Term 3 - 19 May
Matters of Principal
Whole School News
Announcements
CEO POSITION AT RUGBY SCHOOL THAILAND
Please find a letter from Khun Kamolaphat Teepsuwan regarding the CEO position at Rugby School Thailand, by clicking on the link below:
SE@RST
We are delighted to announce that, from August, we are launching "Saturday English @ RST", a subject-based approach to teaching English for beginners aged 10 - 12 who wish to improve their English as they prepare to join an international school.
This is a course designed around subject-based learning, and each subject unit is designed to pre-teach vocabulary and concepts that are needed within the British curriculum. Units follow the inquiry process of each discipline and culminate in a project completed by the students.
This two-term course is only for children not yet studying at Rugby School Thailand so that they can improve their English to the necessary level. Please see the flyer attached if you are interested and do pass it on to anyone you may know whose children would benefit from this course delivered by our own, highly qualified EAL staff.
EXCITING TIMES FOR RST BOARDING!
In addition to making Saturday Enrichment completely free for all boarders (part, weekly and full) and the introduction of our new Sunday boarding trips and events programme, we would like to let you know of some exciting staffing developments too...
Marshall House
In last week's Rugby Post we let you know that Mr and Mrs Stoker will be taking over as Houseparents from August in Marshall (Year 6-8 from August onwards). We are also delighted to tell you that Mr and Mrs Dunn will remain in Marshall until Christmas as Assistant Houseparents. Their experience in running our younger years boarding house will be a huge support and allow a really smooth transition for everyone involved.
Rupert Brooke
Ms Windsor has built a wonderful boarding house; Rupert Brooke is a nurturing community for girls with so many different talents. They find space, friends, support and are guided to grow with independence towards their life beyond School. Mrs Windsor is Head of Psychology at RST and will also be our School Safeguarding Coordinator. Her husband Mr Mills is Head of Examined PE. They have two lovely children, Jayden, Ava and a dog called Sebastian.
Rupert Brooke also has a new resident, the inimitable Ms Boeve who will move in with her spouse Ms de Villiers and their two dogs Olav and Song to replace Mrs Coetzer as Assistant Houseparent. Ms Boeve is really excited about her new role in the house and can't wait to start in August.
School House
School House says goodbye to Miss Passmore and Mr Lindop who are heading to Rugby School in England... and says hello, again, to Mr Ennis-Billing who will be in charge from Term 1 onwards. Mr Ennis-Billing is the Director of Boarding. He lives in School House with his wife, Head of History Ms Ennis-Billing, four children, Arthur, Opal, Rollo, Wolf and plenty of house pets too. The Ennis-Billings know the boys of School House well and are keen to keep building the family ethos that has always been at the heart of this thriving community.
Mr Ennis-Billing is joined in School House by a new Assistant Houseparent, Mr Groucott. The ever-popular Head of EAL was a boarder himself and has previously worked as a boarding Assistant in another school in East Asia. He is well-known to the boys and will bring bags of energy, fun and football when he moves in. The boys are looking forward to his arrival.
We are sure you will be interested in boarding for your child, so please contact the Director of Boarding Mr Ennis-Billing, dennisbilling@
Reminders
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
RST COMMUNITY CHOIR
We had an excellent rehearsal yesterday evening for the newly-formed RST Community Choir. The staff welcomed four parents from our community which really added to the group and the enjoyment.
Please do come and join us next Thursday, 25th May at 18:15 in the Pre-Prep Hall. If you would like to come along, please can you email Khun Usa, the Principal's PA, usa@rugbyschool.ac.th?
Senior News
Announcements & Reminders
PARENTS OF XX STUDENTS
On Friday, 16th June, the Rugbeian Society (the alumni network for all schools in the Rugby School Group), will be launched at RST. All students in the XX are invited to join and attend the event, which will be followed by a dinner in the Senior Dining Hall. Please sign up using THIS LINK.
SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY, 17th JUNE – SPEECH DAY
All Senior students are required to attend Speech Day in full uniform at 10am. All Senior parents are invited to attend. Please join us for this great event! Please confirm your attendance using THIS LINK.
SIXTH FORM STUDENTS
Please sign up for the Rugby Ball on 29th June, at THIS LINK.
