High School: Seven weeks until Songkran...

We’re into the second half of Term 2 - seven very important weeks for Year 11 and 13 students.

We began this morning by temperature checking all students and teachers as they arrived at the school, and by reminding everyone of the WHO’s advice in the infographic above.

As we start the second half of Term 2, there is, as well as the other exciting events taking place, a real focus on Year 11 and 13 students, beginning with their Parent/Student/Teacher Meetings that take place this week. Parents of students in these Year Groups will have received more details about these events from Ms Sammy and Ms Martine respectively before half-term.

The Calendar below shows a reminder of the dates of all this half-term’s Grade Reports and Parent/Student/Teacher Meetings, with Parent/Student/Teacher Meetings for every Year Group taking place between now and Songkran.

Makha Bucha Day, and so half-term, were a week earlier this year than last year, so Year 11 and 13 students have a slightly longer uninterrupted period before the Songkran holiday. While we will still say our traditional goodbye and good luck to Year 13 students at the end of our Songkran Water Play on the last day of term, Year 11 and 13 students will, this year, be in school for Revision Week in the first week of Term 3. When we have been able to do this in previous years this has been a very valuable week for students to discuss any questions that have arisen during their revision during the holiday with their teachers before their IGCSE/IB exams start the following week - all these dates are also included on the Calendar below.

I look forward to seeing Year 11 and 13 parents at this week’s Parent/Student/Teacher Meetings, and other parents at their Parent/Student/Teacher Meetings, and other events later this half-term.

Residential Roundup: Part 2

During Residential Week some of the Year 12 students travelled to Udon Thani to work on a number of Service projects. These experiences will contribute towards their CAS program and hopefully provide a stimulus for the students to build further on some of the Service experiences they are currently working on for their CAS portfolio. While in Udon Thani the students experienced the Meals on Flip Flops programme where students prepared meals for the most needy in the community, the Welcome Homes project, where our students helped with building shelter for members of the community with no home, and also an Education Exchange programme. Below Ton-Naam (Year 12) describes this education program - one of her favourite parts of the week:

“The activity I enjoyed the most was the Education Exchange, where we had to plan lessons to teach kids at the local school in Udon Thani. First, we planned the ice-breaker, an opening activity to get to know the kids and to make them feel comfortable with us. We wrote down a list of easy games that we could use for this activity. We were then all split into groups where each group was assigned to teach a different age group - I was in charge of Grade 5.

We planned out a total of four activities, including English vocabulary charades, musical chairs etc., and estimated the time it would take for each activity. I felt very confident in our plan and anticipated the best for all the activities.

As expected, the reality was very different from what I anticipated as the ice-breaker activity turned out to be quite awkward and the kids looked more interested in doing something else. The class activity, however, was much better than the ice breaker as the kids seemed to enjoy the activities we planned out. They seemed to particularly enjoy the vocabulary charades despite not understanding some of the words that they were given.

The English language was a barrier for the kids as their knowledge is very limited in comparison to students in Bangkok. I found this activity enjoyable as I felt I was able to bond with the kids here despite our different backgrounds. I have also learned that these local schools are not supported by the government as they encourage students to enrol in larger schools in towns. This is a problem for many kids as they are unable to afford the travel costs, so many students stop going to school altogether. The activity has also taught me to value the education that I have as I have realized that many kids are still struggling to afford everyday life.”

Ton-Naam (Year 12)

Also during Residential Week, 41 STA students visited Arusha, Tanzania as part of a Nord Anglia Expedition. This trip allowed students to learn about the local communities and their way of life. They helped to plant flowers and trees in local woodlands and contributed to the bricklaying of a new secondary school block, as well as experiencing a safari. They worked on their projects with students from schools in Texas and Bratislava, making new friends along the way. Here are some comments from our students:

‘I gained a lot of experience from this trip. I saw how tough it was for other less fortunate people to live. How tough it was to earn the slightest bit of money by doing all the labor work and all kinds of other jobs. I saw the importance of school and proper education.’

‘I have gained knowledge about the culture in Tanzania, I got to know more people. I also learnt a few things along the way that has changed my point of view on life, as well as I have been more accepting of what I have at the moment. This trip has given me so many good things along the way. I have even been able to think more about what I am doing and if it is really worth it.’

‘I would most definitely recommend this trip to others as it teaches you many life lessons. Right from how to cook for 30 people to camping in a safari with no barriers to stop animals from attacking you or huge beetles from biting you, everyone learnt something new.’

‘My favourite activity was the construction site because not only was I doing something completely new, it was very interesting to learn the techniques of building and constructions and being there with my friends making jokes and singing songs whilst doing it was very enjoyable. I also enjoyed the safari bus rides because we could see the beautiful landscape of Tanzania.’

‘I would HIGHLY recommend going on this trip if you get the opportunity to because it is genuinely going to be one of the best experiences of your life. There is not a day that went by that I could say I didn't enjoy myself. We did so many things for the Tanzanian community, learnt so much about Tanzanian culture, people, food, music and made so many friends and even bonded more with our STA school friends. Every aspect of the trip was thoroughly memorable and I'm sure my peers wouldn't disagree with me saying we would go back in an instant if we could.’

Information about next year’s NAE Expeditions to Tanzania is coming soon…

Leavers Survey

Today you should have received an email from the school office containing a link to the Leavers Survey.

This survey goes out annually at this time to ensure that all children currently studying at St Andrews, have their places confirmed for the next academic year prior to us offering places to new families. 

Please complete the survey as soon as you can so that we can start to build well balanced class lists for next year. If at this time your family's circumstances make you unable to confirm your intentions at this time, please advise our High School Admissions Team: 

• Mr Bartek - bartek.mo@standrews.ac.th

• Mr Mathew - mathew.su@standrews.ac.th

• Khun Nisa- nisa.on@standrews.ac.th 

Roo Stenning (roo.st@standrews.ac.th)
Head of High School