REGENTS NEWSLETTER

EDITION 1 TERm 2 2013/2014

SECONDARY

CALENDAR DATES

01.02.14 GLobAL CLASSRoom ExpEDiTioN To TANzANiA DEpARTS

01.02.14 - 02.02.14 REGENTS SENioR GAmES

10.02.14 LANGuAGES WEEk bEGiNS

12.01.14 ib iNfoRmATioN EvENiNG foR YEAR 9, 10 & 11 pARENTS

13.02.14 vALENTiNES DiSCo

14.02.14 iNTERNATioNAL DAY

14.02.14 SChooL CLoSES foR hALf TERm

15.02.14 bAAN mEALiD TRip LEAvES foR ChAiNG mAi

16.02.14 Ski TRip LEAvES foR muju, koREA

24.02.14 SChooL opENS

24.02.14 YEAR 9 ouTDooR EDuCATioN WEEk 1

26.02.14 YEAR 11 & YEAR 13 pARENTS EvENiNG

moCk ExAmiNATioN WEEk

REGENTS bALL - A NEW SToRY

fLiGhT of ThE GibboNS

SuRfiNG iN bALi, iNDoNESiA

THIS WEEk IN THE SECONDARY NEWSLETTER

The beginning of Term 2 in the Secondary School has confirmed what many teachers and senior leaders agree upon about Regents: that it is the busiest school in which they have ever worked. This is a very positive reflection of the myriad of opportunities which are provided for students and staff, many of which you can read about in the first newsletter of the term.

In 3 short weeks of Term 2, we have seen the very important Mock Examinations Week take place for Year 11s and Year 13s. Both staff and students agree that this is a significant step to ensuring students know where they are at in terms of their academic studies, and that they know exactly what to do in order to reach their maximum potential – to be the best they can be. This process of ensuring progression is possible because of a strong partnership between students, teachers and parents. One particularly exciting development in the role played by parents in educational provision at the school is the introduction, for the first time ever in Regents’ history, of Parent Invigilators for the IGCSE and IB examinations. This is a partnership which is set to grow over time and as a school, we are very thankful for their time, energy and motivation to assist students in their examination experiences.

At the same time as the Mock Examinations were taking place, all other Secondary School students and staff embarked upon an action-packed week of Round Square activities, ranging from ‘Diving with Sharks’, to ‘Learning to cook in order to survive university!’ As a Round Square School, Round Square Week provides the opportunity for students and staff to explore the Round Square IDEALS – Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure,

Leadership and Service. These IDEALS are interwoven in the ethos of the school, providing students with access to an outstanding holistic education. Furthermore, this Round Square ethos ties in with Nord Anglia Education’s educational values, attitudes and attributes, especially in terms of developing ‘Concern for Society’ in every student, as well as enabling students to be risk-takers, allowing students to be open-minded, creative and enterprising, confident, collaborative, inquiring and above all, learning to persevere in all aspects of their educational experience at the Regents International School, Pattaya.

It is not just the students who have been busy discovering their potential since the beginning of term. Teachers in

the Secondary School have continued to collaborate together, starting on the first day of term in the staff INSET sessions, in order to identify and create a common vision of outstanding teaching and learning. All teachers have enthusiastically committed themselves to ‘Learn from Others’ through a peer observation schedule, which will run over the course of Term 2. In addition, all Secondary Staff are working in Focus Groups during the term, ‘Learning with Others’ about key issues for development across the Secondary School, such as the student daily planner, the

timings of the day, the structure of assessment within the school, to name but a few of the Focus Group themes. The findings of the Focus Group discussions will be used to inform the Secondary School Development Plan for future academic years.

All of these activities, combined with a freshly painted Secondary School and many new students joining the school, makes working in the busiest of schools an absolute privilege and a pleasure.

WELCOmE mESSAgE

SARAh TRAviS-muLfoRD, ASSiSTANT hEAD of SECoNDARY

By Caroline Draper, examinations offiCer

moCk ExAmiNATioNS WEEk 2014 foR iCGSE AND ib DipLomA STuDENTS

Mock Examinations Week for IGCSE and IB Diploma students ran from January 9th to January 20th, giving all students the experience of the intensity of the final examinations with up to three lengthy examinations per day.

For our Year 11 and Year 13 students, this mock examination experience provided the opportunity to test their understanding of the entire IGCSE and IB Diploma courses, which took revision for our student candidates back to the beginning of Year 10 and Year 12. Whilst having subject knowledge tested under strict IGCSE and IB Diploma examination conditions, students were also familiarised with the exam process and paperwork, which will give them one less thing to think about in the real examinations. It is now time management and good preparation which are at the forefronts of our Y11 and Y13 examination candidates’ minds.

For the teachers of our examination classes, these mock examinations highlight gaps or weaknesses in subject-knowledge at individual and at class level which future revision lessons will now focus on. The examination results also provide the basis for addressing examination techniques specific to each individual subject which can help students to avoid losing unnecessary marks in the

many ways that the losing of marks happens: through not showing how an answer was worked out, through not developing supporting evidence to give strength to a good idea or through providing excellent information which did not actually answer the examination question.