Dates for your Diary
28th APRIL – 27th JUNE: IAL and IGCSE Exam Window continues
27th MAY: Saturday enrichment
Learning
ART
In between study leave and examinations, LXX have been treated to a guest speaker in Art this week. Local glass artist and designer Mr Stephen Gormley visited to see them working in the art studio and spoke to them about how he creates his monumental sculptures.
Being a pioneer in developing and applying new techniques for glass artworks and glass sculpture, he helped our students to understand some of the qualities required to be successful in the field of the arts. He brought along some samples of his moulded and laminated glassware and we saw photos and videos of his work in situ which demonstrated how colour and light are refracted in his pieces. LXX are very much looking forward to the opportunity to work with him on a personal design piece over the coming weeks.
DRAMA
F Block completed their preparation for their design concept for the play 'Face' by Benjamin Zephaniah by learning all about stage lighting. Through practical demonstrations using our state-of-the-art Black Box facilities, students developed their understanding of how lighting can be used to create mood and atmosphere.
They have also been rehearsing hard in preparation for their drama exam next week; we wish them the best of luck.
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Last week, the F block students in Computer Science started their Physical Computing topic with Mrs Hammerton using the Raspberry Pi Picoboards, which are small microcontrollers that can be used to program sensors, motors and other input and output devices.
This week the students created a flashing beating heart. The students used their programming knowledge in MicroPython to program LEDs and potentiometers. Their origami hearts could slow down to a pulse of 40bpm or speed up to 180bpm with the use of the potentiometer.
Well done F block. Great use of some circuitry and programming to bring projects together.
Prep News
Announcements & Reminders
YEAR 3 TRANSITION PRESENTATION
It was wonderful to see lots of our Year 3 parents on Wednesday and to share with them information for the next academic year. If you were unable to attend the Transition Presentation, you can view the slides here. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us. We are keen to keep you all informed.
TEACHERS FOR 2023-2024
At the end of the year, we will bid farewell to some valued members of staff. Mr Lindop, Mr Mann, Mr Ross and Miss Gu. We extend our best wishes to them.
We are thrilled to introduce our new staff members:
- Mr Wouter van der Walt - Teacher of Humanities - Bachelor, Honours & Master degrees from Rhodes University, PGCE from North West University.
- Mrs Hannah Pool - Year 4 - BA (hons) from Cardiff University and a PGCE from UCL.
- Mr Philip Cain - Head of Music - BTeach (Teaching) & BMusic (Piano) from The University of Melbourne.
We will also welcome Rhiannon Mansfield and Evelyn Buckley as our new Rugby UK Gap Students and Emily Hutchinson as our new TA - all from the UK.
Although farewells are bittersweet, we embrace the enthusiasm and expertise of our new teachers. As always, we remain committed to maintaining a team of highly qualified and experienced educators who are dedicated to providing the best learning opportunities for our students.
Mr Wouter van der Walt
Mrs Hannah Pool
Miss Rhiannon Mansfield
Miss Evelyn Buckley
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 next one will be on Tuesday, 23rd May 17:00 – 17:30 for our Year 4 parents with students moving into Year 5 in August 2023.
SAVE THE DATE: 30th JUNE
* 10:30 – 12:00: Prep Speech Day & House Music Final
all Prep parents invited
* 12:00 – 13:30: Year 8 Leavers' Lunch
Year 8 Students, Parents and Siblings
PREP LIBRARY OPEN AFTERNOON FOR PARENTS
The Prep Library and RST Parents' Association warmly invite you to our next Prep Library Open Afternoon session.
This is an opportunity for parents to visit our Prep Library and borrow up to two texts for their children.
- When: Friday, 26th May
- Time: Drop in from 14:30 to 15:30 (the hour before Prep Friday Finish pick-up time)
- Where: Prep Library, 2nd floor, C2229
- Topics: All Reading Counts
- RSVP: Please complete this form to express interest in attending
BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE (BYOD) UPDATE
Thank you to those parents who made it to our BYOD Question & Answer sessions. If you were unable to attend, please find the resources below:
- Presentation slides (the what, why and how of BYOD)
- Digital Learning website (single place to cover tech use and BYOD updates)
- Digital Wellbeing webpage (advice and guidance for device management at home including parental controls)
You can find a frequently asked questions page on the Digital Learning website however, below are some highlights:
- Will my child's screen time increase?
No, screen time expectations will not change as no extra usage is being asked in School. It's also worth noting that screen purpose is far more significant than screen time as per our 1st Let's Stop Calling it Screen Time workshop - My child will be able to access social media or games during class time?
