Rugby School Thailand eNewsletter

Matters of Principal

This week Mr Grindlay talks about the importance of spending time together with other people, whether it is with family members or friends.

Whole School Reminders

EXEAT WEEKEND
- Exeat will start on Friday, 29^th April (Pre-Prep: 3.15 pm; Prep: 3.30 pm; Senior: 3.45 pm);
- School resumes on Monday, 2^nd May.

WISDOM FIT
A reminder that the Widom Fit Gym is now open exclusively to RST families. Please find more details of the preferential rates offered, below:

LET'S GET SOCIAL
Follow us on our different social media channels to keep up to date with daily news, events and stories:

Whole School News

THAILAND SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
After a lot of dedicated training over the past two years, six of our elite RST swimmers were invited to participate in the 2022 installment of the Thailand Age Group Swimming Championship last week. Only the best swimmers in Thailand are welcome to participate in this prestigious meet!

A huge congratulations to our amazing swimmers - Andrew, Georgia, Rebecca, Lilly, Jada and Kaopun - who have worked tirelessly to achieve remarkable results. Lilly, Andrew and Georgia all ranked in the top 5 for their age group for various categories, with Georgia as the fastest 14 year-old swimmer for both 50m Backstroke and Freestyle.

THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTRE
We said goodbye to our old beloved wooden zipline that we had for almost 4 years here at the Outdoor Education Centre, but we've replaced her with a bigger and better steel one!

An element of excitement and facing your fears are all part of growing up..! That’s "The Whole Person, The Whole Point"

AN EVENING WITH KHUN NATAPHOL TEEPSUWAN AND MR BRUCE GRINDLAY
This week some of our boarding parents enjoyed an informal evening of drinks and canapés where they learned more about:

our flexible boarding options and the new transport provision we offer to and from Bangkok;
the School owners’ vision and passion for education that focuses on the individual and their needs and interests;
why the British curriculum and examinations are recognised as the ‘gold standard’ of secondary education and are rated so highly by universities and employers globally;
the Principal’s education philosophy and future plans for RST.

If you would like more information on the above points, or would like to book a boarding trial night, please get in touch with our Admissions Team (Admissions@rugbyschool.ac.th) who will be happy to assist you.

Senior News

Announcements & Reminders

MESSAGE FROM THE ACTING HEAD
A full School back in full uniform in a final term of an academic year, preparing for public examinations... How welcome it is to be able to write that sentence and know that we have academic drive, ambition and improving outcomes here for all to see at RST. How welcome for you as parents that we have a fully functioning School and can embrace the rigour of what Term 3 should bring us all.

As Acting Head, I'd like to firstly wish all our students who are taking examinations this term the very best of luck, and repeating the sentiment of my video message at the end of last term, thank every single teacher who has helped improve those outcomes and inspired successes. As always, if you would like to get in touch, please do so through your child's tutor. We have an exciting and busy term ahead. There will be plenty of nerves around, but even more support and care for each other; good luck everyone!

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS
During the course of next week, Senior students will have their official School photographs taken. Please remind your children that they should be dressed in their full School uniform (no PE kits) and that they should contact their tutors if they have any questions or concerns.

D BLOCK STUDY SKILLS BOOTCAMP - 30th APRIL
On Saturday 30^th April, Mr May and Mrs Mason will be holding a session in the Collingwood Sixth Form Centre from 9am to 12pm (with breaks) to improve revision and study skills.

Please click on the letter below for more information, including how to register for the event.

Study Skills Bootcamp

ACTIVITY SPOTLIGHT
Senior activities have resumed this week, with students enjoying sports, music, drama and a whole host of other activities. Students and teachers are getting to grips with the School's new SOCS software, which allows the easy scheduling of activities. Parents are encouraged to ask to see their children's SOCS calendar, which shows all the activities that they are participating in throughout the week.

SATURDAY SPORT
Please see the below schedule for the Saturday sport on offer on 23^rd April

The Whole Me Programme

This term within “The Whole Me Programme” and “The Whole Me Forward Programme” (the Programme’s KS3/4 Careers related pathway) we will move away from our RSE Unit and onto 'Living in the Wider World'.