For the first time at the Regents, our invigilation team has revolved around our parent-invigilators, Mrs Cao Thi Binh

, Mrs JinHee Ahn and Mrs Subarna Banerjee, who, after receiving training in Term 1, smoothly performed their invigilator role for the IGCSE and IB Diploma examination rooms. It is with thanks to these accomplished, reliable, skilled parent-invigilators that our students experienced a real examination scenario, seeing how the invigilators monitored and checked procedures both with the examination materials and with the students’ conduct, and also seeing how the invigilators supported the students to make the whole examination experience calm and stress-free for them.

“It was my first experience of joining in the official team of

THE STuDENTS WERE ExCELLENT!school invigilators in a British school and I am honored to be part of the Regents support system. The students were excellent and I would urge them to keep trying. I’m sure that you will reach the heights.” Mrs Banerjee

“I love children and I love school. I was happy to join with the school team to help the level of education here. It was so joyful to work together with the team of teachers.” Mrs Cao Thi Binh

“It was a very big motivation and a challenge to learn about the examinations in the secondary school. How enjoyable!” Mrs Jinhee Ahn.

Our invigilators’ advice to IGCSE and IB Diploma candidates encourages them all to take the challenge to improve on the mock performance. The remaining three months before the real examinations gives ample time

to really analyse mistakes and focus study on the course areas that were exposed as a weakness. We also encourage students to take pride in the areas in which marks were high to make sure these strengths are maintained through regular revision. Everyone, of course, has their own revision techniques; although all should know by now that the only music proven to aid the brain in studying is music without lyrics… we recommend active revision, working through past papers with notes and textbooks, trying to construct the perfect answers to real exam questions. IGCSE and IB Diploma students need to practice time and time again using their knowledge to solve the types of complex problems that are in the examination papers, to get used to applying subject understanding in new ways whilst becoming increasingly familiar with the question styles and layout of the papers.

By Carolyn neylon, BioloGy teaCHer anD HeaD of year 11

REGENTS’ CAREERS fAiR

Regents held its first Careers Fair recently with the aim of helping our Year 11 and 12 students to think more about their futures and the kind of careers that are open to them.

We were delighted to have the support of many parents and local business people, who gave up their time to come in and talk to our students about their careers paths. Together with some Regents staff with careers in other fields before they moved into education, they helped inspire the students to think about their long term plans.

With twenty five guest speakers in attendance, students were able to find out about careers in areas as diverse as TV and media, hotel management, IT programming, engineering, medicine and working for the UN. The guests

encouraged the students to think seriously about the skills they are developing and their personal qualities as well as what they will need to consider in terms of education after they leave school.

It was an extremely enjoyable and informative morning for all, with many of the guests commenting on the positive attitude of the students. Mr. Harrow, speaking to students about how they can use their language skills to enhance job prospects, commented on how impressed he was with the insightfulness of the students’ questions.

The students certainly gained a lot from the experience and we are already looking forward to next years’ event!

“ThEY hELpED iNSpiRE ThE STuDENTS To ThiNk AbouT ThEiR LoNG TERm pLANS”

By saraH travis-mulforD, assistant HeaD of seConDary

foCuS GRoupS AND SECoNDARY SChooL DEvELopmENT pLANNiNG: ‘LEARNiNG WiTh oThERS’

All Secondary Staff have enthusiastically committed to explore key issues for development across the Secondary School, including the structure of the student diary, the nature of assessment across the school and the timings of the school day, to name a few. Feedback from the Focus Groups will be presented to all Secondary staff during a staff meeting in April.

Focus Group meetings have been scheduled to take place regularly during Term 2, as part of the commitment by the Secondary Management Team to enable all staff to be fully involved in the identification and creation of a common vision of outstanding teaching and learning at the Regents International Secondary School. The Focus Groups are also an inclusive approach

to Secondary School Development Planning, ensuring that as a staff body we continue ‘Learning with Others’,

with the experience and voice of all staff being equally valued. In the words of one staff member, after the second Focus Group meeting which took place this week:

‘The Secondary School is a place where positive change is happening. It is exciting to be part of the process of school development at the school. As a leader of one of the Focus Groups, it is also a valuable means of gaining professional development.’

By teresa loaDer, iCt teaCHer

ThE houR of CoDE

During the last week of the school term in December (9th – 15th), the ICT department joined millions of other students from all over the world and participated in an activity called The Hour of Code, which ran as part of Computer Science Education Week.

Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an annual program dedicated to inspiring all students to take an interest in computer science and was held in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906).

The Hour of Code was a one-hour introduction to computer programming, designed to demystify code and show students that anyone can learn. Regents International School Pattaya integrated this into every ICT lesson during the week. Students worked on different software applications ranging from Scratch, Lightbot and Python to name just a few.

There was a positive challenging atmosphere in all of the classrooms and all students were rewarded with a certificate of completion as well as a new level of interest being generated that the ICT team can embrace and encourage.

Stephen Hawking - “Whether you want to uncover the secrets of the universe, or you just want to pursue a career in the 21st century, basic computer programming is an essential skill to learn.”

Bill Gates – “Learning to write programs stretches your mind, and helps you think better, creates a way of thinking about things that I think is helpful in all domains”

By Jenny Ball, sCienCe teaCHer anD HeaD of year 8

ThE CiRCuLAToRY SYSTEm: bLooD & ThE hEART

Year 10 are studying the circulatory system as part of their IGCSE Biology course. Students refined their microscope skills by making observations of pre-prepared slides of human blood. They also researched the 6 components of blood and created a model of blood using dyed yellow water, plasticine, glitter and kidney beans.