Your child's device will continue to go through the same network access as current School devices where access to inappropriate content is restricted and we are alerted to misconduct - Why is BYOD happening from Year 7?
Statistically, this is the most common year for BYOD programmes to start due to most students having access to their own device, it being a crucial year in their digital curiosity and to allow sufficient good habits to be embedded in readiness for Senior. More information on the 'why' can be found on the Digital Learning website's BYOD page
Please direct any further concerns or questions not covered in our FAQ to Mr Burkhill.
Dates for your Diary
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
22nd – 26th MAY: U11 FOBISIA Games
22nd MAY: 18:15-19:45: U10 & U12 Boys Basketball Session @WEC
23rd MAY:
17:00-17:30: Year 4 to Year 5 Transition Presentation in the Veraphan Theatre
18:15-19:45: U14 Boys Basketball Session @WEC
24th MAY: 18:15-19:45: U10 & U12 Girls Basketball Session
25th MAY:
Y7 & Y8 Debate @STA
17:00-17:45: Music Recital in the Veraphan Theatre. All are welcome
18:15-19:45: U14 Girls Basketball Session @WEC
26th MAY: 14:20-15:25: Open Library Session for Parents
27th MAY:
U14 Boys & Girls RST Football
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
27th – 28th MAY: Summer Sizzler Swim Meet for U8-U19 @Bangkok Patana
Year 3
When asked why they thought they were asked to do this task, Year 3 students correctly identified many key skills. They recognised the value of working collaboratively to learn from each other, using evidence from a text to justify opinions, expressing their ideas sensitively (including how to disagree!), learning new vocabulary and so much more. We’re all so proud of how our children rise to meet new challenges - resilience and versatility in action!
Year 4
Year 4 have continued to work hard on their setting descriptions. We are in the final stages of planning our Sci-Fi setting. In their plan, they have managed to include sensory descriptions, powerful adjectives, similes and emotions. They are looking forward to putting this all together in our final piece of writing for this topic.
Year 4 Science
Year 4 science students have been learning about the different states of matter. We learned that ‘Oobleck’ is a non-Newtonian fluid, it acts like a liquid when being poured, but like a solid when a force is acting on it. We also had lots of messy fun!
Year 7 English
Year 7 have been applying their understanding of the Learner Profile to analyse and compare characters from our film stimulus ‘Princess Mononoke’. They have created their own version of Top Trumps discussing and scoring the characters against key Learner Profile characteristics. This has allowed them to communicate, collaborate and use their critical thinking skills to analyse the film in more depth.
Mandarin
The Year 4 native class is learning the Chinese idiom story "坐井观天" (Zuò jǐng guān tiān). They are collecting exciting and ambitious words from the text, including character traits, settings, and movements.
Y5 language A students love writing Chinese characters online:
Year 5 Language B students are learning about classroom items and positions. They designed their own classroom and will soon present their creations to the class:
The Year 6 students in the Mandarin Language B class are currently studying "My House Items." As part of their curriculum, they are collaboratively creating a story about a boy named Mingming and describing his home.
Art House Competition
Over the last two weeks, students in Prep have been dreaming up their weirdest imaginings for the Surreal Digital Art House Competition. All the way from Year 3 to Year 8, we have been creating and combining images using the ProCreate app on our iPads, learning lots of new skills along the way.
Before the winning designs are revealed and the House results are announced, here is a preview of some of the submissions so far. Parents are warmly welcomed to view the other entries at the end-of-year Art Exhibition on Wednesday, 28th June.
Pre-Prep News
Announcements and Reminders
BIG TALK
Pre-Prep parents were invited to the latest Big Talk about ‘Stress-Free Bedtimes’, earlier this week. Miss Kathy talked through the 'Top Ten Tips' offering practical and simple solutions to common bedtime problems. For those of you unable to attend the slide show is shared below with links to websites discussed in the talk.
SANDPIT
The Key Stage One playground sand pit has been open for a few weeks now and the children have been enjoying somewhere new to play. This is allowing for a quiet play area but also for creativity and teamwork. In the pictures, we have a volcano with some dinosaur eggs but we have also had holes (digging for treasure), road maps and other creative missions taking place.