This theme covers the development of RST students and sessions are influenced by the “Learner Profile Characteristics” and the “Social and Emotional Aspects to Learning” as part of their wider community.

Students will develop their awareness of global issues, different cultures, and how developmental stages can influence personal change.

RST students will look to enhance their understanding of broader topics and gain a practical and useful understanding of these topics covered to develop healthy discussion, make informed and appropriate decisions, and contribute positively to our local and wider community.

Living in the Wider World 'Whole Me' core themes cover topics such as Personal Finance, The International Legal Systems, Social Justice, Medical and Social Ethics, Careers, Critical Thinking, Global Perspectives, Values & Global Education, Personal Safety, First Aid, Diversity, Awareness and what it means to be an RST Learner and Rugby Student (The Whole Person, The Whole Point).

If you consider yourself to have the skills or knowledge as a member of our School community to contribute and be a guest speaker in one of the above sessions, please do get in touch. The "Whole" aim is for this programme to be as collaborative, and community driven as possible.

Learning

ART
Artists in E Block have almost finished their first coursework art piece which was a personal exploration project with the theme of 'Looking Ahead'. They learned how to paint using acrylic with varied techniques, depending on their desires and interests. They are all different and they have accomplished so much in the process. Well done to those students whose work is featured!

SPANISH
In Spanish, our Senior students have been focusing on developing their global mindedness. As part of this they have given presentations on the traditional Spanish "La Semana Santa" celebrations that take place over Easter and they have made model versions of the floats that would be carried during Holy Week in Spain.

DRAMA - E BLOCK
E Block IGCSE Drama students have been developing their roles ahead of their devised performance mock. They worked hard over the Songkran holiday to create some excellent character mood boards, which they then presented to the rest of the class.

DRAMA - F BLOCK
F Block drama students have been developing a design portfolio based on Benjamin Zephaniah's play, “Face”. They have been tasked with creating designs for lighting, set and costume. They have been practicing hard before deciding on their final designs and here is a small sample of some of their initial drafts.

WORDLE
To get their brains going, Town House boys have been starting the day with 2022's most popular word game courtesy of The New York Times: Wordle.

Can you guess the Wordle in six tries or less?

Prep News

Announcements & Reminderss

INTERNATIONAL DAY
This year, International Day will take place on 3rd May.

Students are encouraged to arrive at School wearing something that reflects their home culture and country. The day will be packed with exciting activities and performances for the children. Parents are invited to join us from 4pm onwards.

More information on the day, and how you can get involved, is available in the letter below:

International Day

ACTIVITIES
If your child would like to change their activity, please do so before Sunday by emailing Mr Rowe (crowe@rugbyschool.ac.th).

We regret that we are unable to make changes if we are informed after Sunday.

Dates for your Diary

SATURDAY SPORT (08:00 – 09:30)
23^rd April: Y3-6 can join our Multi-Sports Tournament from 08:00-09:30. Please email Mrs Buck if you would like to attend sbuck@rugbyschool.ac.th

SATURDAY ENRICHMENT PROGRAMME (09:45 - 12:00)

Y3-4 Coding & Messy Art;
Y5-6 Fusion Cooking;
Y5-7 Fun Cricket.

SCHOOL PHOTOS
Individual and class photos will take place on the dates below.

Students should wear their Dark Blue PE kit.

27^th April: Y4, Y5 and 6D School Photos - both individual and Form Class;
28^th April: 6L, 6S, Y7 & 8E School Photos - both individual and Form Class;
29^th April: Y8 & Y3 School Photos - both individual and Form Class.

SHREK PERFORMANCE TO PARENTS
25^th May: 11am – 12:45pm;
26^th May: 16:00 – 17:45pm.

Year 3 English

This term in Year 3 English students are reading the story “Esio Trot” by Roald Dahl. One of the characters in the book, Mrs Silver, has a small pet tortoise, Alfie, who is the centre of her world.

To help us learn more about tortoises, we visited Ruby in Pre-prep. She enjoyed posing for us whilst we sketched her, and we also made some notes about what we could see.

Maths & English Leadership Session

After a Term of developing their Leadership skills and planning their sessions, the Year 8 Maths and English Leadership group finally delivered their first "live" session to Year 3 during their Prep yesterday, despite the power going off one minute before the start of their session!