Following this, students found out how amazing the heart is. How heart (cardiac) muscle doesn’t get tired. That on average, the heart beats 72 times a minute; 100,000 times a day; 3,600,000 times a year; and 2.5 billion times during

a lifetime. Students were then given a dissection kit and a heart to carefully dissect in small groups. Every student got hands-on experience of a real heart and had a great attitude throughout the lesson. We may have a few potential surgeons amongst our class… Well done, Year 10!

By anDrew martinDale, sports CoaCH

iNTERNATioNAL SChooLS RuGbY SEvENS fESTivAL

On Saturday 11th January the Regents International School, Pattaya U18 Rugby Squad travelled to Bangkok to represent our school in the International Schools Rugby Sevens Festival hosted by Lycee Francais International, Bangkok. The squad, who train on a weekly basis throughout the school year, find games hard to come by due to the lack of suitable opposition on the Eastern Seaboard, so it was somewhat surprising to witness how well they fared against the cream of Bangkok’s rugby playing schools.

Opening fixtures against LFIB and Bangkok Lions were always going to be tough asks but the boys played some remarkable rugby under pressure to hold both teams, until the dying seconds of each game. At one try apiece in their opener against eventual champions LFIB, the match could have swung either way, but it was the French boys who broke through a courageous Regents’ defence to score with the last play of the game from a quickly taken tap penalty.

It was a similar story in the Regents’ second game, when at two tries apiece, and with only a conversion giving their opponents the slimmest of advantages, the Bangkok Lions’ playmaker seized on a moment of indecision to score as the referee blew for time.

With two losses, from two games which lesser teams would have folded under, it was clear from the effort,

commitment, camaraderie and skill of the Regents players that the team was firmly intact and during the opening exchanges of the Plate Final against the American School, Bangkok, it was clear that there would only be one winner… The Regents squad produced the strongest of displays, combining intelligence, determination and powerful, free-flowing rugby to run in five unanswered tries in a one-sided game. It was nothing less than the Regents team deserved – a fantastic win against seasoned opponents in their last match of the day!

Congratulations to the Regents U18 Sevens Squad:

· Bobby Frefel (Captain) - Year 11

· DJ Moore - Year 11

· Scott Hansen - Year 11

· Roma Zaytsef - Year 11

· Garrett Sterling - Year 11

· Hayk Ter-Tatyatshan - Year 11

· Grayson McLeod – Year 12

· Noe Alwarz - Year 12

· Tom Duncan – Year 12

· Sage Sharif – Year 13

TRY!

REGENTS bALL - A NEW SToRYYear 8 students, facilitating debate about the importance of rules, in sport and society.

Regents Ball is enabling students to complete many aspects of their Global Citizenship Award, whilst also allowing the students to explore innovative ways in which to facilitate change to the game of Regents Ball.

Red House students learning to work together and become an effective team.

Fun, disbelief and excitement with Miss Ball.

roBert ruDlinG – teaCHer of pHysiCal eDuCation

What is Regents Ball?

“Regents Ball is awesome fun, it lets us make important decisions”

“Exciting and Fun”

“Public Speaking through Sport”

“Team game for everyone, anyone can be important in Regents Ball”

During our Enrichment sessions this year, Miss Ball has accompanied Mr. Rudling, Mr. Merriott and Mr. Williams in the fun and frantic topic of Regents Ball. Regents Ball is a game that has been developed by the students for the students. They have complete ownership of the rules, the scoring and the refereeing of the games. The students will have the opportunity to participate in public speaking

debates, question and answer sessions as well as smaller group discussions through the playing of the game.

What have the students learnt so far?

• ImportanceofRules

• Theneedtofollowrules

• Thevalueofdiscussion

• Qualitiesofagoodleader

• Qualitiesofagoodteamplayer

• Importanceofstatisticsinlife

• Theneedforahealthyactivelifestyle

• Thevalueofsuperstarsvs.teamwork

• TheneedforTactics

Roma, Year 9 - Practicing his public speaking skills and raising his personal confidence level.

Mr Merriott aiding students with their personal reflection and target setting for the weeks ahead.

Q:Welcome back Eline! So tell us what you have been up to lately?

A: Eline: In September, I started my Master of Science in Limnology & Oceanography at the University of Amsterdam after having travelled and worked for a year. I learnt a lot about my desires for the future during that time and realized that I had been suffering from tunnel vision. In short, I wanted to get a Master’s degree in L&O so that I could focus on tropical marine biology and continue my efforts in marine conservation. However, I realized that I don’t need a master’s degree to do that, so now I’m focusing on networking and gaining applied skills to get a job in the Netherlands, because I’d rather live and work there for now. I recently got accepted for an internship in a research program for sustainable seaweed mariculture. Seaweed products are used in many everyday items! Hopefully we can work towards growing seaweed as animal feed in the North Sea; this would make a much more healthy and sustainable alternative to soy, which is grown predominantly in South America after the rain forests are chopped down to make space. No good!

Q:Can you briefly remind us what you did after Regents?