Dates for Your Diary
23rd – 26th MAY: A year 2 class each day will visit the Hand to Hand Foundation for a morning
23rd MAY: EYFS Coffee Morning in the Hall (8:30 – 9:00am)
24th MAY: Native Readers session – 2:50pm
29th MAY: RSTPA reps to meet SMT (8:30 – 9:00)
30th MAY: Year 1 Show "Amazing Asian Animals" 2:30pm in the Assembly Hall
31st MAY: Come and See Morning (8:00 – 9:00am) parents are invited to come to the classrooms to look at their children's work
Nursery Parrots
In Nursery this term, we are learning about traditional tales and storytelling. So far we have enjoyed learning and retelling the stories of The Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We are getting really good at remembering the repetitive words in the stories and we love to pretend to be the different characters and act out the story.
Reception Bikes to School
Reception have waited with great anticipation for this week so that they can bring their bikes to School. It was definitely worth the wait and we've had such a lot of fun! We've enjoyed cycling and scooting around the track at School, ensuring that we remember how to keep ourselves and our friends safe.
Reception PE
In PE this week, Reception classes have learned about different jumping and landing methods, and how to do them in a safe way. We also looked at the different stunts and balances we can do with our bodies.
Students really enjoyed the topic, and the lessons were filled with laughter and enjoyment.
Year 1s Visit to the OEC
Year 1 went to the Outdoor Education Centre (OEC) this week. They had to use their maps to find their way to camp down the dirt track. At camp, they were Exploring Eagles whilst learning how to use a compass, bird watching, finding a half with nature, using charcoal to create some observational drawings and climbing on the adventure playground.
They also found a bird nest with three eggs, nested in the ground!
MAD Juniors
The MAD juniors had a fantastic week!
They had their first bake sale and School cleanup! Thank you to everyone who donated baked goods for the bake sale, and to those who bought some of our yummy treats! We made over 18 000 THB for Hand 2 Hand and we feel very proud!
This week we also did our first School clean up, and we made sure all the rubbish was picked up along the fields!
Bake Sale
School Clean Up
Makaton Signing
This week we have been learning the signs for:
'Girl', 'boy', 'children'.
Thank you to the Fox class for their help in making the video.
Happy signing!
Useful Links
Boarding Life
How well do or Marshall House boarders know the Prep teachers? In this week’s activity, their knowledge was put to the test with a surprise ‘Teachers’ Trivia’! Questions included ‘True or False: Mrs Howell was in the army.’ And ‘True or False: Mr Gore jumped out of a plane when he was 16 years old.’ (Do YOU think you know the answers?)
Giggles and gasps were a testament to the fun they had discovering little-known facts about their teachers!
Enrichment
Enrichment
PREP STOP MOTION ACTIVITY
In this week’s session, students had the freedom to choose the materials they wanted in order to create a simple animation. The room was a hive of activity and creative ideas filled the air – a beautiful sight to witness! This will be the last exploratory session before students embark on their big projects!
PREP DANCE OUT LOUD ACTIVITY
Our Year 3 students prove they’ve got the moves with a BTS-inspired dance showdown to ‘Permission to Dance’ while our DOL Year 5s were away on their residential trip!
PREP ADVENTURE EXPLORE SURVIVE
Our new Adventure Explore Survive (AES) students have had an exciting start to the term, completing a range of exciting outdoor activities and earning their first badges.
The students worked hard each week learning and acquiring new core bushcraft skills to earn their AES badges. The students have learned how to work together in small teams to build a range of shelters and tents, learned how to light a campfire without matches, learned basic compass, went fishing and an AES favourite, camp cooking!
The students are working towards their Mini Adventure at the end of term where they can put their new skills to the test in the Khao Mai Keao jungle.
PREP BAKING CLUB
This week in Baking Club, our Year 7 and 8 students baked some delicious Vintage Chocolate Chip Cookies. The students are working incredibly well together and producing some wonderful baked goods.
PREP COOKING CLUB
In this week's cooking activity, students learned about wontons. They chopped vegetables and marinated minced pork before folding wontons in a variety of decorative patterns. Everyone had a lot of fun and showed great teamwork in organising their materials, taking turns and improving their kitchen skills. They took these home with a garlic soy dipping sauce to boil and enjoy.
Sport
FOOTBALL
The Year 2 boys' football team showed great sportsmanship and a fantastic Teamwork Tiger ethic this week as they won 14-4 against a local Thai academy. It was the first win for the boys and we are all really proud of them!
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 Ked Karaked Klinthai, Purchasing 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 camp
August 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:
