a one-point difference. Congratulations to all the teams for their incredible teamwork, collaboration and impressive baking skills!
How do you think yours would turn out given these instructions? Try the recipe with your family this weekend!
Arnold Talent Show
Last week on Friday, the Arnold House Captains (Ryan, Tomoko, Nadia and Rodion) hosted the final Arnold Talent Show in the Veraphan Theatre. Congratulations to the four finalists who performed in the competition: OB on the flute, Lea singing a solo, Sky on the DJ decks and Reiko with her dance routine. A big congratulations to Reiko who was the overall winner of the competition.
Pre-Prep News
Announcements and Reminders
THE HAND TO HAND FOUNDATION
The Hand to Hand Foundation is bringing some children to Pre-Prep on 17th May to play and learn with us for the morning. Our children have organised a bake sale to take place on this day at 3:15pm and 4:45pm with proceeds going to Hand to hand. If you have any old children's clothes or toys that you would like to donate please also send these in to School any time this week or next and we will also give them to charity for distribution.
MAD JUNIOR BAKE SALE
On 17th May, the MAD Junior Club and the Year 2s are having a big bake sale as a fundraiser event for the Hand to Hand Foundation. As part of Year 2s’ Thailand topic, they are making food to sell. We would like to invite you to support their project, you can either buy their food or help by donating baked goods or other food that we can also sell to raise money. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated.
You can drop off any food you would like to contribute at the office or at your child's classroom on the day of 17th of May, or before.
The bake sale will take place at the Pre-Prep gate at 15:15 and again at 16:45, please bring cash and come and enjoy lovely treats!
ART WEEK
Pre-Prep celebrated Art for a whole week. This year's theme was "Amazing Thailand" and all the year groups worked together to create amazing scenes of Thai beaches, jungles, and animals and they all used amazing colours.
Our parents came to admire our Art at Pre-Prep's Art exhibition on Friday.
ART COMPETITION RESULTS
We also announced this year's Art competition winners during our Art week. This year's theme was 'Beach fun" and over 30 children entered our competition.
Our 2 runners-up: Emilia, Reception Geckos class and Adriel, Year 1 Turtles class.
This year's Art competition winner is Rhea, Year 2 Hedgehogs class and her piece will be framed and displayed in our Pre-Prep office.
Dates for Your Diary
12th MAY: School closed for Exeat
16th MAY:
- Year 1 visit to the Outdoor Education Centre
- BIG TALK: Top ten tips for a stress-free bedtime (8:30am in the Assembly Hall)
17th MAY: Hand to Hand Visit Pre-Prep
22nd – 25th MAY: Year 2 classes to visit Hand to Hand - one day per class
23rd MAY: EYFS coffee morning (8:30 – 9:00am in the Assembly Hall)
Pre-Nursery Pandas
The Pandas are on a "Dinosaur Dig" this week, exploring the world of dinosaurs with interactive activities that enhance their skills. In the sand-filled tuff tray, they manipulate dinosaur toys, developing their fine motor skills. The water tray offers a sensory experience to wash and clean toy dinosaurs, enhancing language and communication skills. The children also went on a dino hunt, developing gross motor skills and problem-solving abilities. They're reading "We are Going on a Dino Dig" by Anastasia Suen to complement their learning.
Year 1 Bike to School
From scooters to bikes, the bike track has been very busy with Year 1 children this week. Our challenge has been to try going the same way in a clockwise direction so we avoid any collisions! They have been very safe riders, all remembering to wear their helmets.
Swimming
In swim class, we’ve had a lot of fun while getting to know each other. As the new swim teacher, I think it’s important to get to know the kids and their skill levels as quickly as possible.
In the first two weeks of this term, we’ve already been working hard on improving our kicks, strokes, and overall water confidence. We did races, games, and skill practice in order to improve our skills in a fun and exciting way.
Makaton Signing
This week we learned the signs for:
‘Mummy’, ‘Daddy’, ‘Brother’, ‘Sister’
Thank you to the Giraffe class for their kind help in making the video.
Happy signing!
Useful Links
Boarding Life
Super-tutor, Mr Kelly, took his XX boarders from School House out for their final social meal together before they begin study leave. Thank you, Sir!
Thanks to our exciting enrichment programme, Saturday mornings are always very busy for our boarders! This week, they went rock climbing, played sport, competed in Dungeons and Dragons, practised their artwork, revised for their exams, worked out in the gym... and much more!
We had pizza to celebrate and thank the XX Senior boarding prefects from both Rupert Brooke and School House for all their help in the boarding houses this year. As they go off on study leave at the end of this week their prefect duties end, and they hand over to the LXXs to take over this really important role! They spent some time reflecting on the past year and they wrote some words of wisdom and advice to hand over to the next group of prefects to help guide them on their prefect journey ahead!
Happy 18th birthday, Pupa M! And happy 16th birthday, Xinxin J! We love celebrating birthdays in School House and what better way to spend it than with your closest friends.
It was a royal affair in School House on Saturday night as all boarders joined together for a coronation supper, prior to taking part in a very silly fancy dress competition and then watching the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It was great fun and a wonderful way to celebrate this exciting event in British history!
After Saturday's coronation festivities with Senior boarders, our Marshall House clan spent Sunday morning at the wake park mastering their wakeboarding skills. It was Kaimook and Rei’s first time, so it was excellent to see their friends encouraging them along… which for Kaimook meant hopping onto the back of Atom’s board!
Back in the house everyone made Mars Bar toasties (a throwback from Mrs Stoker’s time at school) and played ‘Pie Face’, which mostly ended in Ayla getting splatted with cream!
Last week, a group of senior boarders from School House and Rupert Brooke enjoyed a trip to Ramayana water park for the public holiday. Luckily the sun shone all day and great fun was had by all, going on the numerous slides, relaxing in the lazy river, and enjoying time with friends before returning back to School.
In Marshall House, 14 boarders stayed over for the public holiday and avoided the hot weather by hopping on the School bus and going to the cinema instead, to see "Guardians of the Galaxy", which was very much enjoyed by all. After that, it was back to the House for a spot of baking by Nadia, Vivaan, Donut and Charlie, who showed some great teamwork by making the most amazingly gooey and delicious chocolate brownie, which we also all very much enjoyed!
Enrichment
Enrichment
PRE-PREP ART & CRAFT ACTIVITY
In Mr Roger's Art & Craft Activity, we made some very impressive and colourful crowns in celebration of King Charles III's coronation. Everyone was very pleased with the outcomes of their handiwork!
PREP STOP MOTION ACTIVITY
In this week’s Stop Motion activity, students tried their hand at using play dough to create a short animation. Some students immediately went to task to bring their ideas to life whilst some spent a little longer enjoying the delights of manipulating playdough. Although the students are in years 5-8, this activity (like last week’s) is designed to give them opportunities to work on their fine motor skills.
Sport
THAILAND AGE GROUP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
Assumption University recently hosted the 50m Swimming Pool championship from 6th - 11th April 2023. Our RST Swimmers showed remarkable performances!
In the Prep School category, Lilly bagged the first position in 50 Freestyle and secured the second position in 100 Freestyle. Meanwhile, Georgia clinched the top spot in the 50 Butterfly and broke an Otago Territory record in New Zealand. Vincent and Rebecca achieved great heights by finishing within the top 20 swimmers in the 400m freestyle and 11th fastest swimmer in the 200m Butterfly event, respectively. Victoria made a top 20 placement in the 100m Backstroke category.
The RST team finished 25th out of 166 swimming teams and took the third position among the best school swimming teams in the championship! Congratulations to the RST Swimmers on their notable achievements!
Click on the link below if you would like more information:
SATURDAY SPORT
Last weekend saw another busy Saturday of sports activities at RST. We were delighted to host the KOB (boys) and Chonkanyanacoon (girls) U13 Basketball Academies, as well as NIST, Patana, and St. Andrew's schools. Additionally, the campus played host to the Pattaya Inter, Pattaya Academy, Piing Academy, and FC Planet U12 clubs for a football tournament.
The boys’ basketball team emerged victorious in the competition, while the football programme displayed its depth of talent with U12A Girls and U12B Boys’ teams clinching their respective tournament titles. The U12A boys secured 2nd place, and the U12B Girls earned the 3rd place trophy in the A tournament.
RSTeam Spotlight
Get to know a little better our dedicated team of teachers and support staff who make our School great, by learning more about them and their roles.
This week we focus on Janny Chanchira Piazza, Credit Control Officer:
Community Offers & Events
WISDOM SUMMER CAMPS
For parents looking for a camp during the Summer school holidays, we still have basketball and soccer camp options available for your child.
Date:
July 3-12: Day camp
July 16-25: Day and Boarding campAugust 2-11: Day and Boarding camp
Cost:
Day Camp costs 17,000 baht (lunch, dinner, and snacks included);
The boarding camp costs 32,000 baht (accommodation at Rugby School Thailand)Exclusive 10% discount for Early Bird until May 15, 2023
For more information:
- Inbox the team: https://www.facebook.
- Call 099-289-6454
- Email: hellowisdomsports@
- Line: https://lin.ee/lttQQ82
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: