Our International Day was a fantastic way to end the first half of the term. Highlights from the day included our multicultural Flag Parade and marvelous performances in the Atrium - a wonderful way to celebrate our Great, International, St Andrews Community. Beatrice and Giorgia (Year 12) capped the celebrations off, summing up the event with a fantastic report in our new STA Press Pack Activity that you can read below.
Welcome back. I hope that you all had a relaxing, enjoyable, safe, and healthy half-term.
Our International Day was a fantastic way to end the first half of the term.
While we did not have the traditional PTG-inspired International Buffet, Epicure prepared an especially International menu for the day, Key Stage 3 classes worked on standalone internationally-themed lessons in each of their lessons and all Tutor Groups took part in the traditional International Day Quiz.
As always, the highlight of the day took place during the extended Break, with both our usual Flag Parade and a number of performances in the Atrium. As you can see in the photo above, the whole High School gathered in, and around, the Atrium - a wonderful way to celebrate our Great, International, St Andrews Community.
As I said in my video message to the students in the morning, one of the things that I love about St Andrews is that while approximately half of our students are Thai, the other half are from approximately 50 other countries around the world, and International Day was a wonderful celebration of our global community, our diversity and our similarities and our differences.
Here is another report on International Day, written by Beatrice (Sr) and Giorgia Urari (Sn), members of our new Press Pack Activity, who will be reporting on events happening within the St Andrews community from a student perspective:
International Day is a key event at St Andrews, a yearly celebration of the School’s diversity. It’s a day for students and teachers to celebrate their cultural heritage and to learn more about those of others. Although International Day traditionally takes place the week before October half-term, Coronavirus restrictions meant that the celebration had to be postponed. This year’s International Day instead took place on the Friday 11th February, with students and teachers giving their all to organise a wonderful day full of activities and celebrations.
The highlights included a Flag Parade - representative of the 53 different student nationalities - through the school, quizzes, presentations and costume competitions. In class, some Departments chose to tailor their lessons to reflect the celebration. In Key Stage 3 English, Ms Joy organised a lesson based on the concept of International Day. “I was asked to plan something that would celebrate the diversity of all the students and teachers here,” she said. “I planned a lesson which looked at the global idea of culture and the importance of understanding and respecting each others’ origins. It’s a way to celebrate where we all come from and to learn about each other”.
Following the Flag Parade, the teachers and students were treated to an amazing set of student performances inspired by their cultures, which took place during an extended Break. “I loved how enthusiastic I was for all cultures to unite and watch our dance,” remarked Nishtha, a Year 13 student who took part in the performance. Her group put together a beautifully choreographed piece inspired by Indian dances which combined remixes of Indian and Western music. Mao, also in Year 13, recalled the adrenaline of taking part in a kendo match during the performances. “It was fun to push my body into overdrive,” he said. “This was the longest match I have ever fought in.” Mao also reflected upon the challenges of fitting into a specific culture. “As our world becomes increasingly globalised and connected, the ideas of nationality and identity become increasingly blurred. To me, it’s important to have such days where we can have moments of cultural exchange. Only then can we truly build our own identity.”
At St Andrews, International Day seeks to promote acceptance by encouraging students to express their national identity and pride. It seeks for all cultures to be represented in the celebrations, so that each student and staff member can gain new knowledge and experience from the event. Next academic year, the hope is that the COVID restrictions will have been relaxed and that International Day will take place again in October in its full glory, complete with the immensely popular International Day PTG buffet. Regardless of how this day is celebrated, it is the spirit of acceptance at the heart of the event that is most emblematic of the St Andrews community.
We are now into the second half of Term 2, and the last 6½ weeks for Year 11 and 13 students, who have their Parent/Student/Teacher Meetings this week. Ms Sasha and Ms Nikki have sent reminders to Year 11/13 parents to ensure that all parents book appointments for these very important meetings.
The current COVID situation in Thailand means that we are still working on this term’s High School Calendar - I will include a much fuller version of this in next week’s Newsletter.
With the goal of providing meaningful help to the flood victims in the northern regions of Thailand, our entire community at St Andrews Bangkok came together to raise funds and donations for the affected families. In the span of a few short weeks, added to donations of food and clothing, we managed to raise an astounding total of 386,676.50 THB in donation funds. To all students, teachers, parents, and staff who participated in our efforts and contributed to this cause—thank you!
Primary School
9 Pridi Banomyong 20/1, Sukhumvit 71,
Phra Khanong Nuea,
Vadhana, Bangkok 10110
THAILAND
High School
1020 Sukhumvit Road,
Phra Khanong,
Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
THAILAND