A: Eline: I left after my IGCSEs and attended a few Dutch public schools before going to the University of Groningen

mEET THE ALumNI: ELINE pOSTmAbY AiNA RAkoToNiRiNA, GLobAL CiTizENShip & RouND SquARE ASSiSTANT

Coming to visit us before heading out for greater adventures are the Postma siblings, Iemke and Eline. They graduated from Regents and regularly come back for visits. Eline has volunteered in the Round Square Department for a couple of months back in 2012 while Iemke helped Regents Garden grow with his green thumb. Let’s catch up with them!

Ryan Barber of year 7 showing off his batting skills.

Mr Merriott helping raise team spirit and togetherness.

Mr Rudling and Pie (Year 8) offering fielding advice during the Green House Regents Ball experience.

for a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology. That was fun!

Q:So why did you study in Thailand then?

A: Eline: Our dad got fed up with the Dutch weather, so decided to move the whole family to Thailand in the year 2000. Nothing more to it.

Q:How was Round Square back then? Was it of use?

A: Eline: I received opportunities that I would never have gotten had I stayed in a Dutch public school, which I’m super grateful for. I will never forget that going on Service trips was more of a fun thing, than a ‘thing we should do because it looks good on your CV’. The best service project was helping the Thai army to rebuild houses in Krabi after the 2004 tsunami. Before this project, I really got to develop my confidence in being a leader at the regional RS conference that was held on Koh Chang.

Q:So what are your plans now?

A: Eline: I don’t know, I feel like I’ve slowed down a bit, which is good. I’m going to enjoy life, learn about brewing Hario coffee, start a beer-brewing project with my boyfriend, live on a Dutch island and do this internship thing! I probably sound like I’m 40.

Q:Do you keep in touch with other alumnus?

A: Eline: Absolutely! My best friends from Regents will be the first ones to know when I get married !

Q:What drastic changes have you noticed in school, after you left?

A: Eline: There is an even bigger focus on extracurricular education, which I think is amazing! Traditional school systems tend to teach you how to make a living, not a life. There is so much more to education besides the ‘regular’ subjects, such as spending time in nature and learning about contribution and service. Big thumbs up!

Q:Are you a Global citizen?

A: Eline: Probably. Mr Crouch could answer for me!

Last words:

Eline: I know how much you Round Square people love a good quote, so here’s one: “Aspire to inspire before you expire.”

Q:Hey Iemke! So what have you been up to lately?

A: Iemke: I’m almost finished with my Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration at the Erasmus University’s Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands. Having completed my thesis and done most of the courses, coming back in January was a breeze having less than half the course load of a normal student.

I’ve actually taken a gap in between my study to focus on exploring my interest within business, and which direction I want to take it, realizing that I want to be more involved in sustainable enterprises as a career path. Starting off with learning more about permaculture through a practical course and teaching gardening at Regents, this has also further developed my interest in joining and expanding the hemp industry to its former glory.

Industrial hemp has many uses as a food and fiber, momentarily being used to create around 25,000 different products and is one of the more sustainable crops in the world as it is relatively low maintenance, attracting fewer pests (therefore mitigating pesticide hazards) and can be used to help rebuild and condition soils.

I guess it’s in a way similar to what my sister wants to do with seaweed, so perhaps our parallel upbringing and influences had something to do with that.

Q:What did you do after Regent’s?

Iemke: I left halfway between my IGCSEs having only taken the official Mathematics exam (which I had an A* for!) and finished an IBMYP diploma in the Netherlands, continuing on to do the IB and ended up attending the Erasmus University Rotterdam which is the point where I’m nearing the end of now.

Q:Why did you study in Thailand then?

A: Iemke: Pretty much what Eline said: because of Dad.

mEET THE ALumNI: IEmkE pOSTmA

Q:How was Round Square back then? Was it of use?

A: Iemke: Being part of the student guild, starting in primary and moving to secondary, gave me the opportunity to prepare myself for roles I would take on later and helped me develop my character whenever I pushed myself a little further out of my comfort zone. In my last year I was actually the Adventure pillar leader, although my lack of initiative and follow through with projects I had in mind back then stopped me from achieving my desired goals. I’ve learnt more about the value of monitoring my own progress and setting goals for myself since then, and Round Square prepared me by giving me challenges like that early on.

Q:So what are your plans now?

A: Iemke: I don’t have much time left in Thailand to do anything big but recently I’ve been focusing on my music (working on making a special video for friends and family ready for Christmas!), my martial arts/yoga and helping out my parents with gardening/house projects. I’m also looking for projects in the Netherlands I can join when I get back to continue my experience with permaculture and gaining a foothold in the hemp industry through an internship (ideally), and finding out if I can create a

t-shirt business (preferably made of hemp textiles) in the Netherlands.

Q:Do you keep in touch with the other alumni?

A: Iemke: During my exchange to Australia last year, I met up with some old classmates from Regents to share a few beers. It’s funny to see that they’re exactly as I remembered them. It’s so easy nowadays to keep track of everyone with Facebook although meeting up is hard since everyone is scattered around the globe… but that makes it more special too.

Q:What drastic changes have you noticed in school, after you left?

A: Iemke: A fully outfitted coffee place on campus. And also a school garden in the works!

Q:Are you a Global citizen?

A: Iemke: Definitely. What I do keeps in mind a broader scope of the world, which I owe much to my upbringing.