They had to think on their feet, showing great versatility, resilience and thinking skills to modify their plans to accommodate the new situation. The Year 3s responded very positively indeed, being engaged and extremely enthusiastic with the activities.

The Year 8 leaders were absolutely fantastic, and a credit to their year group and the School in the way they conducted themselves.

Student Tech Team

After a gruelling application and interview round in front of a panel of RST's Computing Committee members, RST's 1^st“Student Tech Team” has been formed.

Amara (8K), Austin (8E), Ha Ha (6D), Jason (7A), Jonty (6L), Nathawee (6S), Ray (6L), Rio (8E), Sergey (6S), and Yuko (6L) will receive training in a range of different areas, after which they will be able to introduce new students to RST's technology policies, support students with tutorial videos, build their own computers, provide support at School events with lighting, sound and photography, and much more.

Here the Tech Team are being briefed by the Principal, Director of I.T. and Head of Computing.

Eco Team

The Prep School Eco Team is a student-led initiative that encourages the reuse of recyclable materials. They are opening a Recycling Resource Room (RRR) where Prep teachers will have access to cardboard boxes, reusable paper, plastic/glass cartons & containers, bottle caps and tin cans. If you would like to drop off any recyclable materials, please look for the ‘Drop Off Zone’ sign below, inside Miss Sharon White’s English Classroom:

Also keep an eye out for the Eco Team website, which will be launched soon!

Year 7 English

Blood, plants, fur, fruit and shoe polish were sniffed and poked in this Year 7 exploration lesson, where students used sensory props to figure out details of their new English unit!

Announcements & Reminders

TEDDY BEARS' PICNIC AND BOOK FAIR - 29^th April
The Pre-Prep (Pre-Nursery to Year 2) students are having a Teddy Bears’ Picnic Day on Friday, 29^th April. We would like all students (and teachers) to wear pyjamas or a teddy bear outfit (with shoes!) to School and to bring a favourite teddy bear.

Please find more information in the letter below:

Teddy Bears' Picnic

We are also promoting a love of reading on this day as there are many bear stories to read! We will have a book fair at the entrance to School from 2:30-3:30pm.

Please do come and look through the selection of books on offer.

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

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

Happy creating!

INTERNATIONAL DAY
On 3^rd May we will be celebrating 'International Day'. It will be a day of celebration, and students may dress in outfits that reflect their home culture and country.

More information will be sent out next week.

Dates for Your Diary

26^th April (08:30am – 09:00am): Nursery Reading Workshop

All Nursery parents are invited to learn more about the reading packs we send home, and how we read with your child.

29^th April: Teddy Bears’ Picnic and Book Sale

Pre-Prep Rabbits

This week was our first day of School for the new Pre-Nursery Rabbit Class. We have been singing songs and listening to stories about bears as we began our week by 'Going on a Bear Hunt'. Our Rabbits have also had fun playing with water, sand and exploring the playground. Everyone has settled in well and enjoyed meeting their new friends. Well done Rabbits!

Year 2 Intensive English

This week the Year 2 Intensive English class learnt about the “oo” and “ar” sounds. Our favourite game was playing snakes and ladders using our new words. We also built and wrote down sentences.

Year 2 Cheetahs

We had a busy week in the Cheetah's class this week:

we welcomed Amy, Paul and Phoenix to the Cheetah class this week - they are great addition to our team and we look forward to getting to know them more.
we found Stickman in our class on Monday morning with no arms or legs! We had to go on a treasure hunt to put him back together again. We completed our challenge like true Team work Tigers!
in Maths we have been very practical and learnt to measure liquid using mls.

Mandarin

In Mandarin this week, students have been learning to write the characters 1 - 10.

Boarding Life

Marshall House has welcomed several new boarders this term! It's been great to have Pin, Tian Tian, Tia, ChaCha, Mifa, Pae, Singha and Jennifer joining us. Their introduction to our evening activity programme was an energetic game of 'Saharan Longball', which was Mr Gore's special Songkran edition of the traditional longball game. Lots of water and lots of fun!
Mia & Charlie also shared birthday celebrations in the house this week, which meant plenty of enthusiastic singing and cake consumption!