Last words:

Iemke: I hope my gardening kids have got some nice tomato plants sitting on their window sill. Otherwise, keep trying and never give up!

gREAT pERFORmANCE EVERYONE

By sally Jeon, year 12

ChRiSTmAS CoNCERT 2013

Our annual Christmas Concert took place in the Globe Theatre during the last week of term and was an enjoyable experience for all concerned. The variety of performances from primary and secondary groups was of an exceptional standard. The Brass Group performed the King’s Anthem before leading us in some Carol singing and a stunning rendition of O, Holy Night. The primary strings, brass, hand-bells and KS2 choir showed that music is developing well throughout the school. The second half showcased the secondary musicians and the Orchestra played three challenging pieces specially arranged by Mr Duff. The Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Mr Bob, delighted us with a disciplined rendition of a Mozart Divertimento. The Big Band changed the mood slightly with an original composition written by Mr Duff followed by his suitably jazzy arrangement of Jingle Bells. The GCSE and IB group performed Let it Snow! to the delight of the audience

(and Game’s charm when singing). The Choir finished with three pieces before the now traditional community singing of The Twelve Days of Christmas complete with audience participation, to send everyone off in the

Christmas Spirit. Thanks go to all fellow students for their hard work and commitment and to our teachers for continuously supporting and encouraging us.

MUSIC NOTICES

Following on from the busy period at the end of last term, our efforts now turn to completing coursework and examinations with GCSE and IB classes. The Summer Concert is due to take place on Thursday 3rd April and more details will be available nearer the time. All music rehearsals are now running after the mock examinations and

Round Square Week.

Any pupils wishing to learn an instrument should speak to a member of the music staff for further information.

DIVINgbY jENNifER bALL, bioLoGY TEAChER AND hEAD of YEAR 8

Diving during Round Square week was a pleasure to organize. We had many adventurous snorkelers and Discover Scuba Divers working on their fish identification, snorkeling and diving techniques and enjoying the sunshine in between. After a very successful week, Regents had a total of 15 students and teachers passing their PADI Open Water diving course which allows them to dive anywhere in the world. Two students passed their Advanced Open Water course which allows them to dive deep, use diver propulsion vehicles (DVP’s), navigate and complete search and recover operations using lift devices and both are looking to complete wreck and night dives in the future.

Helena Depaepe (Head Girl, Year 12) stated “Despite being the only Year 12 student there, I was able to get along well with the younger years. This would be my last Round Square week ever and I am extremely happy to have picked diving as my activity.” Helena is looking at completing her Advanced Open Water course in the future.

Mermaid Dive Centre is a brilliant organisation, with Sheena Walls making everything run smoothly throughout. Thank you to Mermaid Dive Centre for all your support, the students at Regents had a fantastic and successful week! We are looking at incorporating and furthering the dive skills of these students by either looking at a long term reef restoration project and / or reef clean up next year.

THANk YOu mERmAID DIVE CENTRE

By na Hyun lee, year 7

fLiGhT of ThE GibboNS

During Round Square week we went to a beautiful place called Flight to the Gibbon. It took approximately 25 minutes to get from from The Regents School to Khao Kheow Zoo.

When we arrived, we were all excited but also extremely nervous... First we went to this shelter where you can get your safety kits on for the activity. A Thai member of staff called Mr Rooney helped us put on our safety kit. After a while, everyone was ready. We put our bags in the lockers and a short trek later we were up in the forest. Everyone was a little tired from walking so we stopped for a moment to have a break under the forest canopy. It was very beautiful. Mr Rooney said we had arrived at our first zip-line which was connected to a huge tree and everyone was so scared. When we were on the top of the huge tree some students looked as if they would prefer to go back down but I was okay since I really like these activities and wanted to really push myself.

First, Mr Rooney went and everyone was amazed by it. After Mr Rooney went everyone was discussing who wanted to go first (especially the boys...). Finally it was my turn and I was so excited to “FLY” and off I went! The first flight was amazing! There were fifteen courses left and I was glad that there was a lot because it was extremely fun. The further we travelled, the longer the zip-line was

and the more fun! Every single student was enjoying the flight. After we arrived at the last zip line we were all sad but this was the longest zip-line in the forest it. It was three hundred metres long and I could barely see the end of the line attached to the other tree because it was so far away. While I was sliding down the zip-line I saw my shadow at the bottom of the tree. It felt like I was a bird flying from one tree to another. But unfortunately, this was the end. We all felt like doing it once more but we already knew that we couldn’t.

After the fabulous ride of Flight of the Gibbons it was lunch time! The food was Thai fried rice with a chicken soup and some vegetables. It was awesome! It was hot and very tasty.

We had some time left so we went to look at the animals in the zoo. There are so many animals you can find in this zoo like hippopotamus, white tigers, lions parrot, giraffe, penguins, gibbons and monkeys. We fed the animals with the food the local Thai people sell at the zoo. It is very cheap and allows you to get really close to the animals!

This entire trip was lovely and fantastic and also fascinating!

I would like to thank Mr Perrins and Mr Daly for giving us this awesome opportunity during Round Square Week.

WHAT AN ADVENTuRE!

By erin elms, year 12

REfLECTioNS: AfTER SChooL SERviCE To ThE kARuNYAWET homE foR DiSAbLED LADiES

Every week, my classmates and I go to the Karunyawet Home for Disabled Ladies for our after school activity. The home is for females, 18 and above who are disabled and have either no family support or who are unable to live on their own. The Karunyawet Home for Disabled Ladies provides basic needs, counseling, medical care and other specific needs for each individual woman. The home is making every effort to ensure that their lives are as comfortable as possible.

The Regents International School students, along with our activity leaders, Ms. Neufeld and Ms. Morand, have taken the opportunity to help the home and give the ladies something to look forward to. On Monday, buses take the group to the home for about 45 minutes. While we are there, we paint nails and do hair and make-up for the ladies. The importance of us being there is to make each woman feel special and pretty for their dinner following

our visit. During the year, for special occasions, we also hold dances.

Based on my personal experience, I find so much joy going to this home and helping the ladies and the staff. Every time we pull up in our van, all of the ladies are ready to set things up and have the biggest smiles on their faces, knowing what we are there for them. Although not every person participates, there are always a group of eager ladies that want to be involved in our activities. After going to the home, I always feel good knowing I have made someone feel special just by doing something as simple as hair and make-up.

This experience is very fulfilling and my classmates and I always enjoy our time communicating with the ladies and giving them something to look forward to every Monday afternoon.

“I ALWAYS FEEL gOOD kNOWINg I HAVE mADE SOmEONE FEEL SpECIAL juST bY DOINg SOmETHINg AS SImpLE AS HAIR AND mAkE-up”

By sHeila truDGett, HeaD of iCt

pRoGRAmmiNG WiTh RASpbERRY pi

“The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It is a capable little computer which can be used in electronics projects, and for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games.”

Students participating in the Raspberry Pi activity during Round Square week had never seen a Raspberry Pi before and were very doubtful when they first saw one whether it really would work as efficiently as the computers they are used to. Their first task was to assemble the Pi’s, they were

give a Raspberry Pi, an SD card, monitor, keyboard, mouse and a selection of cables, it didn’t take the students long to get the little devices working. They then used Scratch software to create an interactive animation.

The students also had the option to use Python to write a simple programme or to try experiment using code on the online programming sites.

The ICT department intends to continue promoting programming at the Regents and will be running a variety of activities in the future to encourage students to code.

By Julie, year 8

A DAY AT WAT SAWANG ARom SChooL DuRiNG RouND SquARE WEEk

On the third day and the last day of Round Square Week, my friends and I went to a local Thai school called Wat Sawang Arom to meet and interact with the school children and to also paint the school.

The school was a small, cozy place that had 120 students and 14 teachers. When we arrived at the school we sat down with the students and introduced ourselves to them. We told them about Round Square and the IDEALS.

We then grouped ourselves with 6 Thai girls and played games that we had planned, to break the ice between us. We played games such as Marco Polo, musical chairs, duck-duck goose because they were easily understood without many problems.

We soon became friends and found out about each other’s families and lives. Their ages were between 8 and 10 years old. The students’ really liked playing active games and most of them liked playing sports as their hobby. We soon became tired but we were happy to keep them busy. They also taught us simple Thai crafts such as how to make a fish out of leaves and long grass.

When it was time to go, we gave them small presents. We took photos to keep as memories. We waved goodbye as we were sad to leave, but we are looking forward to seeing them again soon as our new community partnership has only just begun....

“WE SOON bECAmE FRIENDS”

By paul press, HeaD of sCienCe anD university aDvisor

Too mANY CookS? STuDENTS LEARN ThE bASiC uNivERSiTY SuRvivAL SkiLL of CookiNG!

We are what we eat. Never before has this statement held more weight than now, when our food is subject to all kinds of artificially added or modified ingredients. The long-term impact on our bodies of eating food containing pesticides, genetically modified organisms, hormones, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, artificial colours and flavour enhancers is still unknown. That’s not to say that all of these things necessarily bad for all of us. The point is that their impact is unknown.

As well as learning the techniques and skills required to cook for themselves, the students who signed up to the “Surviving University – Learn to Cook” Round Square Week activity (comprising more than 10% of the Secondary School) were also challenged to think about the quality of the food that they put into their bodies; to choose organic food where possible (or, as our grandparents called it, food)

and to use fresh ingredients to make healthy, wholesome meals – with no unknowns.

Each day had a theme, and students learnt to prepare at least two dishes related to the theme. Monday was pasta day, which included the classic student dish of Spaghetti Bolognese. Tuesday saw the students make their own fast food so that they could understand that, as well as being made in a healthy way, these can also be prepared in less time than it takes to nip to the local fast food restaurant. Wednesday was Tex-Mex day, so chillies abounded in Fajitas and Chilli con Carne. Thursday was Asian cooking day where Thai cookery fused with Indian food, and Friday’s speciality saw the mother and child reunion of the Chicken and the Egg. We didn’t waste time on the debate over which came first – they both got eaten together!

Yum Yum!

By CHloie DelGaDo anD issey Gilmour, year 8

muSiC iN ThE CommuNiTY – RouND SquARE WEEk

During Round Square Week we had an amazing time performing for some of our local community partners. Seeing the looks on the childrens’ and adults’ faces each time we arrived or left was heart-warming. We have realised that we are lucky enough to have what we need and want in our daily lives; while these children and adults are less fortunate. We felt honoured that we were able to share our talents and put smiles on their faces, even if some of us weren’t ready to perform, we still gave it our all. We were able to meet other people we would never expect to be friends with. We joked around, had a blast and

simply enjoyed ourselves. From Day 1 to the very last day we kept telling each other we didn’t want Round Square Week to end. Special thanks to our wonderful teachers: Mr Duff, Mr Clarence and Mr Guto for making this a fun experience (and also taking us to McDonalds). We know this will sound cheesy, but we truly felt like we were part of a family when doing this activity.

By sola, year 7

STop moTioN

During Round Square Week, our activity was Stop Motion Computer Animation. In this activity Mr Puckey, Mr Bradshaw, Mrs Spear and Mrs McKenna taught us how to do the animations. The equipment you need is: Camera, Tripod and some clay or Lego or whiteboard and markers. All you need to do is take a lot of pictures and change the Lego or clay or whiteboard that you are using every time you take a picture. After that we went into groups and started our animations. After we finished our animation we would plug the camera to the computer and save all the pictures in a folder, then add to Movie Maker. At the end of

the day we would put all of the finish animations in Movie Maker and put music in the animations. We look forward to presenting our animation video during the Round Square Week assembly on Tuesday 28th January...

CAmERA, LIgHTS, ACTION!

“WE TRuLY fELT LikE WE WERE pART of A fAmiLY”

By Hermione Garnett-spear, year 12

SuRfiNG iN bALi, iNDoNESiA

On Sunday the 12th of January, a group of 28 students and 4 teachers embarked on a trip of a surf -time experience and one which we will always remember. We left school at 1.30am for an early flight, so by the time we arrived in Bali we were pretty tired. But that is when the real fun started! As soon as we were out of the airport, we went straight to the surf school (called Up2U) and we were split into groups to be taught the basic principles of how to surf. Half an hour later, we were all in the water, battling with the waves trying to stand up on our boards. It was such a fun and challenging experience – there were lots of laughs as people came flying off their boards, but by the end of our first session, nearly everybody could already say they could surf.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted with the soft sounds of the instruments from a Balinese band that had come especially to welcome us. The hotel had even made

us a special banner and ladies went around handing out orange juice to everyone and a flower to place in our wet hair. Once we were allocated our rooms and roommates we went to unpack and then we went to the restaurant which

the hotel owned. We all got to enjoy our first taste of delicious Balinese food. By the end of the week we were all pretty familiar with a plate of Nasi Goreng!

During this trip we all stepped outside our comfort zones especially during surfing as we spent four hours a day down the beach trying our best. Even though some days we all wanted to give up, we kept persevering, grabbing our boards again and heading back out to catch another wave. On two mornings we had to walk down to the beach while it was still nearly

dark, for our sunrise surf sessions which started at 6am. We learnt that surfers are dictated by the ‘tide times’ and if there are good waves at 6am, then that is when you have to be ready to surf!

On Wednesday we went to a local Balinese orphanage where we taught and played with the children there. This orphanage, the Jodie O’Shea orphanage, was set up after the Bali bombings in 2001, in memory of somebody who had been killed. Even though we went there to teach these children, they ended up teaching us, by showing some of us their traditional dances and some other dance routines. By playing these games we were able to connect and talk about our different interests. Even though our time there was short, it was such a great experience.

Another highlight of the trip was when we went to the fantastic waterpark in Bali on Thursday. For those of us who still had adrenaline left after our sunrise surf session, we were able to launch ourselves down ride after ride

including the amazing ‘Climax’ which has a trap door to release you down a 16 metre vertical drop, exposing you to 2.5 G-force speed! Our group of Year 12 students convinced Mrs. Butler to come on this ride with us and when we got to the top of the queue we made her to go first to test it before we dared go down!

This really was a great trip: a week of learning to surf, making new friends, going to a waterpark, volunteering in an orphanage and generally having lots of fun, all in the beautiful island of Bali in Indonesia. A Round Square Week to remember forever!

SuRF’S up!

By Camille Cure, year 8

SAiLiNG AT ThE RoYAL vARuNA YAChT CLub

For Round Square Week I chose two activities. For the first two days I decided to discover a sport which I had never done before, which is sailing. In two days I learned a lot about sailing and English vocabulary. These two days were also valuable in learning more about the students in Secondary. I was able to sail a little bit on the first day before capsizing.IwassailingtheRSQubawithaninstructorandthen in the afternoon I got to sail alone, but of course, it was harder alone. When we went sailing the weather was

ideal so it was lucky for me.

To close these days we went to a small island called Koh Sak by catamaran with an instructor and other students. This was very fun because at that time the waves were big and it was windy so the catamaran went fast.

Overall, I had a great time during Round Square Week, learning new skills, meeting new people and taking on new challenges.

“I DECIDED TO DISCOVER A SpORT WHICH I HAD NEVER DONE bEFORE”

By miss eleanor – professional DanCer anD CHoreoGrapHer from tHe uK

moDERN DANCE WoRkShop - SECoNDARY STuDENTS GET iN ThE GRoovE!

During Round Square Week 23 students from across the Secondary school participated in a 2 day Modern Dance Workshop, held by Miss Eleanor. Miss Eleanor is a professional dancer and choreographer from the UK and has performed in many public events, including an appearance on “X-Factor”. Her speciality is a style called Waacking, but she worked with the students on lots of different dance styles including Hip Hop, Posing/Vogue and Catwalk.

After a stamina testing warm-up, the students learned about the structure and history of dance. They learned that “Street Dance” is actually an umbrella term used to describe many styles of dance and that most well-known styles originated in North America during the 70s and 80s. Then it was time to get dancing! Everyone learned some basic Hip Hop steps and were able to bring these together through memory games using both the dance moves and simple rhythms to test their knowledge and mental agility.

The Year 10 and 12 students also spent time discussing things they were grateful for and wanted to improve about themselves to help bring more emotion into their dancing.

Afternoon sessions focussed on posture. This included learning to walk with grace and poise, showing emotions in movement, different Catwalk styles and a lot of posing. Everyone found this a little more physically demanding than they expected! All the students were also taught some basic Waacking steps before the end of the day and, when they recapped everything they had learned, they were all surprised to find out that they were able to free-style their own dances after only 2 days. Well done everyone!

Miss Eleanor will be working in the school until February half-term and will be judging a student dance competition on International Day on February 14th, so don’t take off your dancing shoes just yet!

gREAT mOVES

By Juste raipaite, year 12

ThE GLobAL CLASSRoom ExpEDiTioN 2014

Nord Anglia Education has offered an amazing opportunity for more than 100 students from 30 different schools around the world to participate in the Global Classroom expedition in Tanzania. Global Classroom is based on communicating online; however this expedition will be the chance for all of us to meet face-to-face and explore global issues through a variety of service activities. 7 students from Regents in Year 10 and Year 12 were chosen to go on this expedition in February. All of us will have a great opportunity to meet new friends, explore new places and help the ones who need it the most.

During the trip, we will be staying in the ‘Dolly’ camp which is located next to Mt Kilimanjaro. We will be working with the Huruma Orphanage mainly, where we will learn about the reasons behind the large numbers of children left without parents. Also, we will improve our teaching skills by getting involved in the local Maua Primary School. We will also have the opportunity to contribute to the building of medical dispensary and vocational training centre which will play a significant role in the local community.

Before the actual trip, Nord Anglia set us a couple of ‘challenges’. One of them was to fundraise money for our service activities in Tanzania. We did that by selling drinks during the rugby tournament as well as during the Secondary sports day and we are still fundraising for the next week and a half by selling sticky rice and pork. The major event will happen on Friday when there will be a treasure hunt, a animal themed disco and a mufti day. We thought that this would not only fundraise quite a bit of money but it would also spread awareness about our expedition as well as increase students’ knowledge on Africa in general. Please come and support us tomorrow!

By Kat miller, art teaCHer

WATERCoLouR pAiNTiNG AT ThE biRDS AND bEES RESoRT jomTiEN

During Round Square week the Art Department took 45 of Regents students on a watercolour painting course at The Birds and Bees Resort, Jomtien. The students had learnt new watercolour techniques at school that they were then able to teach to the Meechai Pattana students whose school is part of the same campus.

Our students worked exceptionally well in the beautiful beach-side setting. They were exposed to some idyllic light and shadow effects made by the swaying trees and tropical foliage that overhung their painting area. They learnt about effects including stippling, dry brush, washes,

splattering and sponging. Our students shared new knowledge and painting techniques with our community partner students and together they improved their artistic skills.

The resort feels like ‘paradise’, commented one student. The Regents’ students certainly enjoyed exploring the gardens and especially watching the tame rabbits that live there, hop on by! Thank you to The Birds and Bees resort and Meechai Pattana students for being such gracious hosts.

“pARADISE”

Looking for that special costume for International and Book Day?

We have a wide range of costumes for these events and for 

School Curriculum Dress Up

Call us for further information

thecharactercostumecompany@gmail.comWEBSITE‐IN PROGRESS

The character costume company.com

Tel: 0844664506 (ENGLISH AND THAI)

COFFEE mORNINg

WELCOmE TO pATTAYA INTERNATIONAL LADIES CLub

Whether you have just arrived in Pattaya or have lived here for a number of years PILC has something to offer everyone. We are an international group of women from 32 countries social networking though daily activities like book

club, tennis, bowling among many others or meet each other working in one of the many local charities we support.

The back bone of our club is our monthly luncheons and our monthly coffee morning, a great way to meet your new

friends in Pattaya.

We would therefore like to invite you to meet us at the newcomer’s free coffee morning on the 27th of January at 11am.

The venue is the restaurant Casa Pascal on second road. For more information check out our website www.pilc-pattaya.com or

write Helle an email on presidentpilc@gmail.com

The Pattaya International Ladies Club invites you to an afternoon of classical music.

Featuring noted pianist,

Regina Albrink performing the works of Schubert and Chopin

February 20, 2014 Royal Cliff Beach Resort

Rainbow Room 12 noon (seating will begin at 11:45 am)

500 baht

Regina Albrink, renowned Dutch-born soloist and chamber musician, will perform an afternoon concert featuring the works of Franz Schubert and Frédéric Chopin.

Ms. Albrink’s vast body of work includes performances of classical and neoclassical concertos as well as the romantic virtuoso repertoire. She regularly performs throughout Europe, and for the past decade she has taken part in several theater productions centered around Chopin.

Your entrance fee includes coffee and a snack, plus a 10% discount at any Royal Cliff Hotel restaurant.

For reservations, please email: presidentpilc@gmail.com